Introducing: Rich Aucoin

Last week Rich Aucoin and his band played an instore at Puregroove. By the second song in the audience had gone from passive observers to bleating like goats, pogoing and engaging in group huddles. Half way through the set he ran outside into the marketplace, using the radio mic all the while before re-appearing as if by magic at the end of the song. In 2008 his live show was listed by Toronto’s Eye Weekly as one of the shows of the year, alongside the likes of Bjork, Neil Young and Daft Punk. We caught up with Rich in the run up to the Great Escape.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should?

I’d like to put in the disclaimer that no one “should” hear me but if they’re interested:

1. I wrote my first record to sync with Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) in the same way that Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon syncs with The Wizard of Oz.

2. I did my first two national tours on bicycle and the second by public transit; running half-marathons along the way. Both tours were raising money for charities; childhood cancer research and heart & stroke research, respectively.

3. I wrote my second record to sync to a film I made out of cutting together over 40ish movies. I then spent a year traveling across Canada and recorded the record with over 500 other musicians. Then spent the next year editing it and now its almost ready for release.

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?

I was finishing my undergrad philosophy degree and decided I wanted to make a record and then, shortly after that, I decided I wanted to do a tour on a bicycle. I’m still always just deciding what I want to do one step at a time.

Anyway, moving on, where do your songs come from? What is your inspiration?

I like the interplay of visuals and music. I love film scores and I loved watching the Floyd sync so I decided I’d always write to visuals; I also have done 6 short film scores now too.

Your live show is full of visuals from a screaming goat to info films- do the ideas come together or do you work on one then the other?

I watch the various videos and write the song to them. I’ve just started showing youtube clips in the show which are going to be deckled more and more throughout the set. I like the goat one because it works with the crowd screaming together at the beginning of the show.

I heard your record syncs to a film? Is that true? If so which one?

Personal Publication – Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Public Publication – A film I’ve made out of cutting together 40ish movies from: It’s a Wonderful Life, Night of The Living Dead, Superman
Cartoons, A Star Is Born, Nosferatu, Gulliver’s Travels, A Boy And His Dog, Little Princess, The Last Man On Earth.

Your live show is full of energy- and crowd participation- has it ever fallen flat? What is the best show youve played?

No. Knocking on wood as I say this, people have always seemed to want to get involved and have a fun time. With a live show, regardless of
the show or who’s show you’re seeing, there is an effort on both the musician and audience member’s side to have a good show; if both feed/help each other, everyone will have a better experience (at least that’s what I’ve found in my experience). I think the best show I ever played was my first mainstage festival show back in Canada at Evolve Music Festival (which just won best festival in Canada btw from CBC). We had the first slot of the festival so everyone was sitting down and far away from the stage when we started. After the first song, we had a small excited group of folks at the front of the stage dancing and then, by the second song, we had a group twice as big. Then and for
the rest of the set which was about 6 more songs, we had folks just running down the hill to the show which was exciting to see from stage
their enthusiasm. The energy of the crowd was amazing (and this was really before we started getting the crowd to sing along in the way we
do now) but they sung anyway and so by the end of the set there must have been like 600-700 folks all going crazy (kind of like that “man
starts dance party at festival” video); where just from 20 people or so up front at the beginning it grew organically into something awesome and had so much energy; they chanted for a good 5 mins after the set but you can never do one at a festival (especially if you’re the first opener!).

Plans for the next year?

Release a handful of 7”s, an EP in the fall and then this record, Public Publication, that I’ve been working on for what seems like forever. I plan to get back on the bike too and start to venture into the US and Europe with it too.

Name your Top 5 records

1. Dark Side of The Moon
2. Abbey Road
3. Pet Sounds
4. SMiLE
5. Soft Bulletin

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?

Knock on wood again and I know this isn’t going to last but I haven’t really had a bad review or much criticism yet. Someone once said that
it was a show definitely worth seeing once but feared that it’d be exactly the same the next time because we have all the visuals and syncs in the show but I spend a lot of time doing new mixes every couple weeks and I’m constantly redoing the visual component so it’s definitely a new show each time.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?

I spend most of my time working on music. What time I have left over is usually spent surfing or watching so bad they’re good movies or
working on comedy stuff with my roommates; I live with two comedians from Picnicface.

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?

I’d really like to get into the film industry and do sound editing/composing or, I think my ideal job would be a trailer editor; I like when teasers/trailers are done well.

If you could have written or played on any song, what would it be and why?

Another Brick in the Wall. In the children’s choir. It’d be crazy to be so young and on such a popular song that you’d inevitably hear throughout the rest of your life.

What is the first song you put on when you wake up?

I had a spell in high school where I listened to Hear Comes The Sun everyone morning as it’s the perfect song to wake up to really.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.

Theme: Feel Good Halifax House Party

1. Rocket Summer – The First Aid Kit
2. Kitten Vs. Pegasus – Windom Earle
3. Hang Up On You – Cold Warps
4. Happiness – Dog Day
5. Yellow Fever – The Stance

One Canadian band we should listen to (that isn’t your band)?

Brasstronaut

You can catch Rich and his band making crowds do things they weren’t expecting to do on the following dates:

May 19 2010 The Lexington London
May 20 2010 King Tuts Glasgow
May 21 2010 Liverpool Soundcity – The Masque Ink w. The Pack A.D. Liverpool
May 22 2010 Fibbers York
May 23 2010 Bar Academy Birmingham
May 24 2010 Borderline London