Ari profile picture

Ari

degy

About Me

I live on the beach at the Jersey Shore, love to travel, and work in the entertainment industry representing tons of great music acts (Rehab, The Toasters, Jeffrey Gaines, Michael of Rusted Root, Bob "The Bachelor - ABC TV" Guiney Band, Flickerstick, Red Wanting Blue, Lloyd Dobler Effect, Shawn Pander, Nadine Zahr, Jupiter One, and on and on). Also split time between Atlanta where I have another office. But, most of the time I'm on the road traveling the world, seeing new clubs or bands, and enjoying life to the fullest. It's nice to have a job that you love and that feels more like a hobby (and lets you travel everywhere). While being an agent and manager for many music acts, I'm now starting to work on talent agency for models and actors.I absolutely love to travel and take every opportunity to go somewhere new. Recently went to the Middle East, all over the Carribean Islands, Mexico, and this past year to Scandanavia. Just returned from a month-long tour around 11 countries in Europe on a tour bus. A new country every night -- I love it. Some fun stories in the blogs (fights in budapest, snow in switzerland, and so on). Hobbies: Love to golf, play tennis, lose money at hold-em poker, and hang with close friends.

My Interests

I like thought-provoking things. I like challenges and people who challenge me. I enjoy being direct (most times), and people that don't mind being the same. I love music, of course, and am engrossed in it both personally and professionally every hour of the day. Love to play tennis, golf (even though i'm normally in the woods), and more. Travel like crazy and go anywhere and everywhere when I can. Whether it's Europe, the Middle East, the Carribean or the states -- just put me on a plane.

I'd like to meet:

Bill Clinton in a private interview to find out the "real" story. I'm blown away by the minds of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. I'd be fascinated to be in the company of folks like Donald Trump, Nelson Mandela, John McCain, Bono, Bill Mark Burnett who single-handedly changed TV, Emril, and to meet (see) my father again in this world, or another world.

Music:

See above. Music is my "life" of sorts, so I'm entrenched in everything about it and all styles of music. Lately I'm digging the Black Eyed Peas, Evan & Jaron's new album, Michael Tolcher, and others. Huge fan of Billy Joel, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Marc Cohn, Elton John, Gavin Degraw, Pat McGee, Tori Amos, Vanessa Carlton, and so on.If you're looking for a lead on something new to listen to, let me know. Too many cds coming onto my desk and through my CD player each day. But, I'm obviously the biggest fan of the groups I represent, such as Eden Row, Authority Zero, Flickerstick, Alana Davis, Jeffrey Gaines, Michael Glabicki and Rusted Root, The Toasters, P-Groove, Magna-Fi, Bobaflex, Legbone, and so on.

Movies:

Sure, I'll watch whatever once. My favorites are A Few Good Men, Ghostbusters, Revenge of the Nerds, Caddyshack, Star Wars, Die Hard, American Pie, Road Trip, Days of Thunder, The Graduate, Shrek, Beauty and the Beast, and so many more!

Television:

Silly reality shows like The Apprentice, Restaurant, etc. Love old classics like The Brady Bunch, Threes Company, and Cheers. I'm absolutely addicted to the Food TV Channel even though I will never eat what they make (particularly the gross stuff on Iron Chef). Emril is wonderful, Rachel Ray's $40 in a day always is funny because she loves every meal she eats, and any show on that station is fun. ESPN is on all the time since I can watch any sports event, anytime.

Books:

Huh? Ok, I'm not embarassed to say that I may have read 7 books in full in my lifetime. For some, it sounds ridiculous and potentially uneducated. Don't be silly! Couldn't be further than the truth as I graduated from one of the best educational institutions in the world. I merely HATE reading. My energy level is just way too high to sit down with a book or newspaper. I get my news on TV or the web, and sometimes the radio. But, if you have a good book for me to read, I'm going to try to find the movie version. Yes, I was the kid with every set of cliff notes there were. Unfortunately, I didn't want to read those either because as much as they summarized the book, they still were 50 pages thick.

Heroes:

My father.

My Blog

LAS VEGAS -- LAS VEGAS !!!

Welcome to ISC Vegas 2006 - The International Ska Circus.  For those of you who don't know, the ISC concept was developed by Rob "Bucket" Hingley of The Toasters, and tested in Europe this ...
Posted by Ari on Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:31:00 PST

The Beauty of Prague, Czech

We're in Prague today, after a bit of a "hoopla" in Budapest last night.  Prague is a beautiful city and the club we're playing at tonight is amazing.  It's the last show for the package of ...
Posted by Ari on Sat, 10 Dec 2005 07:57:00 PST

More on Slovenia...

I really wanted to paint a more full picture of last night's story, so I'm updating this blog with more description on our evening.  And, just as I type this, we get a phone call that 3 bus loads...
Posted by Ari on Tue, 06 Dec 2005 03:57:00 PST

From a rest stop in Slovenia

I'm sure there are crazier places in the world to be writing from, but here I am in my bunk on the tour bus writing to you.  While a few folks are showering inside at 5:27am, I am sitting in the ...
Posted by Ari on Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:34:00 PST

Welcome to Italy -- Great food and wines!

We just got into Bologna, Italy a few hours ago.  Long drive through the snowy swiss alps last night.  The bus was bumpy as hell, and our wonderful Trombone player is "still" wasted at 4pm.&...
Posted by Ari on Sat, 03 Dec 2005 07:24:00 PST

Bern, Switzerland

We're fighting the language barriers, new money currency each night, the swiss alps in our tour bus and the snowy conditions outside. Just got here a few hours ago to Bern, Switzerland. It's freakin c...
Posted by Ari on Fri, 02 Dec 2005 08:13:00 PST

Hanging in Munich, Germany

We finally got some rocking internet access at the club in Munich, Germany today.  We are waiting for the folks from Jagermeister to show up too, so tonight should be a doozie.  France went ...
Posted by Ari on Wed, 30 Nov 2005 08:24:00 PST

Regards from Barcelona!

Just a quick update from the first week in Europe.  Enjoyed some dinners consisting of just "bread" (yes, that's right for those that know my eating habits well).  Saw plenty of snow in Spai...
Posted by Ari on Sun, 27 Nov 2005 11:53:00 PST

Heading Back to Europe - Nov-Dec

Well, I got the urge again it seems.  Going to head back out to Europe on November 20th to join The Toasters & Westbound Train on the tour bus for about a month.  Going to be making stop...
Posted by Ari on Sat, 15 Oct 2005 11:12:00 PST

Sept 23 & 24 in NYC & NJ

I have a few shows in NYC on Friday night, and wanted to invited everyone down. Would love to see you if you can make it. I go on the road for my normal, crazy fall traveling schedule. I'll be in GA, ...
Posted by Ari on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 11:38:00 PST