Meet Fortunato

Hi there everyone. We are getting all kinds of atmospheric with this Rochester treasure. Fortuanto’s 2019 single “Mind Flayer” is an instrumental post-rock beast to be enjoyed by any fan of the genre. Curt and the gang stopped by the blog to give us a heads up on their process, and some other fun things.

Self-portraits by Fortunato

Would You Rather

your skin flash like a fast strobe light, or be incredibly slippery? Why?

Curt: I think I would rather have my skin flash like a strobe light. It likely wouldn't do me much good but I think scientists could learn a lot about bioluminescence and possibly figure out how to harvest that energy.

Some questions with Fortunato

What was the creative drive behind your 2019 single “Mind Flayer”?

Curt: "Mind Flayer" was our first opportunity to write as an instrumental band. We had just parted ways with our vocalist and needed something to throw our weight behind. I happened to be fascinated with the Netflix original series "Stranger Things" at the time, particularly the soundtrack and how it used synthesizers from the era in which the show takes place. I just loved how evocative and classic-sounding everything is. That inspired me to mess around with some virtual synths and try and capture that same feel. We've been using synths in just about all the songs we've written since then.

When writing an expansive track like “Mind Flayer” is the process more organic or structured?

Curt: It's a little of both. I tend to be the one to make something out of nothing just as a jumping-off point. I'll give the song a structure and demo it out with some place-holder parts just to nail down a vibe. Then I'll show it to the guys and we tweak the structure as a group and everyone writes their own parts, and we just refine it until it's a finished product. "Mind Flayer" was an interesting time because I had a few stand-alone riffs just laying around that hadn't been used in anything, so I tried to tie them all together into a kind of a storyline. Our other guitarist at the time, our good buddy Jay, wrote all of his parts by jamming the song in my attic one night until he had it just how he wanted it. For the synth parts, I worked with Josh Pettinger, who engineered and produced the song. I really didn't know what I was doing, he had slightly more of an idea than me, but we just turned knobs and pushed around MIDI files until we had what we needed.

How has the quarantine affected collaboration between all of you?

Curt: It's been really tough. We were out on the road the weekend before New York locked everything down and we were just starting to really hit our stride, probably more than ever before. We had so much momentum, but then we pretty much had to hang it up completely for a while. Some of us had a job, some didn't. Brendan even went back home to California for a while. We've all been in a room together with a handful of times since March. We're very slowly getting back into our old rhythm now, though. I've gotten really comfortable working with Logic Pro out of necessity. I've hammered out a few new songs that we've been able to develop a little bit so when we are together we can really maximize our productivity and everyone can work on parts on their own time.

What is the best venue in Rochester NY?

Curt: We consider the Bug Jar our home. We have great rapport with their booking staff and they give so much control over events to the artists. It's a place everyone in town knows and goes to shows at regularly. Plus they have a pool table and cheap drinks. Hard to argue with that. Tommy says his favorite is Dubland Underground but that hasn't been operational since like... 2013? It was definitely a cool little basement space but it's in the past now Tommy! You can't go back! Live in the now!

What song are you most looking forward to playing live when concerts are a thing again? Why?

Curt: That depends who you ask. Like I said before, we've got some new songs in the works that are going to be very rad and really special in a live setting. But your newest creation is always your favorite, so we're definitely biased there. I'm particularly pumped for a new one that we've been calling "Carpenter." It's got tons of cool synth sounds and it's just a generally tight track. And it's only like four minutes long, which is absolutely not our modus operandi. Tommy is most excited to play "Mind Flayer." It's got a vibe all its own and you get a real sense of accomplishment after making it through an eight and a half minute song. On a completely separate note, Jacob, Mitch and I play in an emo cover band and we've been learning "Since U Been Gone" as covered by A Day To Remember and that one is actually a lot of fun to play. Jacob jokingly said it's the one he's most looking forward to, but I think it might be his real answer, too.

Do you have any upcoming projects you are excited about?

Curt: We're just so stoked to get back in studio. We have a lot of stuff we want to get recorded and are champing at the bit. Also, since quarantine started I haven't been going out and buying food and drinks for myself, so I ended up spending a significant amount of money on new gear. I've been able to mess around with some of it but when I can actually play a show with it, it shall be glorious, maybe obnoxious.

What would the title of your memoir/biography be?

Jacob: "I'M HOT, TURN ON THE A/C!'

Tommy: "Read Me on the John"

Mitch: "The Cask of Armadillo"

Who has been your biggest support throughout your career as Fortunato?

Curt: Our families and our sweethearts have been hugely supportive. Brendan's mom is a big fan even though she's never seen us and has never met anyone else in the band. My girlfriend Chef Leigh Ann is possibly our biggest fan, which is extra crazy because our genre of music is definitely not her thing. But that's never mattered, she's always repped our merch, shouted us out on social media, come to see our shows out on the road. Essentially she's done whatever she can to make us as people feel validated in our efforts. And that's not just me saying that, the other guys made it a point to say so too.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Check out our merch on our Bandcamp page, stream our music, follow us on Insta and FB and Twitter, and all that jazz. Also wear a mask, seriously. We want to play shows again. And people are dying when you don't. Reduce your carbon footprint and take care of the environment. Treat LGBTQ+ people like people. Back Lives Matter. Justice for Ahmaud Arbrey, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Daniel Prude, Elijah McClain, and the countless other people of color executed without a trial by police. Seriously, take it upon yourself to bring equity and justice to your community. The enemies of freedom rely on your apathy, your inaction, and your complacency. Eliminate those traits in yourself and expect the same from those within your sphere of influence. I could seriously go on for a long, long time (and sometimes I do on our Twitter account). I know we're just a stupid rock band but it's so important that these things get said as often as possible.

Fortunato