Getting to Know… These Fast Times | Interview 🎤

After several months’ hiatus in the interview department, The Musical Hype returns with its 38^th interview with Montreal pop punk collective, These Fast Times.  

My, my, my, how times flies by.  It seems like it was only yesterday that The Musical Hype chatted it up with pop musician Myylo in interview #37.  The reality is, it’s been several months since a new interview has been published on the site.  Luckily, one Montreal pop punk collective, These Fast Times, arrive to end the interview drought, providing the 38^th entry into the getting to know… series.  These Fast Times is comprised of Jeffery Vuorela (singer/rhythm guitar), Jason Bellefontaine (bass guitar), Ryan Kennedy (drums), and Thomas Kolofsky (lead guitar).  Check out their bio on their official website, and it’s clear these are some fun dudes to say the least! Without further ado, here is Getting to Know… These Fast Times | Interview #38!

Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype (B.F.): Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with These Fast Times, what would you say makes you/your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

These Fast Times (TFT): Our biggest distinction would be that we love what we do. We spend most of our time practicing our songs and we love writing new songs. We always try to push ourselves musically for every song, and When we get on stage, we all love to jump around and play our hearts out. we hope that our fans see and hear that!

BF: Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did These Fast Times form, and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

TFT: Our backstory isn’t super exciting but here goes. Ryan [Kennedy] and Jeff [Vuorela] were in a band together called W!NDSLOW. After they separated Jeff got bored and convinced Ryan to start a band with him. Jeff put an add on Kijiji for a bassist where Jason [Bellefontaine] wrote in and fell in love with the music being played. Not long after that, we put out an ad for a lead guitarist, that’s when Thomas [Kolofsky] showed up with an acoustic guitar and tried to play with us. Since we couldn’t hear him AT ALL, we asked to come back the next week. That’s when he showed up with a bongo. Luckily, soon after that, he showed up with an actual electric guitar and an amp. Ever since then, we’ve been an item, lol.

BF: Let’s talk more about goals. Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

TFT: Not really. We’ve always wanted to play as many shows as we can, and we try to write as much new music as we can. The only thing that may or will change for us is we want to play bigger and bigger shows, for more and more people.

BF: Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

TFT: We all grew listing to pop-punk like Blink 182, Sum 41, and New Found Glory. We all like the same music but love different bands. Some of our biggest influences are Bouncing Souls, Foo Fighters, Gaslight Anthem, Against Me!, Andrew W.K, Amber Pacific, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dropkick Murphy’s, and Rancid. Pretty much anything fast, aggressive, and LOUD!

BF: Ah, the fun stuff. What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance? Feel free to be creative.

TFT: We haven’t toured that much. But we’ve had to sleep in a living room during a heatwave with no AC (I think we destroyed their couches with our sweat) and, we’ve had our van break down in a small town and ended up having the time of our lives. We got asked to take our shirts off during a show (We don’t have the bodies people want to see!), Jason and Thomas have fallen off stage, and lastly, Jeff and Jason had their amps give out during a show. That’s pretty much all our crazy stories.

BF: Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

TFT: Our favorite songs would have to be “Simon” from our EP (These Fast Times, 2016) and “That Was Easy” from our LP (On the Other Side of Fear, 2018). They’re both such high energy songs and when we play them on stage, it’s like our energy goes up – it’s like we get a hit of adrenaline.

BF: Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

TFT: Ryan DJ’s pretty good and puts out a lot of electronic music under “Coach” – he is signed to a global label (he’s our talent). Jeff is actually an agent of S.H.E.I.L.D. and is trying to startup a game studio. Jason can flip a pick in the air and catch it more than 50% of the time, he can drive pretty much at any time, and may run for president 2020! Thomas thinks he’s really smart when he’s high (he’s not!), he is currently writing a comic book. Also, everyone who meets him wants to marry him!  And that’s THESE FAST TIMES! Thanks for listening to us!

Follow These Fast Times: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube

Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, These Fast Times