If you’re not one of A.J. Chiarella’s 41,000 Instagram followers on his popular Westchester-centric profile, The 914 Collective, then you’re missing out on everything from battles over the area’s best bagel and behind-the-scenes business secrets to sit downs with our County’s movers and shakers, from longtime leaders to hot new names in restaurants, retail, and beyond. A musician by trade and an influencer by accident, A.J. launched his podcast, Shakeout Live!, with his band as an homage to live music (punk rock, to be exact), ultimately leading him down the path of social media stardom. His latest goal is to interview 914 people in the 9-1-4 area code – if you’re lucky, you could be one of them. www.thenineonefour.com | @the914collective
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What’s your guilty pleasure? I like what I like and try not to feel guilty about it, but I guess the closest thing to it is watching bad reality TV that’s so bad, it’s good. It shuts my brain off before bed.
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What do you eat for breakfast? Usually just coffee but I enjoy a great Bacon, Egg, and Cheese – hold the salt, pepper, and ketchup.
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Biggest risk you’ve ever taken? Getting a Master’s degree and then immediately touring around in a van with my band as much as possible. Lots of debt, not a lot of money, but experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world.
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What was your first car? A hand-me-down 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport.
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Current favorite song? Hmmmm…that’s tough. The World Is Yours by NAS. Been spinning Illmatic recently. I go through phases.
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What item of yours was your biggest splurge? I don’t splurge often, but last year I bought a double-neck guitar. It’s wacky, but I love it.
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What are three things you can’t live without? My family, girlfriend, a guitar, and my laptop. Oh, sorry – that’s four.
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Something that always makes you smile? A great live musical performance, spending time with people close to me, and dumb videos on TikTok.
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When do you feel most like yourself? When I’m playing music.
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One person you’d like to meet, past or present? Billie Joe Armstrong, definitely. I’ve looked up to him for a long time.
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What’s your favorite board game? With the right group, Cards Against Humanity can get ridiculous.
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Do you consider yourself a good dancer? Definitely not, but I do like to dance.
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What’s an item you’ve kept from childhood? I still have my first guitar from when I was 10. It’s unplayable now but I kept it for the memories.
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What scares you? Tight spaces.
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Favorite spot or thing to do around town? Yonkers Skate Park is a favorite hang.
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What’s your hidden talent? I make a mean bowl of cereal.
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When was a moment that you felt proud of yourself? I took The 914 Collective from 400 to 40,000 Instagram followers in under twelve months completely organically, so that felt pretty good.
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As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A musician….and at 31 years old, I’m still going for it.
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Food: sweet or salty? Salty, definitely.
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What’s your favorite childhood cartoon or TV show? I was a big fan of All That, Keenan and Kel, and all of those Nick shows. And Spongebob.
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What’s something you’re trying to get better at? Being focused. My mind moves at 100mph.
“I’m not always the best at sticking with things but I’ve been trying to build something awesome with The 914 Collective, and I’m happy with how it’s going.”
