A Fast Eddie show is always a foot-stomping, hand-clapping good time, but it’s the sincerity of his songwriting that really hits home. From Toronto dive bars to independent Canadian tours, you’ll find Fast Eddie delivering energetic acoustic sets with material that lives at the intersection of earnest punk rock and folk storytelling. A powerful singer, Fast Eddie lyrics are about life: from the grind of the work week, to the lonesomeness of the road, to the fun of getting high, and there’s no pretense here. At all. It’s refreshing.
Influenced by the underground pop-punk bands of his youth, Eddie Knowlton’s early roots stretch through the DIY music scene of Kitchener-Waterloo in the early 2000s. This was a time when there was a healthy independent touring circuit in Canada, and scores of bands were passing through Eddie’s town. He immersed himself in the music and culture of the day, and like so many kids around the country, he embarked on a Canadian rite of passage: forming a punk rock band with his friends. They gave the band a classic traditional name: Corrupt Society.
Now, he’s one of the hardest-working artists in independent music. Fast Eddie is a solo acoustic act, but he’s also a member of the totally sick Toronto hardcore band, Debt Cemetery, and he regularly collaborates with a range of his colleagues on events and recordings. Last year, he played over sixty live shows, appearing at venues all over Toronto and southern Ontario, with tours and festival appearances around the country including the Skate Fast, Score Fast Tour (with B. C.’s Duane Regretzky), Montreal’s PouzzaFest, and the Punksgiving Festival in Red Deer.
Fast Eddie has passion for what he does—the kind of passion it takes to fuel his high energy performances and keep him showing up, night after night, to give his all on stage. It’s very punk rock, but in many ways, his work is quintessential folk: of the people, for the people, meant to inspire and uplift. His songs are catchy, and the melodies will stay with you. Here are a few lyrics from one of his recent releases, Chin Up, Kid:
Listen, Kid
It takes courage to admit
that you could use a little help
It takes a lot of time
to bring the things you find
together to be happy with yourself
Chin up, Kid,
Don’t hang your head no more
Fast Eddie wants you to feel better. He wants everyone to feel better. His honesty is so rare in this dark and sinister world that his songs actually caught me off guard. For a jaded old hand like me, that almost never happens. Don’t tell anybody, but Fast Eddie’s unabashed candour literally brings a tear to my eye.
This is the medicine we need these days. It’s good to be reminded that it’s okay to be hopeful, to hold on. It’s okay to make the time to be together, to laugh, to dance the night away.
Fast Eddie wears a foot tambourine, acting as his own rhythm section, and adding another dynamic to his live sound. The last time I saw him play, at The Bovine, his foot tambourine fell off mid-song. He didn’t miss a beat, though, and continued through the song as someone in the crowd scrambled up on stage to fix it, becoming Fast Eddie’s impromptu drum tech. This delighted both Fast Eddie and the audience. It was a small and ridiculous thing, but it made for a joyful moment for everyone in the room.
Fast Eddie isn’t just playing music. He’s building connections one song, one laugh, one spontaneous happening at a time. And for that, he’s got the magic potion that we could all use a swig of right now. On the surface, a Fast Eddie show is a good time, but this work is also deeply political and offers us a very important form of resistance. Positivity.
Fast Eddie’s next Toronto show is coming up February 27th: Fast Eddie, Gypsy Sun, Wordplay, Thunderclap! and The Bees, an album release show featuring a new recording of covers. This show is part of the That’s Folked Up Tour, presented by AP Records. It’s happening at The Wych, a cozy neighbourhood goth pub in Wychwood at 1150 Davenport Road.
Fast Eddie
https://www.fasteddieacoustic.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/fasteddieacoustic/
https://debtcemetary.bandcamp.com/
The Wych
https://wych.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/wychto
