Los Angeles, California’s South Bay area is one of the most picturesque settings along the west coast. As a musical pearl washed up on the shoreline, Fortunate Youth is prepared to share their hometown sounds with another lengthy tour and new releases, just in time for the holidays!
Fortunate Youth has been hard at work in the studio, recording a new, full-length album with esteemed reggae-rock producer, Lewis Richards, at his very own 17th Street Recording Studio in Costa Mesa, CA. With a new album slated for release in the spring of 2013, lead singer and frontman for Fortunate Youth, Dan Kelly, shared his thoughts on the recording process: “The recording process with this Fortunate Youth album is different from the other albums in the that we made it specifically for our listeners. We took the next album like the pros do, and really thought through pre-production before we went into the studio. The Instrumental part of the album was already fully laid out before we even went into the studio because our guys worked so hard in the pre-production stage.”
In terms of the writing process, Dan Kelly explained, “My main focus on writing lyrics for this album was to reach to new fans around the world. With songs like ‘Positive’ and ‘Peace, Love, and Unity’ we want to send them the best message possible to keep their heads high.”
After Fortunate Youth toured through Costa Rica this fall, a worldwide message is what every band strives for. To broaden a band’s audience further, collaborations can do just the trick. And, Dan Kelly responded to that inquiry simply, “Our friend Steffano from Red Bredren has a insane hook on one of our songs. We have a few others as well that will remain un-announced until the album release. Some heavy hitters on this album!”
So, as fans anxiously await a new album, Fortunate Youth is also set to hit the road to bring their fresh sounds from Hermosa Beach, CA to a venue near you. One of the band’s premiere sponsors, RAW Rolling Papers will be presenting Fortunate Youth’s headlining tour dubbed the Rolling in the New Year Tour, beginning on December 27th in Dallas, Texas. The tour will span nine dates from the end of December to the middle of January, before Fortuante Youth plays direct support for Santa Cruz, California’s reggae-punk-rock outfit, The Expendables.
If you thought those were all the gifts from the Fortunate Youth camp, you are sadly mistaken. On December 18th, just in time for last minute holiday shopping, Fortunate Youth will be releasing their live, acoustic recordings from Denver, Colorado at the MoBoogie Loft. Fortunate Youth’s manager and head of Warm Wind Management, Jared Segawa, told The Pier, “This release will pretty much be all the songs from the MoBoogie recordings that you see on YouTube.”
With that in mind, if you are needing your Fortunate Youth fix, awaiting their next release or live performance, go check some of those live videos to cure that musical hunger!
Upcoming Tour Dates
Dec 27 @ The Green Elephant. Dallas, TX
Dec 28 @ Mango’s. Houston, TX
Dec 29 @ Flamingo Cantina. Austin, TX
Dec 30 @ House of Rock. Corpus Christi, TX
Dec 31 @ Luna Live. Lake Charles, LA
Jan 02 @ Taos Solar Center. Taos, NM
Jan 03 @ The Green Room. Flagstaff, AZ
Jan 04 @ Martini Ranch. Scottsdale, AZ
Jan 10 @ The Coach House. San Juan Capistrano, CA
Jan 18 @ Fulton 55. Fresno, CA **
Jan 19 @ The Date Shed. Indio, CA **
Jan 20 @ B Ryder’s. Bakersfield, CA **
** With The Expendables
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Article By: Kris Siuta
Photo By: Bill Colbridge
Watch: Fortunate Youth – “Sweet Love” Live @ MoBoogie Loft (Denver, CO)