Aaron Faulls

Last updated

Aaron Faulls
Born
Aaron Douglas Faulls

(1975-02-06)February 6, 1975
Portsmouth, Virginia, US
Occupation(s) Television personality
filmmaker
musician
journalist
Marine conservationist
Years active1993–present
Website Aaron Faulls

Aaron Faulls (born February 6, 1975), is an American television personality, filmmaker, musician and marine conservationist. He is best known for his role as the original host of the television series Into The Drink, a Travel documentary-style series based around Faulls's background as an underwater filmmaker and journalist. He is also known for his appearances on Gangland , a documentary television series on the History Channel.

Contents

Music career

Faulls was a member of several Boston-based bands, including Scarlet Haven (1993–2000) and The Jaded Salingers (2000–2002). Described as "suicide country" and "radio-friendly rock with a down-home feel" [1] by early supporters such as Boston writers Jennifer Soong and Greg Lalas [2] and Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe, The Jaded Salingers featured Faulls on guitar and was fronted by musician/filmmaker Elgin James, who met while working together as bouncers at the Paradise Rock Club. Faulls and James have maintained a very close personal and creative relationship since disbanding the Jaded Salingers and continue to collaborate on music and film projects. Faulls played on James's solo release For Carol.. in 2003 and also produced and directed several live concert recordings for James's post-Salingers band Righteous Jams. In 2008 they appeared in the Rage Against Society episode of Gangland in which they spoke openly about their experience/involvement with Boston hardcore gang FSU.

Writing/filmmaking career

After the breakup of The Jaded Salingers, Faulls switched his focus to filmmaking, with particular emphasis on the marine environment. Faulls's 2006 documentary Still on Her Keel: The Legacy Of The Chester Poling was nominated for several film festival awards upon release. [3] [4] He continues to lecture around the country, considered to be a leading authority on the vessel's history and current condition.

Faulls also became highly sought after as a regular contributor for various scuba diving magazines and travel media outlets, gaining notoriety for his unique writing style and harsh criticism of the tourism industry's impact on the marine ecosystem. Also a very outspoken opponent of the commercial fishing industry, for many years he has refused to eat any plant or animal that lives in water. [5]

Into The Drink

In 2008 Faulls began production on the television show Into The Drink, a Travel documentary-style series that drew heavy influence from shows like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Faulls explored the underwater environments of each destination, as well engaging in local customs and points of interest. At each location, he would seek out a beverage – usually alcoholic in nature – that was indigenous to (or a significant cultural part of) the surrounding area. Although touted in the press as "part fish, part rock star", [6] [7] Faulls was very often placed in situations that were either completely foreign to him or pushed him well out of his comfort zone: firewalking, ziplining, handling dangerous animals & narrowly avoiding a potentially lethal case of decompression sickness are several examples. [8] Although some segments warranted serious safety concerns, usually the scenarios were humorous in nature. His extreme arachnophobia, aversion to waking up early, romantic woes and penchant for injuring himself were all recurring themes throughout the series. In addition to his role as host, Faulls wrote, directed and served as musical director for the show's first 12 episodes.

Into The Drink debuted on the Tuff TV network in mid-February 2010 and was quickly picked up by syndicators such HDNet, DirecTV and Comcast, as well as several international markets. While the show has drawn considerable (if independent) ratings since its debut, in late March 2010 – less than two months after the series premiere – production company Liquidassets.tv announced it had chosen a new host for Season 2, which had yet to begin filming. Inconsistencies surrounding the reasons given for Faulls's departure remain, but neither party have commented publicly beyond their respective initial press statements. [9] [10]

In late 2010, Into The Drink: The Complete Season One was released on DVD as a 3-disc set. It contains all 12 episodes featuring Faulls as host, the "Last Call" season finale, a Season 2 preview and "surprise footage". [11]

Documentary films

Faulls has maintained a low profile following his departure from into The Drink, eschewing on-camera roles and shifting his focus back to a more directorial one. In a December 2010 post on his blog, Faulls announced that he would be at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival to begin production on "a few things related to" the film Little Birds, written and directed by longtime friend and collaborator Elgin James. Although unwilling to disclose further details, Faulls commented that he was "ecstatic" about the project. Ultimately he produced and directed an extensive featurette (included on the DVD release) called Taking A Bullet that detailed "the journey from script to screen and what the actors & crew went through simply out of an abiding belief in Elgin's vision." [12]

In 2013, Faulls began working with singer/composer Serj Tankian, returning to underwater filmmaking for the first time in 2 years to shoot footage that would serve as the "visual score" for a movement of Tankian's "Orca" symphony.

Faulls's most recent film is entitled Waiting For My Real Life, a documentary he directed about Scottish-Australian singer/songwriter Colin Hay. The film premieres at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2015.

Discography

1996 – Scarlet Haven, EP, Dopamine Records (guitar)
1997 – Scarlet Haven, Now & Again, Dopamine Records (guitar)
1999 – Scarlet Haven, Paleologos, (guitar)
2000 – Scarlet Haven, The Columbia Sessions, unreleased (vocals)
2002 – The Jaded Salingers, (self-titled) Espo Records (guitars, vocals)
2002 – The Jaded Salingers, Almost Home: The Outpost Sessions, unreleased (guitars)
2003 – Elgin James For Carol.. Lonesome Recordings (guitars)

Filmography

Selected writings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Cousteau</span> French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author

Jacques-Yves Cousteau, was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the Aqua-Lung, which assisted him in producing some of the first underwater documentaries.

The National Association of Underwater Instructors is a non-profit association of scuba instructors. It primarily serves as a recreational dive certification and membership organization established to provide international diver standards and education programs. The agency was founded in 1960 by Albert Tillman and Neal Hess. NAUI is headquartered in the Tampa, Florida area with dive and member instructors, resorts, stores, service and training centers, located around the world.

<i>Sea Hunt</i> American action adventure television series from 1958 to 1961

Sea Hunt is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges as former Navy diver Mike Nelson, and was produced by Ivan Tors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabien Cousteau</span> Aquanaut, ocean conservationist, and documentary filmmaker

Fabien Cousteau is an aquanaut, ocean conservationist, and documentary filmmaker. As the first grandson of Jacques Cousteau, Fabien spent his early years aboard his grandfather's ships Calypso and Alcyone, and learned how to scuba dive on his fourth birthday. From 2000 to 2002, he was Explorer-at-Large for National Geographic and collaborated on a television special aimed at changing public attitudes about sharks called "Attack of the Mystery Shark". From 2003 to 2006, he produced the documentary "Mind of a Demon" that aired on CBS. With the help of a large crew, he created a 14-foot, 1,200-pound, lifelike shark submarine called "Troy" that enabled him to immerse himself inside the shark world.

Benjamin Cropp AM is an Australian documentary filmmaker, conservationist and a former six-time Open Australian spearfishing champion. Formerly a shark hunter, Cropp retired from that trade in 1962 to pursue oceanic documentary filmmaking and conservation efforts. One of his efforts for The Disney Channel, The Young Adventurers, was nominated for an Emmy award.

The International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame (ISDHF) is an annual event that recognizes those who have contributed to the success and growth of recreational scuba diving in dive travel, entertainment, art, equipment design and development, education, exploration and adventure. It was founded in 2000 by the Cayman Islands Ministry of Tourism. Currently, it exists virtually with plans for a physical facility to be built at a future time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin James</span> American film director

Elgin James is an American filmmaker, musician and a former member of Friends Stand United (FSU), a Boston, Massachusetts area group in the early 1990s which has been classified by several law enforcement agencies as a gang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Skerry</span> American photojournalist

Brian Skerry is an American photojournalist and film producer specializing in marine life and ocean environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine with more than 30 stories to his credit, including 6 covers. In 2021 Skerry won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as producer in the miniseries, Secrets of the Whales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Honeyborne</span>

James Honeyborne is the creative director of Freeborne Media, he previously worked as an executive producer at the BBC Natural History Unit where he oversaw some 35 films, working with multiple co-producers around the world. His projects include the Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning series Blue Planet II, the Emmy Award-nominated series Wild New Zealand with National Geographic, and the BAFTA-winning BBC1 series Big Blue Live with PBS.

James F. Cahill was one of the pioneers of scuba diving, in essence helping to create the sport and industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillaume Néry</span> French freediver

Guillaume Néry is a French free diver.

John D. Craig (1903–1997) was an American businessman, writer, soldier, diver, Hollywood stunt man, film producer, and television host. He worked in the commercial surface-supplied diving industry from the 1930s on, and filmed aerial combat over Europe during World War II. He is best known for using film and television to show the United States public the beauties and dangers of Earth's underwater worlds.

Wesley C. Skiles was an American cave diving pioneer, explorer, and underwater cinematographer. Skiles lived in High Springs, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Bird</span> American photographer, cinematographer, director and television host.

Jonathan Bird is an American photographer, cinematographer, director and television host. He is best known for his role as the host of Jonathan Bird's Blue World, a family-friendly underwater exploration program on public television in the United States. His work is largely underwater in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Heinerth</span> Canadian diver, writer and underwater filmmaker

Jill Heinerth is a Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and film-maker. She has made TV series for PBS, National Geographic Channel and the BBC, consulted on movies for directors including James Cameron, written several books and produced documentaries including We Are Water and Ben's Vortex, about the disappearance of Ben McDaniel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro</span> Catalan scuba diving pioneer and underwater filmmaker

Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro was a Spanish scuba diving pioneer, underwater cameraman and photographer, designer of underwater camera housings, designer of a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba), tester of scuba diving gear for the Nemrod trade mark, writer, director of TV series, explorer and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media diving</span> Underwater diving in support of the media industries

Media diving is underwater diving in support of the media industries, including the practice of underwater photography and underwater cinematography outside of normal recreational interests. Media diving is often carried out in support of television documentaries, such as the BBC series Planet Earth or movies, with feature films such as Titanic and The Perfect Storm featuring underwater photography or footage. Media divers are normally highly skilled camera operators who use diving as a method to reach their workplace, although some underwater photographers start as recreational divers and move on to make a living from their hobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of underwater divers</span> Alphabetical listing of articles about underwater divers

The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to underwater divers:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of underwater divers</span> Hierarchical outline list of biographical articles about underwater divers

This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where the practitioner submerges below the surface of the water or other liquid for a period which may range between seconds to order of a day at a time, either exposed to the ambient pressure or isolated by a pressure resistant suit, to interact with the underwater environment for pleasure, competitive sport, or as a means to reach a work site for profit or in the pursuit of knowledge, and may use no equipment at all, or a wide range of equipment which may include breathing apparatus, environmental protective clothing, aids to vision, communication, propulsion, maneuverability, buoyancy and safety equipment, and tools for the task at hand.

Valerie Olson van Heest is an American author, explorer, and museum exhibit designer. She is co-founder of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association.

References

  1. ↑ "15 in '02" by Joan Anderman, Boston Globe January 11, 2002
  2. ↑ "Radio Daze – Boston Magazine". Archived from the original on March 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Ocean Medallion Class". www.ocean.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ Mobley, Chuck. "Program peers into the murky waters of history". Savannah Morning News.
  5. ↑ Into the Drink » There are no words Archived August 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ “Into The Drink” with Aaron Faulls will be in Dominica from March 31 to April 6. Dominica Weekly,
  7. ↑ Into the Drink johnmcleanmedia.com
  8. ↑ "Under The Sea" by Naomi Creason, The Sentinel January 28, 2010
  9. ↑ "html".[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "html".
  11. ↑ Into the Drink :: Produced by LiquidAssets.tv Archived March 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "html".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.