Fast Romantics

Fast Romantics
Background information
Origin Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Genres Indie rock
Indie pop
Years active 2008–present
Website fastromantics.com
Members Matthew Angus
Kirty
Jeffrey Lewis
Kevin Black
Nick McKinlay
Past members Matthew Kliewer, Alan Reain, Laurna Germscheid, Shane O'Keeffe, Lauren Heron

Fast Romantics are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2008 in Calgary, Alberta.

History

Fast Romantics formed in 2008 by former members of long-running Calgary band The Mood, retaining three of their original members: Matthew Angus, Matthew Kliewer, and Jeffrey Lewis. Upon reforming, the band added Alan Reain on drums and began doing a number of local shows.[1]

The band in 2008 played Virgin Festival alongside acts such as The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots.

The band's debut, self-titled LP was also recorded in 2008, and later mixed in Vancouver by Mike Fraser, who has also mixed albums by acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Elvis Costello, and Metallica.[2] The band toured Canada twice in 2009 in support of that album.

In September 2009, the band was selected by Spin Magazine and John Varvatos as one of three global finalists in the magazine's "Free the Noise" competition. Taking a detour from their national Canadian tour, the band was flown to New York City to perform at the now-defunct venue CBGB (now owned by competition co-creator John Varvatos). Guitarist Matthew Kliewer stated: "There were apparently 950 people there. I heard that Dennis Quaid was there, but I couldn't see if he was jumping up and down, checking his watch, or trying to save the planet.""[3]

The band performed on November 20, 2009 at a private, celebrity-laden event for the opening of Calgary's flagship Holt Renfrew store. Briefly interrupting a set by DJ Samantha Ronson, the band appeared on stage with actor Jeremy Piven on drums performing an impromptu version of Iggy Pop's "The Passenger".[4]

On July 6, 2010, the band released the EP Kidcutter. The album was produced by Howard Redekopp, who has also produced Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, and Mother Mother. The EP was once again mixed by Mike Fraser.

In January 2011, Fast Romantics were nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards under the Pop/Rock category for their song "Cool Kids".[5] Songs from the album have appeared on numerous television shows including Shameless, Breaking In, Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, and One Tree Hill. "Cool Kids" was also featured in the 2013 film As Cool As I Am.[6]

The band has since added three new members. Kevin Black (formerly of Toronto-based band Hands & Teeth) on guitars and vocals. and acclaimed Toronto songstress Kirty on keyboards, guitars, and vocals. Nick McKinlay was also added on drums.[7]

The band released their sophomore full-length album, Afterlife Blues, in 2013. Again produced by Howard Redekopp, the album's first single is "Funeral Song".[8] The band toured in Spring 2014 with openers Dear Rouge in support of the album.

Fast Romantics won Pop Group of the Year at the Sirius XM Indies in May 2014,[9] and has since begun working on their next LP. Of the new songs, singer Matthew Angus said: "We’ve been writing songs like ‘Julia’ that are super upbeat and poppy, and then there’s these other songs that are dark and vibe-y and really rhythmic. And we’re just sort of experimenting with everything. We’ll probably come out with dozens and dozens of songs, so until it gets to a point where it’s like, yeah, we’ve got an album we want to put forward and this is our sound for the next few years, we’re just going to keep doing that.”[10]

In June 2016, Fast Romantics won the 2016 SOCAN Songwriting Prize for their song "Julia", which was voted the best song by emerging artists over the past year. [11]

Discography

Albums

See also

References

  1. ↑ Locke, Jesse (September 21, 2007) Fast Romantics race onto the scene The Calgary Sun. Accessed February 23, 2010.
  2. ↑ Hemminger, Peter (August 13, 2009) New broadcasts from local romantics FFWD Weekly. Accessed February 23, 2010.
  3. ↑ Shawn Despres (October 19, 2009) Fast Romantics Honesty Gets Them Drinks With Perry Farrell ChartAttack Magazine. Accessed February 23, 2010.
  4. ↑ Kate Harper (November 25, 2009) Jeremy Piven Drums With Fast Romantics ChartAttack Magazine. Accessed February 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima/artist/fast-romantics
  6. ↑ http://www.fastromantics.com
  7. ↑ http://www.fastromantics.com
  8. ↑ http://musiccourtblog.com/2012/07/17/the-fast-romantics-sing-their-funeral-song
  9. ↑ http://cmw.net/media/press-room/2014-siriusxm-indie-awards-winners-announced/
  10. ↑ http://www.vueweekly.com/fast-romantics-talk-fred-astaire-film-school-and-reggae/
  11. ↑ http://www.socansongwritingprize.ca/

External links

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