Welcome!  Self Sufficient Musician’s goal is to to become the ultimate resource and community for DIY musicians, with the focus on empowering musicians to make unique music and run a thriving business.  Unlike other sites that focus just on marketing or recording, here at SSM we will discuss each and all skills needed to build a thriving career as a musician.  The topics include:

• Songwriting
• Arranging
• Performing
• Recording
• Promotion
• Running a Business (Entrepreneurship)
• Tool Review (equipment, web sites, services)

Ari Koinuma: Musician

Music is my life, and that’s the way it’s always been.  Apparently, when I was 3, I sang songs from the balcony of my family’s 4th-floor apartment, and pedestrians below stopped and applauded me. 

I am primarily a modern rock guitarist/singer/songwriter, and have one full-length album out under alias Aries9.  I am constantly exploring ways to build a sustainable career making music without jeopardizing my stable family life.

I’m a versatile musician with a very diverse range of credits.  Some of the bigger ones are:

• Composing virtual orchestral music for an independent thriller film “For Sale by Owner” which is distributed around the world in countries such as UK, the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Thailand and Brazil,
• Producing two best-selling folk/comedy albums for Celtic musician Marc Gunn.  In particular, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers remain a fan favorite,
• Writing personalized children’s songs as a staff songwriter for the charity organization Songs of Love, and
• Touring central and southern Texas as the music director for children’s musical Manzi: The Adventure of Young César Chavez.

At heart, I consider songwriting, producing, and online business to be my strongest suits.  SSM is one of the online enterprises I own and operate.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to Ari’s other sites.  I live in Minneapolis/St. Paul, so if you’re in the area, let’s get together and talk music!