VANCOUVER -- Canadian J.D. Fortune essentially won the life lottery when he became the new singer of Aussie dance-rock veterans INXS, who play a sold-out two-night stand at Massey Hall starting tomorrow night.
Just ask guitarist Tim Farriss, 48, who has become like a big brother to the 32-year-old Fortune.
"I think that what J.D. won, with this whole thing, is the lifestyle," Farriss tells the Sun inside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, just hours before the group launched their world tour in front of sold-out crowd on Jan. 18. "You know, he went from living in his car to the penthouse apartment at the Intercontinental overlooking Sydney Harbour. The whole thing for him must be a serious, serious life change."
Fortune, a native of Mississauga who was raised in New Glasgow, N.S., before returning to Ontario at age 15, truly finds himself in an enviable place.
His rags-to-riches journey began after winning Rockstar: INXS, the popular summer reality series produced by Mark Burnett, who was in the audience for the band's world tour opener.
The reality show found the band looking for a replacement for their late, great frontman, Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997.
As the now familiar story goes, Fortune -- a former Elvis impersonator -- says he was living out of his car under a bridge near Cherry Street and Lake Shore Blvd. E. in Toronto when he first heard about the Rockstar: INXS auditions.
"It was really bizarre, just down on my luck, in a bad way, and then this all came about," says Fortune, seated beside Farriss and his brother, drummer Jon Farriss, 44
"I'm going to take the band there (in Toronto). When we went to shoot some of the stuff for the TV show, to show where I was from, as we were driving one of the producers from L.A. said, 'Is it true that you lived under a bridge?' And I said, 'When we get there there's going to be four broken Corona bottles and Viscount cigarette butts everywhere.' We pulled up and there were these four broken bottles."
Not surprisingly, Fortune says the two-night stand at Massey Hall will have very special meaning for him.
"Other than playing Nova Scotia, Toronto will be the most electric for me because it'll be a mark of closure and then we can continue on," he says. "I think out of the (2,800) or so people per night ... half of that's my family. It's almost a year to the day that I auditioned for the show. On Feb. 4 I auditioned, and we're playing Feb. 6. So, for me, it's going to be very (full-circle). Kind of the end of the journey into the beginning of another. It just kind of closes a chapter. I think, for me, that'll give me complete closure of what actually took place in the last six months was huge. These guys weren't lying. This is the greatest thing that could happen to anybody. And it just keeps getting better. We've become closer friends. I've become a much better musician. I feel like they're my brothers."
After being named the new INXS frontman, Fortune immediately went into the studio to record the group's latest album, Switch. The disc spawned the band's biggest-ever hit in North America with the first single Pretty Vegas, which Fortune co-wrote on Rockstar: INXS.
The tour is also going well, with shows selling out in minutes and additional dates added in several markets. Details of a new Canadian tour will be announced Tuesday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto with the entire band present.
INXS also plays what's being called "a passport party" tonight in Windsor, Ont., as part of the Super Bowl festivities in Detroit, with E.T. Canada providing highlights during the pre-game show.
Commercial and critical benefits aside, Fortune's presence in INXS has reminded the band's five other members of just what a choice gig they have.
"J.D. just reminded us of just how great music is and how wonderful and lucky we all are to be in a band," says Jon Farriss. "He's so genuinely into the music that sometimes it's almost embarrassing, because he says, 'Oh, my God, I love this song so much.' And that sort of enthusiasm makes you appreciate, 'Isn't it wonderful to have that singer, who is just so in love with the music and so respectful and proud.' It's a little a bit Kumbaya what I'm saying, but in a way, there is a level of camaraderie and respect."
Speaking of brotherly love, while there was no spoken tribute to Hutchence during the world tour opener, the new song Afterglow, written in his memory, did seem to poignantly mark his absence.
Tim Farriss says the real tribute to Hutchence is that they're continuing on as a band.
Adds Jon Farriss, "Just by moving forward is in respect to Michael because the band's moving on and playing the songs he wrote. The legacy of what we did with Michael can never be taken away."
For those attending the concerts, there's another bonus for fans of Rockstar: INXS as co-finalist Marty Casey and his band The Lovehammers are the opening act.
In fact, at the world tour opener, the reception for Casey was just as loud and enthusiastic as it was for Fortune. Not that the former competitors are sharing tour buses or anything.
"We're very fortunate to have the Lovehammers opening up for us," Fortune says. "They've got other things they've got to do and we respect that. I lived with the guy for 31/2 months. We're good with the living stuff. I just want to see him on stage now."
Prior to the Jan. 18 tour launch on the West Coast, the band hunkered down in their hometown of Sydney to rehearse for about nine days at the Enmore Theatre, performing on the last rehearsal day for about 200 people.
"Basically it turned out to be a gig for our friends and family which was actually really nice," says Jon Farriss. "We made it really clear, 'This is a rehearsal.' In fact, they were basically a fly on the wall so we could stop and say, 'Let's fix this' or, 'Let's change this.' It was extremely raw."
Adds Tim Farriss: "It was very relaxed. We came out sort of telling jokes, there were no lights and no PA. Kind of, '(Bassist) Garry (Beers), did you just fart?'"
"And Garry did fart, I think," Jon Farriss adds with a smile.
In all seriousness, nine days may not seem like a lot of time for tour rehearsals, but the band -- who formed in 1977 -- like to keep it loose and spontaneous on stage.
"We ordinarily never really labour too much over rehearsals," Jon Farriss says. "Because most of what our show's about kind of happens on stage, develops organically, and we don't sort of mark spots on the stage and go, 'At this point of this song we do this.' It just sort of flows. So I suppose, like every tour we've ever done, it kind of just develops."
Adds Tim Farriss, "You know, we're not The Eagles. We're not going to do exactly the same thing every night. And that's really exciting. We've been playing together so long, that it's a great opportunity to do that."
Rehearsing in Sydney in January meant Fortune also spent the December holidays Down Under at Tim Farriss' house with his family.
And yes, the locals were nice to him.
"It was great," Fortune says. "Oh my God. Everybody was so, so accommodating and really warm -- pardon the pun, it was 110 degrees everyday.
"It was really cool, just walking down the street, it was like, 'Hey J.D.! What's up dude?' It wasn't like any sort of weirdness."
What INXS played at their world tour opener on Jan. 18 in Vancouver:
Suicide Blonde
New Sensation
Devil's Party
Mystify
Disappear
By My Side
Afterglow
Taste It
Original Sin
Hungry
Never Let You Go
What You Need
Need You Tonight
Pretty Vegas
Kick
Devil Inside
ENCORE
Stairs
Never Tear Us Apart
Don't Change
O Canada (J.D. Solo)
