Videos : Fine Times : Hey Judas
Videos : Fine Times : Hey Judas
The Interview : Fine Times
Already big news in their native Canada next year Fine Times unleash their breed of indie synth pop on on the rest of the world. We catch up with the pair to chat about their surreal new video ‘Hey Judas’ and find out why there’s more to Canada than Justin Bieber.
What's Your Story, How Did Fine Times Come About?
Jeff : Matt and I originally crossed paths several years ago while working at the same record store in Vancouver. We’d bonded over shared musical interests and ended up getting together for some writing sessions. It kind of snowballed from there – we recorded a 6-song EP that ended up in the hands of Jonathan Simkin, with whom we ended up signing a management agreement. With youthful stars in our eyes, things kept pace and we entered into a deal with a Canadian major label. We’d assembled a live group and seemingly had the wind at our backs; going out on the road, while also putting the final touches on a new record. But, it all came to a stop when a major downsizing at the label put a freeze on everything. The momentum had vanished, and with it, the group that we’d had.
Those things sort of put us at a fork in the road. We’d spent a lot of time reflecting on the mistakes we’d made up to then, and we vowed to make good on our decisions going forward. Jonathan was still with us, and at that time, he had just begun laying the groundwork for Light Organ Records. Through it all, he’d been incredibly supportive in allowing us to stick with our vision, and he actively encouraged us to continue on his new label.
At that point, we decided we had to let up on the past and begin recording under a new name, which ended up being “Fine Times”. It might sound small, but I can’t really underscore how liberating the feeling was that came from that change.
Explain The Band Name To Us.
Jeff : The journey to a band name is one of the more painful endeavors we’ve ever had to repeat. It really tests the limits of your own bad taste to review a list of awful names that you, yourself, have come up with. With that said, Matt, for a time, had wanted to name the band “Times”, which was the closest we’d gotten to a name for months. I still wasn’t too thrilled with it, so I kept him at bay on the idea while I continued to scour books and films. Eventually, I came across Woody Allen’s “Without Feathers”. In it was a short fictional piece called “Fine Times: An Oral Memoir”. It just sort of hit me like a slap in the face. Matt and I went out that night, and settled on it over a fistful of jäger.
What Is Both Your Earliest Musical Memory?
Matt : The earliest one I can still remember involves Michael Jackson. I was probably four or five years old, and I’d become completely obsessed with him. I had ‘Moonwalker’ on VHS, and I used to watch that on repeat. That and the ‘Bad’ album. I even had a life-size poster in my room. I tried to do all the dance moves- but I was both four and Jewish, so I was inherently a terrible dancer.
Jeff : When I was very young, I’d recorded myself on a relative’s camcorder, lip-syncing to “Beat It”. I still remember the infectious feeling I got from the laughter of my family as they watched my silly video. Looking back on it now, I suppose my desire to entertain has always been innate. Ironically, the practice was all for naught; my role in our videos has been relinquished to simply standing and vaguely pouting.(Read More)
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