Just wrapping up a massive Australian tour, Richard Fortus – famed guitarist of Guns N Roses and now The Dead Daisies – takes some time to chat to the AU about how he approaches The Dead Daisies and their reputation as a supergroup; what’s in store for him both as a solo artist and as a band member; and how touring the band’s material has been.
The term “supergroup” gets thrown around a lot… what are your thoughts on the term? Especially in regards to The Dead Daisies?
I absolutely agree. The Daisies are definitely a super group. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that we are a spectacular group!
What are you most enjoying during the Australian Tour? And what are you looking forward to about the remaining dates?
During my career as a touring musician, I never had the chance to play the famed Australian pub circuit. This was my first experience and it was everything I’d hoped for and more. Though I’d have been fairly circumspect to have attempted this with a lesser band.
You have released your self titled album in Australia. How’s has the reaction been and how does it feel to finally have it out?
That’s a tough question for me, as the record was done by Jon Stevens and David Lowy on their own. They really only put the band together after the album was done. Since then, we have been writing together as a band and I feel we have written and recorded some amazing songs. I can’t wait to release them. The new songs are very different to the album that was released. It’s a lot heavier and riff oriented and feels more like our live show to me.
The band consists of members from various successful bands from all over the world. Will we see you playing any old songs from these bands or is it strictly Dead Daisies only? What can we expect from the shows?
We are treating this as a new band. We aren’t doing any of our other bands’ material. This is very much it’s own animal. We do play a few covers of bands that influenced us. We are also playing a few of the new songs that we’ve written since putting the band together.
You have all been in the music industry for many years and played a number of festivals during that time. How has the festival scene changed over the years?
I don’t know if the festivals have actually changed, or if it’s only my perception that has changed. When you first start playing massive festivals, it’s all pretty overwhelming. It does seem that now, the rest of the world has caught up to Europe with how to properly organise and run a festival.
You’ve toured the group overseas; how have receptions been overseas and how has it compared to back here in Australia?
The reception in Europe was great. Israel was definitely a highlight. It seems that the band has really started to catch on there and there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation around the shows. The crowd was amazing. Fantastic energy. Touring the US over the summer was a great experience as well. I have been touring the US since I was 15 and I wasn’t sure how this band would go down with the Uproar audience.
I was very pleasantly surprised at how well we were received. We are very rooted in classic rock and we were playing to a crowd that was there to see Alice In Chains, Jane’s Addiction, and Coheed and Cambria. It proved to me that people are really hungry for classic rock and that there is a real void there. I think that the Daisies can definitely fill that!
After the Australian tour, what’s next for the Dead Daisies?
I’m in LA now, doing rehearsals for a Guns N Roses tour of South America and then a 3 week residency in Las Vegas and a couple of festival shows. After that, I hope to finish up some more Dead Daisies songs and the rest of the next Guns N Roses album.
