J.D Fortune
TM - Hi, This is Amelia and Elizabeth. We are here with J.D. Fortune. Thank you for having this interview with us. It is good to speak to you again.
J.D. - Hello, it is good to speak to you too.
T.M - How are you?
J.D. - Just hanging out here in Nova Scotia, Canada, getting ready to fly to Australia in 2 weeks from today.
TM - That flight sucks. But you get to come to Australia. Which is exciting.
J.D. - Yeah, it's long. I have 2 hours from here to Toronto, then a 4.5-hour layover, then a 22-hour flight from Toronto to Sydney.
TM - We can't wait to have you. What can fans expect from this tour?
J.D. - Some new material from the back catalogue of INXS, one of the most amazing rock bands ever to exist, and a couple more originals of mine. I played a song called "Open a Beer" last year, and then I played a song called "A Million Ways to Die." And this year I've discovered "A Million in Two Ways," but I can't change the song now. We've kind of punched up the set a little bit, and it is going to be a little heavier and a lot tighter. It'll be a lot tighter this year. You know, last year was the first tour through, so it was sort of like we were just figuring out the set list order and what makes the most sense and most impact, and now I think we got it finally tuned.
TM - That is awesome. So tell us about your new music.
J.D. - I am working on, a 6-song EP right now. It should be coming out in 2027. It is a mixture of, really heavy rock, with some country undertones to it. There is not a lot of country in it. It's more like rock, but there's definitely a flavour there in the lyrics that's not, you know, a little more homegrown. Let's call it that. A little more homegrown feel to it. So I'm really excited about that.
TM - That's so cool. Are you planning on touring that as well?
J.D. - Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
TM - What was your favourite memory last time you came here?
J.D. - Right now I'm just addicted to life and music and just living and giving fans the best show possible.
TM - Michael had an enormous presence. Was there a moment on stage where you thought, "I'm standing where Michael should be"?
J.D. - Have I ever thought that. I think about it more when people come up and say, "I have loved that song since I was a kid," or my sister got married to that song, or we buried my dad to that song. I kind of look up, and I say, "Hey, Mike, I hope you're watching this because this is all for you, mate. Like, these people are talking about you. And I love that. I love that, it is kind of spiritual, and he's like the ghost that follows me.
TM - Yeah. That's really cool.
J.D. - Yeah. I feel connected to him. I have had several dreams about being on stage with him, which is really weird. One time I had a dream that we were on the tour bus, and he was hitchhiking on the road, and we pulled over. Isn't that crazy And it was so vivid. He got on the bus, and he was, all jovial, and the band was like, "Oh my God." The whole thing was, so surreal. Then I woke up, and I was like, "Wow."
It was a real loss when he died. I am just grateful now that I get to be in the position where I can carry on his legacy and Andrew Ferris's legacy, the band's legacy. I love all those guys.
TM - That's a cool dream. And what did Andrew Ferrissey teach you about music writing?
J.D - To follow your heart and your gut. And don't try to overthink it. And write something simple that people can sing along with.
I don't know if you know the song that was written by Jeff Mack, an Australian, back in the '50s, in 1959, but it's been covered by Johnny Cash and Hank Snow. I have been reading "O Chicago Fargo Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Windsor, Sarasota, Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oakland, Mattaya, Manhattan, Alabama, Bangla, Baltimore, Salvador." I'm going to talk a little bit. I'm going to go. I'm a killer. I've been everywhere, man. I've been everywhere. It's a lot to memorise, right? So keep it simple.
TM -You're good at that. How long did that take you to learn?
J.D. - Learn... Well, the whole song took me about 2 weeks of every day, about an hour and a half a day. Because the second verse is Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana, Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texas, Canada, Monterey, Faraday, Santa Fe, Cal, Palousa, Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oscar, Louisana, Tennessee, Hennessee, Chickapee, Spirit, Lake Grand, Lake Devils, Lake Crater, Lake for Pete's sake, I've been everywhere, man.
TM - You co-wrote songs like "Pretty Vegas" and "Devil's Party." Do you hear those songs differently from when you first wrote them?
J.D. - Absolutely, you grow and mature a little bit, and everything is kind of like, I am the devil that's throwing the party.
I wrote it not knowing that. I wrote it thinking Andrew was the devil. I wrote it thinking the devil is supposed to be, like, a monolith of government and, you know, control. At the Devil's Party, nothing's a sin. We know where you've been.
But now I feel like I'm the ringmaster and the Devil's Party is my show. And I'm very grateful for that.
TM - Thank you for having this interview with us today we appreciate it.
J.D. - Thank you, guys. It was awesome to speak to you.