September 17, 2025 • 11 mins
Ahead of his Australian tour, former INXS frontman JD Fortune phoned in to chat with Lisa & Russell. He reflected on his time with the iconic Aussie band - no malice, just freedom - and how they gave him the space to be truly himself. Russell even asked about JD’s early days as an Elvis impersonator. Tune in to hear the full chat.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
JD.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Fortune is going to be playing in Excess on Saturday,
October twenty five at the rose Mount Hotel and Frio
Social on Sunday, October twenty six. Got to tell you
the rose Mount show is sold out, it is, but
you can get tickets for the Frio Social show through
metropolistouring dot com. And he's joining us right now.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Good morning, morning, JD.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Well you guys, very well. All right, where do we
find you this morning?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Well right now I'm in Nova Scotia, Canada, okay, and yeah,
things are things are good, you guys, and.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
You're packing your bags. Well, you're ready to come and
see us in Perth. Ah, My bags are pair.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Have you been to Perth before? I know you've been
to Broom, but have you been to Perth?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yes, I've been to Perth. In a funny story, the
last time I was in Perth, I was sitting next
to Tim Ferris on the on the airplane. Yeah, and
he said, it's been so long since I've been out here, mate,
It's been so long since I've been out here, mate.
He said, it's been years, like ten years years since
up and out here mate. And I went, oh wow,
(01:02):
he's like, we're from here, and I was like really.
And then we landed and we did our first interview
and they're like, so, Tim, you were here last year
for the thing. He's like, oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
That's what happens. That's life on that's life on the roads. Yeah,
that's life on the road.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Well, it's actually it's good that you're coming back and
you're doing obviously the rose Mount Hotel, that's all that
you're doing, the free session, because that's that's kind of
how it all began for in Excess here before they
were in Excess, when they were the Farris Brothers, it
was it was playing the pubs of w y They
probably played the rose Mount once or twice.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Oh yeah, I bet they have. And it was you
know grind for them back then. But you know, they
told me stories about just playing across Australia back in
the day when you know, Original Sin was like considered,
you know, a really risky song to play on stage,
you know, and I really felt that because you know,
I've been in situations before where you know, you're not
(02:00):
sure how it's going to go over, you know, and
to have people that might not like what you're doing,
but also love what you're doing is kind of a
weird headspace to be and like we love the band,
just don't play that freakin song, you know what I mean?
Like you know, so yeah, So I'm glad that we've
moved on, and everybody's sort of like, you know, over
(02:23):
that you know kind of thing. But I can't wait
to get down there.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
There are cover bands that pretend to be in excess
and then they're are shows by the guy that was
in in excess. How does the show tell us about
the show? How does it work?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I'm a legitimate band member, yah yeah, former band member,
but legitimately co wrote their last original album with them,
which was a true blessing and an honor love Andrew.
I love everybody, but Andrew is an incredible, you know,
force to be reckoned with. And he's a genius. They're
all geniuses, but it was really nice to be involved
(02:58):
in the songwriting process. So I I got to understand
how seriously they all took it, whereas you know, other
bands that I was in, you know, uh, like I
I'd written a couple of songs with Andrew and and
we'd go back and forth with lyric ideas. But the
other bands that I was, you know before in Excess,
they're like, whatever, whatever rhymes with June, throw it in there,
spoon or moon or whatever. Just let's just like that.
(03:22):
I'm like, it makes no sense. Yeah, this song even
about and it's like, he tell me, tell me a
very valuable lesson. Write a song that people can sing
along to, that's your biggest you know, and then and
then and then make it real and make it something
that's special. So that's, uh, that's the lesson that I
learned from Andrew and in Excess. And sorry, like I said,
(03:43):
I didn't know I was gonna have to put clothes on,
so like.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
I thought, at least it's a wist high shot and
he's got to on.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
The you don't want to know what's going on down here.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And I could say the same.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Right on. I've always wondered what it was like for
you to have to feel to fill the shoes of
someone like Michael Hutchins. He was so huge, so.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Loved, such a rock star.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It must have been I mean, it would have been
an offer you couldn't refuse, but at the same time
incredibly daunting.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Oh absolutely, yeah, Lisa It's like it's like the dog
that catches the car that he's chasing on the street.
What do you do with it once? What do you
do with it once you've got the tire in your mouth?
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Okay, you've made it this far.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Mate, Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
No, now what Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
And if you're not careful, you're gonna get run over.
So I had to approach it. Yeah, I don't think
I've ever filled Michael's shoes. I try my best just
to be myself, which I think is the essence of
rock and roll, and the music is yourself. Leave leave
yourself on stage. That's what I've grown up with. Leave
yourself on stage. No one wants to see you pretend
(05:04):
to be something. And I've never pretended to be anything
other than myself, which has sort of sometimes gotten me
into more trouble than I anticipated, but it also got
me out of that trouble because I'm just myself. And
I think the reason why we all got along is
because there was a good natured vibe amongst all of
(05:24):
us and in excess, and we all were good natured people.
There's no maliciousness. There was nothing was ever malicious, and
I think you know, and just speaking from previous experiences.
I've worked in situations where people are like malicious and
they're like, and how do you expect to be creative
when someone's, you know, trying to do that? So I
was really grateful for in access to just give me
the freedom to be myself. And when they did that,
(05:46):
it was like I finally caught the car, and now
we're going to drive it. Now know what the dog
does and he catches the car, he puts that he
puts that thing in overdrive and drives it down the
highway as fast as.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
He can tongue.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
That's me.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I've had it.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Some people may not know you you were did a
bit of Elvis impersonating in your in your earlier years.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Uh does that?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
I wouldn't call it exactly impersonating my friend. I wasn't
that good, were you? Like I said before, I'm about
as much as of an Elvis impersonator as Jamie Fox
is a rig Charleston personator.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
But he was a great, right, he was great.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
But like I took dramatic arts in school, I took
you in school. I took acting in school, and it
was a gig that came along. And like I worked
with some real Elvis impersonators, like guys that were twenty
four to seven sideburns and you know, and and and
they're from like they're from Ireland. But they're like, hey man,
you want to get in a few Hey man, what happened?
(06:53):
Are We're not going to go out and grab a
few sandwiches? You like, that's not your real voice. Like
when they were out in public, they were Elvis and
and and it was like it was weird, Like I
had cyburns that I could like take off at the
end of the night because I was acting in a role.
And they were like, have you met my wife? Uh?
Her name is Jenny, but I call her Scilla, And
(07:14):
I'm like Jesus man, and now your wife has to
be Priscilla. Like that's a bit heavy, dude.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Like for you you couldn't fow man.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I was working for a company out of Las Vegas
and uh and then one in Toronto and I got
to meet and it was always funny because we'd have
like the people that were just doing it as a gig.
We were musicians and singers and we needed work and
we'd meet the people that were really like, you know,
I am Neil diamond and you're like, no.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
You are not.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
As the audience think you. That's the mind thing.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah. I'll tell you this quick story where I was
working with a guy named Dave I won't give you
his last name, Natta, And Dave Batta was a Rod
Stuart impersonator, and we were in Montreal, Canada, and he said,
after a show, Hey, I've got reservations at this restaurant.
I think it was called Thirsty's or Thirstays or something
like that, like as in like having a punt.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Anyway, we get there and it was like red carpet.
I mean, people are freaking out, they're taking photos and
he's dressed with the Rod hair yeah, and he's got
the glasses. And in his defense, when he dressed like
Rod Stewart, he looked at the same stature that we
get inside, people are at snapping photos. There's about six
of us. We sat down, we ordered a drink, and
(08:31):
about ten minutes after we got inside, the owner comes
up and says, get out of here. Now, do not
come back to my bar, and we're like, what is happening.
Come to find out, he called the place and said
I can get Rod Stewart down there. As himself, and
I was like, okay, jeez man, show business is hard.
(08:51):
So he pretended to be his own manager, who's managing
Rod Stewart, and then pretended to be Rod Stewart. Dave,
if you're listening, sorry, but you know you know the score.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Posse absolutely so when you when you come to town
next month.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Obviously once again, Rose Mound Hotel sold out Freo social
on the twenty sixth of October. Tickets still available through
Metropolis touring dot com. What's the range of inexcess songs
that you do? Are we talking right from the beginning
through to your time with Switch? I mean basically, what's
the reports wire?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I like, well, I don't want to give too much away, Russ,
but it's it's touching on all of the peaks of
where the yeah and the eras that when it started.
So you know, I don't want to give too much away,
but let's just say, let's just say surprise. Let's just
say you will not leave disappointed, Yeah, and probably more
(09:52):
fulfilled because my whole mission. First of all, I would
love to get in access inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame here in North America. That'd be amazing.
I think they've deserved it for a long time now.
And secondly, if you're in the audience and you buy
a ticket, what you're going to see on stage is
a guy who loves those songs as much as you do.
And that's where I'm coming from. It has nothing to
do with like just just my experience with them. My
(10:15):
experience with them is you know, I was three years
old when they played their first gig. Yeah, and so
you know, by the time I was twelve, I had
been introduced to the band and to the sound and
have fallen in love with it ever since then. And
so it's my interpretation of everything that has happened to
lead me up to that. And I tell a few
(10:36):
anecdotes in the show, and and but we keep it moving.
It's not going to be like, oh this guy's still talking,
Holy jeez, come on.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
My play.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
And what we will get as songs we can sing along.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
With absolutely, just like Andrew Ferris.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Just like he said, all right, well, the tickets are
for the Frio Social Show through metropolisturing dot Com. You're
going to have to find someone who's got some gets
for the rose Mount show. And so if you can
go with it touring.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Yeah, Fraser, everybody over there, thank you and thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
To you guys, especially thank you to you Joy to
guess this morning.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Well I had to get dressed at some point, so.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
It is.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
It's time.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
The day is just beginning as you were.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Now, Thank you, bye, see you next month, Lisa,
JD.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Fortune is going to be playing in Excess on Saturday,
October twenty five at the rose Mount Hotel and Frio
Social on Sunday, October twenty six. Got to tell you
the rose Mount show is sold out, it is, but
you can get tickets for the Frio Social show through
metropolistouring dot com. And he's joining us right now.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Good morning, morning, JD.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Well you guys, very well. All right, where do we
find you this morning?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Well right now I'm in Nova Scotia, Canada, okay, and yeah,
things are things are good, you guys, and.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
You're packing your bags. Well, you're ready to come and
see us in Perth. Ah, My bags are pair.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Have you been to Perth before? I know you've been
to Broom, but have you been to Perth?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yes, I've been to Perth. In a funny story, the
last time I was in Perth, I was sitting next
to Tim Ferris on the on the airplane. Yeah, and
he said, it's been so long since I've been out here, mate,
It's been so long since I've been out here, mate.
He said, it's been years, like ten years years since
up and out here mate. And I went, oh wow,
(01:02):
he's like, we're from here, and I was like really.
And then we landed and we did our first interview
and they're like, so, Tim, you were here last year
for the thing. He's like, oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
That's what happens. That's life on that's life on the roads. Yeah,
that's life on the road.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Well, it's actually it's good that you're coming back and
you're doing obviously the rose Mount Hotel, that's all that
you're doing, the free session, because that's that's kind of
how it all began for in Excess here before they
were in Excess, when they were the Farris Brothers, it
was it was playing the pubs of w y They
probably played the rose Mount once or twice.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Oh yeah, I bet they have. And it was you
know grind for them back then. But you know, they
told me stories about just playing across Australia back in
the day when you know, Original Sin was like considered,
you know, a really risky song to play on stage,
you know, and I really felt that because you know,
I've been in situations before where you know, you're not
(02:00):
sure how it's going to go over, you know, and
to have people that might not like what you're doing,
but also love what you're doing is kind of a
weird headspace to be and like we love the band,
just don't play that freakin song, you know what I mean?
Like you know, so yeah, So I'm glad that we've
moved on, and everybody's sort of like, you know, over
(02:23):
that you know kind of thing. But I can't wait
to get down there.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
There are cover bands that pretend to be in excess
and then they're are shows by the guy that was
in in excess. How does the show tell us about
the show? How does it work?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I'm a legitimate band member, yah yeah, former band member,
but legitimately co wrote their last original album with them,
which was a true blessing and an honor love Andrew.
I love everybody, but Andrew is an incredible, you know,
force to be reckoned with. And he's a genius. They're
all geniuses, but it was really nice to be involved
(02:58):
in the songwriting process. So I I got to understand
how seriously they all took it, whereas you know, other
bands that I was in, you know, uh, like I
I'd written a couple of songs with Andrew and and
we'd go back and forth with lyric ideas. But the
other bands that I was, you know before in Excess,
they're like, whatever, whatever rhymes with June, throw it in there,
spoon or moon or whatever. Just let's just like that.
(03:22):
I'm like, it makes no sense. Yeah, this song even
about and it's like, he tell me, tell me a
very valuable lesson. Write a song that people can sing
along to, that's your biggest you know, and then and
then and then make it real and make it something
that's special. So that's, uh, that's the lesson that I
learned from Andrew and in Excess. And sorry, like I said,
(03:43):
I didn't know I was gonna have to put clothes on,
so like.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
I thought, at least it's a wist high shot and
he's got to on.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
The you don't want to know what's going on down here.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And I could say the same.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Right on. I've always wondered what it was like for
you to have to feel to fill the shoes of
someone like Michael Hutchins. He was so huge, so.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Loved, such a rock star.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It must have been I mean, it would have been
an offer you couldn't refuse, but at the same time
incredibly daunting.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Oh absolutely, yeah, Lisa It's like it's like the dog
that catches the car that he's chasing on the street.
What do you do with it once? What do you
do with it once you've got the tire in your mouth?
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Okay, you've made it this far.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Mate, Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
No, now what Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
And if you're not careful, you're gonna get run over.
So I had to approach it. Yeah, I don't think
I've ever filled Michael's shoes. I try my best just
to be myself, which I think is the essence of
rock and roll, and the music is yourself. Leave leave
yourself on stage. That's what I've grown up with. Leave
yourself on stage. No one wants to see you pretend
(05:04):
to be something. And I've never pretended to be anything
other than myself, which has sort of sometimes gotten me
into more trouble than I anticipated, but it also got
me out of that trouble because I'm just myself. And
I think the reason why we all got along is
because there was a good natured vibe amongst all of
(05:24):
us and in excess, and we all were good natured people.
There's no maliciousness. There was nothing was ever malicious, and
I think you know, and just speaking from previous experiences.
I've worked in situations where people are like malicious and
they're like, and how do you expect to be creative
when someone's, you know, trying to do that? So I
was really grateful for in access to just give me
the freedom to be myself. And when they did that,
(05:46):
it was like I finally caught the car, and now
we're going to drive it. Now know what the dog
does and he catches the car, he puts that he
puts that thing in overdrive and drives it down the
highway as fast as.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
He can tongue.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
That's me.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I've had it.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Some people may not know you you were did a
bit of Elvis impersonating in your in your earlier years.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Uh does that?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
I wouldn't call it exactly impersonating my friend. I wasn't
that good, were you? Like I said before, I'm about
as much as of an Elvis impersonator as Jamie Fox
is a rig Charleston personator.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
But he was a great, right, he was great.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
But like I took dramatic arts in school, I took
you in school. I took acting in school, and it
was a gig that came along. And like I worked
with some real Elvis impersonators, like guys that were twenty
four to seven sideburns and you know, and and and
they're from like they're from Ireland. But they're like, hey man,
you want to get in a few Hey man, what happened?
(06:53):
Are We're not going to go out and grab a
few sandwiches? You like, that's not your real voice. Like
when they were out in public, they were Elvis and
and and it was like it was weird, Like I
had cyburns that I could like take off at the
end of the night because I was acting in a role.
And they were like, have you met my wife? Uh?
Her name is Jenny, but I call her Scilla, And
(07:14):
I'm like Jesus man, and now your wife has to
be Priscilla. Like that's a bit heavy, dude.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Like for you you couldn't fow man.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I was working for a company out of Las Vegas
and uh and then one in Toronto and I got
to meet and it was always funny because we'd have
like the people that were just doing it as a gig.
We were musicians and singers and we needed work and
we'd meet the people that were really like, you know,
I am Neil diamond and you're like, no.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
You are not.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
As the audience think you. That's the mind thing.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah. I'll tell you this quick story where I was
working with a guy named Dave I won't give you
his last name, Natta, And Dave Batta was a Rod
Stuart impersonator, and we were in Montreal, Canada, and he said,
after a show, Hey, I've got reservations at this restaurant.
I think it was called Thirsty's or Thirstays or something
like that, like as in like having a punt.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Anyway, we get there and it was like red carpet.
I mean, people are freaking out, they're taking photos and
he's dressed with the Rod hair yeah, and he's got
the glasses. And in his defense, when he dressed like
Rod Stewart, he looked at the same stature that we
get inside, people are at snapping photos. There's about six
of us. We sat down, we ordered a drink, and
(08:31):
about ten minutes after we got inside, the owner comes
up and says, get out of here. Now, do not
come back to my bar, and we're like, what is happening.
Come to find out, he called the place and said
I can get Rod Stewart down there. As himself, and
I was like, okay, jeez man, show business is hard.
(08:51):
So he pretended to be his own manager, who's managing
Rod Stewart, and then pretended to be Rod Stewart. Dave,
if you're listening, sorry, but you know you know the score.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Posse absolutely so when you when you come to town
next month.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Obviously once again, Rose Mound Hotel sold out Freo social
on the twenty sixth of October. Tickets still available through
Metropolis touring dot com. What's the range of inexcess songs
that you do? Are we talking right from the beginning
through to your time with Switch? I mean basically, what's
the reports wire?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I like, well, I don't want to give too much away, Russ,
but it's it's touching on all of the peaks of
where the yeah and the eras that when it started.
So you know, I don't want to give too much away,
but let's just say, let's just say surprise. Let's just
say you will not leave disappointed, Yeah, and probably more
(09:52):
fulfilled because my whole mission. First of all, I would
love to get in access inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame here in North America. That'd be amazing.
I think they've deserved it for a long time now.
And secondly, if you're in the audience and you buy
a ticket, what you're going to see on stage is
a guy who loves those songs as much as you do.
And that's where I'm coming from. It has nothing to
do with like just just my experience with them. My
(10:15):
experience with them is you know, I was three years
old when they played their first gig. Yeah, and so
you know, by the time I was twelve, I had
been introduced to the band and to the sound and
have fallen in love with it ever since then. And
so it's my interpretation of everything that has happened to
lead me up to that. And I tell a few
(10:36):
anecdotes in the show, and and but we keep it moving.
It's not going to be like, oh this guy's still talking,
Holy jeez, come on.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
My play.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
And what we will get as songs we can sing along.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
With absolutely, just like Andrew Ferris.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Just like he said, all right, well, the tickets are
for the Frio Social Show through metropolisturing dot Com. You're
going to have to find someone who's got some gets
for the rose Mount show. And so if you can
go with it touring.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Yeah, Fraser, everybody over there, thank you and thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
To you guys, especially thank you to you Joy to
guess this morning.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Well I had to get dressed at some point, so.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
It is.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
It's time.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
The day is just beginning as you were.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Now, Thank you, bye, see you next month, Lisa,
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