Gord Downie Mural, 2017
Rory Allen of Zoomcopy.com
American, born 1976
Adobe Illustrator/ Indesign/ Photoshop Printed and Applied all surface Vinyl.
Commissioned by the owners of The Hertel Liquor Library in conjunction with The North Buffalo Business Association, 2017
Location: 1669 Hertel Avenue (Get Directions)
The Gord Downie Mural was designed and installed by graphic artist Rory Allen as tribute to the late musician Gord Downie of the Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip. The lyrics, “NO DRESS REHEARSAL, THIS IS OUR LIFE,” are from The Tragically Hip’s “Ahead by a Century.”
Allen completed the Gord Downie Mural only weeks before Downie’s passing from terminal brain cancer. The mural became a memorial for thousands of Western NY Hip fans the weeks after his passing. Downie had a mutually special relationship with Buffalo mostly because of the band’s enormous popularity in the Western New York music scene. The Hip was often referred to as Canada’s unofficial rock band, and adored by millions of Canadians. An adoration also shared by tens of thousands of Western New Yorkers.
Allen, a life long Hip fan, aimed to complete the mural prior to Gord Downie’s passing to ensure that Downie received word of the mural in his honor. Allen was informed that the entire band, including Gord, was thankful for the tribute and expressed again their gratitude for Buffalo for embracing their music.
Rory Allen (American, born 1976) is a Buffalo-based graphic artist and owner of Zoomcopy.com (Zoom). With the help of Jason Jones and Bill Jankowski, he installed the 38 foot wide by 12 foot mural in September of 2017. The Zoom team has also installed the Mario Zucca Buffalo Map on the side of MVP Network Consulting at 1297 Hertel Avenue, The Nikola Tesla Mural on the side of the Forty Thieves Building at 727 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222, and the Iconic Elmwood Village Mural on the side of Poster Art at 1055 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222. Zoomcopy.com also provides graphic design, printing and signage services, mostly for Western New York Businesses. Their shop can be found at 725 Main Street in downtown Buffalo.