Meet Ari Newman | Co-Founder of Desert Child

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ari Newman from Desert Child and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ari, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
There is direct, communal impact in playing live music. Our understanding of personal mental health has begun to shift away from sedentary 1:1 counseling towards researched models that emphasize physical movement and social contact. In essence, the individual and collective cannot be separated. Live music is a way to get a lot of different people together to move their bodies, receive a break from the stressors of our accelerated lifestyles, and collectively regulate our nervous systems. I can feel this when playing shows. By the end of the night our smiles have widened and a twinkle returns to our eyes. If its meant to be perhaps our band can bring this experience to the global community.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Our band has its origins out in the deserts of Southeast Utah and mountains of Southwest Colorado, where four of us met at Open Sky Wilderness Therapy working as field guides. At Open Sky we supported young teens and adults in realizing their fullest human potential. We emerged from that experience with clear values, a healthy work ethic, and valuable communication skills. Most of us are starting our music careers with this project. We’re all in our thirties so our approach is geared towards sustainable life-styles that can support families in the future which is not easy in the music industry. This remains a core challenge. However, we believe that if we can continue to play high-end private events this can be a financial engine to power our original art. And the hope is one day we have our art fully supporting us.

When Desert Child was formed it was evident that our chemistry on and off stage was felt by our community. People feel the electricity of our connection. Our brotherly affection for one another and life-affirming music sets us apart. We also just plain and simple rock out. People come out and dance and we love that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, we live in Durango, CO. I honestly don’t know much about Denver. There are a ton of awesome venues like Globe, Skylark, Cervantes, Red Rocks, Bluebird. That’s where I would be. If you want to get out of Denver, come to the Four Corners and I can show you around the San Juan mountains, take you down the Animas River, or get you into a local Desert Child show. =)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are a lot of people I want to recognize that have helped us find our way.

-Jesse Ogle & Ashley Edwards at IAMMusic Institute in Durango for mentoring me and giving us opportunities to share our music at IAMMusic Fest.

-Mark Anderson, founder of Cowboy Cowabunga Recordings for teaching us how to cut our first record.

-Open Sky Wilderness Therapy for teaching us the skills to navigate relationships and chase our dreams.

-The Four Corners—the land we call home and inspires us to make a difference through music.

Website: Desertchildmusic.com

Instagram: @desertchildmusic

Image Credits
Cole Davis John Lyons