It was back in April when PUP—the Toronto punk four-piece that’s garnering international attention and acclaim for its latest, Morbid Stuff—leaked it’d be playing a show at The Marquee Ballroom, during dates that lined up with Halifax Pop Explosion. And though cool kids around town made sure that set was sold out before it was […]
rich aucoin
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin and Classified nominated for Prism Prize
The seventh annual Prism Prize announced its finalists today, with two familiar names in the top 20: Rich Aucoin, for Meags Fitzgerald‘s cleverly animated clip for “The Middle,” and Classified‘s “Powerless,” an ode to MMIW shot in the Millbrook First Nation and directed by Andrew Hines. The Prism Prize will be handed out in Toronto […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Electronic Artist / Band
Gold Winner Neon Dreams Silver Winner Rich Aucoin Bronze Winner Scientists of Sound Neon Dreams nabbed Best Electronic and Best Pop Band this year, and the trio is happy to be slotted in either or both. “We’ve transitioned a lot from EDM but we’re still very much electronic,” says drummer Adrian Morris, ahead of a […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Pop Artist / Band
Gold Winner Neon Dreams Silver Winner Port Cities Bronze Winner Rich Aucoin “We draw from so much,” says Adrian Morris, drummer for Top 40 juggernaut Neon Dreams. “At one point we were a hip hop group. Frank [Kadillac] draws from his father with reggae and dancehall. Me and Matt [Gats] draw from punk and rock. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
25 for 25: episode 2011
This week on the podcast, all-around awesome person Rich Aucoin (one of the tallest people Tara knows) is with us talking about his triumphant year in 2011; headlining the Pop Explosion and releasing his long-awaited album, We’re All Dying To Live. Then, arts editor Stephanie Johns is back with stories of outrage from the one […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog wrap-up: Impressions from cycling across America
Two hundred years ago this summer, Parisians had their minds blown witnessing German Baron Karl von Drais’ new invention, Draisienne or Laufmaschine or “Dandy Horse.” The first two-wheeled bicycle invention would be improved upon over the remainder of the 19th century until 1880s when the new standard bicycle, the safety bicycle took hold. Two hundred years […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog #10: Washington, DC to Edison, NJ
This is night before my last cycle to New York City tomorrow. I feel like this constant state of motion has become my new normal and when I become still again, I’ll be still spinning like some flipped bicycle wheel that inertia hasn’t caught up with yet; spinning without moving forward. I’ve gotten quite used to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog #9: Nashville, TN to Washington, DC
“The Wave,” “The Motorcycle Salute,” or as I’ve heard it called, “The Drag” (my personal favourite): Defining the signal of acknowledgement between two two-wheeled travellers on the open road in North America. These waves, mostly between two motorcyclists and presumed to have originated between the most famous two motorcycles, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, occasionally […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog #8: Memphis to Nashville, TN
I go back and forth between whether I like to plan ahead on things like travelling or whether I like to have a loose idea and just let a lot of things fall as they do and not stress whether I’m seeing the “best” possible thing with my time. While I’m a huge fan of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog #7: Little Rock, AK to Memphis, TN
Good writing is like giving sight to the blind. I’m sure an exercise in many creative writing programs is giving the age-old thousand words to a photograph of the writer’s choosing. I started listening to William Least Heat-Moon’s cross-American odyssey Blue Highways and it feels as if he’s describing a series of photographs he’s taken […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog #6: Oklahoma City, OK to Little Rock, AK
I’ve luckily made it halfway across the country with no rain. In Oklahoma, an almost tornado-level storm passed through, but I had already made it into the city and snapped this photo of its near-constant lightning. Leaving Oklahoma, I noticed this huge structure that looked like a waterslide—turns out it was a non-profit outdoors centre […]
Posted inArts + Music
Rich Aucoin bike blog #4: Tucumcari, NM to Elk City, OK
Wind is the mountain you cannot see. At least that’s what it feels like as a cyclist going against it. You’re pedaling non-stop all day, no coasting. Better to just accept this fate and choose a low gear so that you’re at least making progress and holding that endurance up as long as you need […]