About Ari (Credits)

I am a:

  • musician (guitarist, songwriter, producer, composer), and
  • web professional (front-end development, blog marketing)

based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.  I’m originally from Tokyo, Japan, but lived in São Paulo, Brazil from age 12-18 and Austin, Texas from age 23-34.  I started playing the guitar at age 16, have been writing songs since 18, have been building web sites since 1998.

Below are lists of credits/accomplishments thus far:

Music:

  • Marc Gunn Happy Songs of Death – producer, guitarist 2009
  • America’s Next Felon (mockmentary film) – composer, 2009
  • Aries9 Darkness Reveals the Beauty of Truth – artist, producer, guitarist, 2007
  • Marc Gunn Irish Drinking Songs – producer, guitarist, 2006 (re-released 2009)
  • Manzi: The Adventures of Young Cesar Chavez (children’s musical) – music director, guitarist 2006
  • Marc Gunn Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers – producer, 2005
  • Square One (stage play) – music/audio, 2005
  • For Sale by Owner (titled “13teen” on Netflix) (feature film) – composer, 2005
  • Demos for various artists – producer, 2004-2005
  • Various sideman gigs as a guitarist — 2003-2006
  • Driven by the Sun (documentary) – composer, 2002
  • Hoover Girl (short film) - composer, 2001
  • Princess Peanut (short film) – composer, 2000
  • Liberation (documentary) – composer, 1996
  • B.A. in music, St. Olaf College, 1996.  GPA: 3.60  National Honor Society of Music, Departmental Distinction

Web:

  • Technical Lead, Cynergy (2011-): act as a technical consultant, application architect, and a lead developer for custom web application development
  • Worked on two social networking start-ups as a front-end developer
  • Web Developer, Digital River (2009-2011): work on multivariate tests and other front-end projects for e-commerce sites for Microsoft, Nikon, Electronic Arts, Parallels, etc.
  • Web Developer, LostInSunshine.com (2009-2011): a Drupal-based site for an indie film
  • Blogger, OurBestVersion.com (2009, 2011-): I built this personal development blog and achieved 12,000+ visitors per month at its peak
  • Web Developer, Minnesota Public Radio (2008-2009): front-end development.  Major accomplishment was the Current’s Playlist.
  • Web Producer,  AVguide.com (2005-2007): Also administered sites for the high-end audio magazine The Absolute Sound
  • Freelance Web Designer (2002-2005)
  • Webmaster, Austin Lyric Opera (1999-2001)

For more detailed history on my web credentials, please visit my LinkedIn profile.

My other interests include soccer, swimming, traditional/whole foods, spicy sauces, salsa, reading, mastermind groups, Progressive Christianity, and New Thought Movement.  I live in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood with my wife, two children, and one grumpy old cat.  My family life also incorporates traditional food,  homeschooling/unschooling, homeopathy, and energy healing.