Ari Herstand wears many hats atop his fro. Since releasing his previous album, Brave Enough in 2014, he’s released a best-selling book (two editions), appeared on various TV shows as an actor, toured the world as a speaker, launched Ari’s Take Academy online music business school, a throw-back 1970s inspired funk project Brassroots District, ran a pandemic-inspired online music festival (UnCancelled), got a law passed in California (musician amendment to AB5), launched the New Music Business podcast.  And went through a breakup from an 11 year relationship.  The latter being the most influential to his life and career. Ari reveals "We met in college, toured the country, moved to LA, started a life here, and a little over a year ago, decided to part ways. This relationship lasted 1/3 of my life. Over a decade. The breakup wasn’t dramatic in the traditional sense. But it was monumental and painful. An end of an era.” The first release of these songs, “Retrospect,” released May 27th 2020, was recorded at 64 Sound Studios in Highland Park, CA, live with a band - shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world. Ari Herstand’s most recent offering, Like Home, explores the idea of what home means. And where to find it when the concept has been shattered. In a period when so many have been confined to their homes, this is an exploration that couldn’t be more worthy of the times. Since moving to Los Angeles, he has toured with or opened for Ron Pope and the Milk Carton Kids, performed a few hundred more shows, became a staple at the LA singer/songwriter hotspot Hotel Cafe where he regularly hosted singer/songwriter showcases, co-starred on various TV shows like Mad Men, 2 Broke Girls and Transparent as an actor, performed on Ellen with Thirty Seconds to Mars, released 2 books and a couple records, launched a podcast, an online academy and a blog (which got him the book deals) - and grew Ari’s Take into a full-fledged music business education and artist advocacy company.  His book, How to Make It in the New Music Business hit #1 on Amazon in 3 categories and is currently being taught by over 300 universities around the country. Now in its second edition. Music Connection Magazine called it “the best how-to book of its kind.” Forbes cited it as “indispensable.” And Rolling Stone reviewed it as “witty, wise and comprehensive.” More recently, Ari helped write and pass an amendment to get the music industry an exemption under the “gig worker” law AB5 by lobbying legislators, negotiating language, writing countless articles on it and making press appearances. He told Billboard “I had lots of sleepless nights to get musicians relief under AB5, but I’m happy we were able to come to an agreement.”  Now running Ari’s Take as CEO and founder, with a full staff and various instructors and advisors for Ari’s Take Academy, he is focusing on reclaiming himself as an artist - while continuing to empower other musicians to have successful careers of their own.  The coronavirus may have shut down the live music industry for the time being, but it did not destroy music. Nothing is quite certain in the world right now, except that artists will continue to create art. And Ari Herstand is no different.