Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Izzy Fortune. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Izzy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

“Poppy Roscoe in: Sea Fortune and the Desert Rats” is the latest project in the band’s saga. Izzy Fortune originally had an idea for a children’s book about a group of rats living in the Sonoran Desert, who form a rock band and explore the world, based on the traveling he had done as part of school and work. After writing a group of songs, all the thematic pieces fell into place and it evolved into a concept album that incorporated music videos to tell a story. The end result is a home-brewed, full-length, mixed-media epic that uses music to drive a compelling story about life on the road and adventure as a musical rat. It’s now released and available on YouTube to the public here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v97QKLmY2bA

When Poppy Roscoe first wanted to spin up again in 2022 after a hiatus, there was no existing network to start with and nowhere to begin work. The outlook was bleak, with no animation support, no recording studio, no money or reputation to lean on, not even a performing band.
Starting from the ground-up: Izzy Fortune rebuilt the band, opened a small recording studio, learned to animate, and (earlier this year) completed the project and released it for the world. All of the music writing/recording, filming, editing, and even animation were done in house.
The band considers “Sea Fortune and the Desert Rats” to be creative proof-of-concept for future video and musical projects; not only is it now a tangible goal to create and finish the content, but we’ve shown to the world and ourselves that we’re on the track to create something that’s, you know, actually good.

Izzy Fortune’s main goal for Poppy Roscoe has always been to create a Magnus Opus— a grand and lavish work with a scope that reaches as far as possible and stretches the band to new and creative limits. As cliched as it sounds, the wheels are spinning towards a space opera.
The project currently has thirty-five all-original, multi-genre songs written and demoed, with over half of them nearing completion for final recording. While the music is mostly written and played by Poppy Roscoe, the idea is to create a small community of local artists appearing as features on certain songs, wherein guest bands are brought in to perform songs to varying degrees. (I.e.: Poppy Roscoe wrote a metal song, then will merge for that song with a local metal band to help perform/ write the song on the album). This collaboration would take place with the idea that because each song can vary so vastly, writing and cooperating with experts in their respective genres would serve the song and therefore the work as a whole.
The writing itself is presented as a combination Grand-Semiseria Opera with Kabuki elements, with no directly spoken dialogue spread across five nohs (acts). The story has several characters and plot lines, all of which are delivered visually and through song lyrics.
The story has been in development since 2019, where it was placed on hiatus due to the COVID-91 pandemic. Since then, other smaller projects have been undertaken by the band and Toadwarts (outlined in later sections). Poppy Roscoe is recouping and trying to build a dedicated fan-base before work on Lyzards re-commences. Projected release-date is scheduled for summer of 2025.

Stepping back, the first project Izzy Fortune ever created for Poppy Roscoe was another concept album called “The Devilish Dance”, which is currently in the process of being remaster for a release later this spring. It was all written and recorded in a small, one-bedroom apartment by myself with a little help from one of my friends at the time. While it wasn’t exactly perfect, it lit a creative spark within him that gave us hope and the realization that making this sort of art was at least feasible.

We’ve also just finished work on our latest album, “Manzanita”, which is set to release April of this year. Izzy Fortune initially wanted this project to be a short jaunt into 60’s garage rock in the form of an EP, but we ended up liking the music too much and now it’s snowballed into a full blown LP. I think that shows how proud we are of the new material.
We’re also working on another music-video like foray to sharpen our animation chops for the next projects.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Every rocker got into music for more or less the same things: sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, money, fame, you name it. It’s an easy cop out to say that’s the reason, and being famous in some form is what every musician is striving towards– not many people take the stage to be ignored or outright hated.
All the perks are really nice, but it isn’t really as rewarding as the glitz would make it out to seem.

For Poppy Roscoe anyways, it’s always been about making music that that members of the band would want to listen to freely. It might sound conceded or arrogant, but it’s difficult to describe the satisfaction of experiencing the art you’ve created, and an even greater high knowing other people feel the same way.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Space Opera.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.poppy-roscoe.epk.fm
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppyroscoe/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@poppyroscoe
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/73RSy65aClEQFNpuM9mZiv

Image Credits
Toadwart Records Eye of Newt Productions