EMQ’s With FORTUNE CHILD
EMQ’s With FORTUNE CHILD
Hello everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with USA Rockers, Fortune Child. Huge thanks to their bassist, Jon Ward, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Jon Ward. I am the bassist of the band. Our drummer Mel and our guitarist Buddy originally got this project started between the two of them. They spent a while jamming and working out riffs together. When they decided to expand to a four piece, they met Christian (vocals) and myself through the Jacksonville, FL music scene and brought us in to round out the group. Things clicked and we went from there.
How did you come up with your band name?
The name Fortune Child started as kind of a joke, poking fun at people who got whatever they wanted without having to work for it. But one day we saw the phrase a bit differently – it seemed to have more of a spiritual meaning to us, and referred to a kind of universal “fortune” that everyone had access to as a soul in the world. After that, the original joke meaning kind of fell away and we don’t think of it like that anymore. It took on that more spiritual meaning and that’s when we decided to use it as the band’s name.
What country are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We live in Jacksonville, FL. The rock scene is alive and well around here. The southern half of Florida (especially Orlando and Tampa) are somewhat bigger for Metal, while north Florida, being close to Georgia, has a bigger scene for Southern Rock, Blues, and jam music. But throughout Florida there is kind of a cross pollination of those two threads.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single or Video)
Our newest single, ‘Tie The Line,’ came out on Feb 18, and is the third single from our album “Close To The Sun,” which came out in full on March 1st. We are very excited to share that the song is available in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music and Tidal, in addition to the standard version, available on all streaming platforms. The first two singles, ‘Far’ and ‘Slow Down’ are available now.
Who have been your greatest influences?
I think all of us in Fortune Child grew up with two big musical influences in common – the vintage, classic rock of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Free, and so on, and the beloved 90’s and 2000’s rock that was big when we were growing up – Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Tool, The Mars Volta, etc. Those two threads guided all of us coming up, and merge in a unique way in the Fortune Child sound.
What first got you into music?
I can’t speak for the whole group, but as for me personally, I was put in piano lessons at a very young age (four or five) and took up guitar a couple years after that. It was pretty clear to me even since then that music was the only future career I had much interest in. As I grew up and learned more, my dedication to music grew simultaneously.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
As a group, we are fans of some of the modern-vintage Rock bands out there right now, like Rival Sons or Dirty Honey. We also are big fans of modern Blues artists like Gary Clark, Jr.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Welcome To Rockville in Florida. It’s one of the biggest rock festivals in America and happens every year right here in our backyard. We’d love to get an inside perspective on the event and play to a great crowd alongside some of our own favorite bands in the business.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Rock fans in Florida tend to be pretty reasonable. Can’t say I’ve received anything too weird. Some cash tips or a round of drinks usually does the trick around here!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
We want to recapture the spirit of a time when rock and roll (and music in general) was more straightforward and punchy and music wasn’t filled with production, electronics, overdubs and synths. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (I personally like to make electronic music as a side hobby), but as a band we really resonate with the simplicity of pure walls of sound coming straight out of the amps and drums. So our message might be to remind people to experience music viscerally in the present moment. To feel the physical sound waves move through them instead of overthinking and over-digitalizing things.
If you could bring one metal/rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
To sneak my own individual answer in there – Jerry Garcia! But as a group, we’d have to say maybe Jimi Hendrix or John Bonham.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? What do you hate?
We all really enjoy the expression and catharsis of what we get to do together every day. Playing music for a living ensures you always have a way to express yourself and get in touch with your center. We also love the community we are in and all the friends we get to make through playing and recording. What I do hate sometimes are the long drives and weird hours the job sometimes requires – lots of nights driving between cities between midnight and 4am! But it’s always worth it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I would love to see an environment in which artists received a lot more revenue from streaming. In the current climate, even huge artists with millions of streams still get pretty insignificant amounts of revenue from it. I’m not an economist, and I’m sure it’s complicated. But we feel like there must be a way to balance out the scales a bit – maybe it will happen in the future.
Name one of your all-time favorite albums?
Two of my personal favorites are “Lateralus” by Tool and Deloused “In The Comatorium” by The Mars Volta. If we had a collective favorite album as a group, it’s hard to pick anything besides “Led Zeppelin IV”.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
I’m a huge fan of vinyl. I think vinyl offers the most lifelike sound and fullest experience, while downloads offer the most flexibility and convenience. Cassettes and CDs fall somewhere in the middle on that spectrum, but they all have their place.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
The first time we played in Orlando last year turned into a really magical experience. We opened for Blacktop Mojo at Soundbar (formerly called Backbooth). It’s not an enormous venue, but there was a full crowd and great energy. We’ve all been in a lot of bands and played a lot of enjoyable shows, but this one was the first show with Fortune Child where everything REALLY clicked. We were revved up to show a new out of town crowd what we could do, and caught some kind of wave that gave us a special, electrifying energy. I think ever since that show we’ve known that we could do something special with this band if we work hard and play our cards right.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Personally I’d love to be a graphic designer, or maybe a video game developer. I can’t speak for the rest of the group – I think we all see music as our only path!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Chris Cornell, Justin Chancellor.
What’s next for the band?
We have several shows and festivals coming up in the next couple months. Our main goals at this time are growing our following in the southeast and worldwide, performing as much as we can, and getting the album to as many ears as we can. We’d like to work towards doing more extensive tours in the next year or two, and have plans for another album down the road.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
You can find Fortune Child on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tiktok, Spotify, Apple Music, all other streaming platforms, and at our own official website:
http://www.fortunechildmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/fortunechildmusic
https://twitter.com/fortunechild
https://www.instagram.com/fortunechildmusic/
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
I’m ashamed to admit that I had to look them up… They look more biscuit-like to me though!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
We want to mention how excited we are to have the new album mixed and produced by Kevin Elson, former producer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Europe, Mr. Big, and a whole host of other amazing bands. Having him on board has been a huge honor and helped us get a great sound on the record. We also had a team of other great engineers working on it – Jim DeVito at Retrophonics Studios in St. Augustine, FL (where we recorded the record), David Frangioni (CEO of Modern Drummer magazine), and Carlos “El Loco” Bedoya all had a hand in bringing the tracks to life, and the record was mastered by the legendary Rodney Mills. We want to say thank you to all of these world class engineers for putting their stamp on the album, and thank you to everyone that has supported us so far along the way! We are just getting started and are excited to create a lot more music going forward into the future. Please follow us on whatever social media platforms you prefer, listen to the singles and the new album, and share it with your friends! Your support means the world to us.
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