INXS drummer talks about balancing touring with kids and collaborating with guest singers

So I'm in the middle of a phone interview with Jon Farriss -- rock star drummer for INXS -- when his other phone rings. He has to pick it up. It's his wife, Kerry Norris, at home with their two kids in Sydney while he's on tour.

"Can I call you back? Are you OK? All righty. Speak to you soon. Bye," he sweetly says to her, sounding like a love-struck lead in a John Cusack romantic comedy.

He explains he will have to call her back to find out, "what kind of hellish night has my wife had with the baby and the tot."

Farriss says being a father to a 9-month-old son and a 2-year-old daughter is terrific, but it requires much "damage control."

"It (parenthood) is like one of those obstacle courses, where you've got to jump out of a helicopter and take out 15 guys before you get killed," he jokes.

Before the kids, he and his wife used to sit around and watch TV and movies. Now everything revolves around sleep.

"It's tag team: 'You can get some sleep tonight' ... or 'Get some sleep tonight, because this one has a runny nose, or this one's hurt their nose.' "

Fortunately, thanks to being in a famous band, he's sharpened his skills with damage control and conflict resolution.

"That's exactly right. INXS is a family," he says. "We have to give each other the respect and the slack to expand. There's biorhythms!"

GUEST SINGERS ARE LIKE LOVERS

INXS has been juggling a lot of different musicians' biorhythms for years. After the death of singer Michael Hutchence in 1997, the lineup of INXS has remained consistent -- except for a long string of guest singers.

For their 2010 album, "Original Sin," INXS rerecorded INXS hits, such as "New Sensation" and "Beautiful Girl," with Tricky, Rob Thomas, John Mayer, Ben Harper, Pat Monahan and Nikka Costa.

Farriss commanded a big role in organizing "Original Sin," which was challenging because of the parenthood obstacle course: "In that period of time, to assemble that record, I had two kids."

But INXS enjoyed collaborating with guests even when Hutchence was alive. Hutchence loved working in the studio and onstage with Chrissie Hynde and Ray Charles, Farriss says.

"Mike was always really into that idea" of musical alliances, he says.

Farriss says we nonmusicians should think of guest singers as brief lovers.

"On one hand, people fantasize about being single and running around with babes. That comes with its own perils. Yes, it's great to be free and wild, and spread it all around," he says.

"On the other hand, there's something to be said about getting involved with someone, or getting to know the person."

So the band is touring again with a main singer, J.D. Fortune. They found him through a talent search on the 2005 CBS show "Rock Star: INXS."

For a while, Fortune was gone from INXS, because Fortune had publicly "made the story that we'd fight and all this sort of stuff, and he created all this stuff that wasn't the facts at all," Farriss says.

"He learned a very valuable lesson. You've got to be careful what you do with stuff like that," Farriss says.

'I NEED YOU,' TOM JONES

One of INXS' collaborations was with a Vegas legend. It started in 1987 or 1988, when INXS came to town and the band was told Tom Jones was performing INXS' big hit "Need You Tonight" on the Strip.

INXS reciprocated by playing Jones' "It's Not Unusual" in concert here. Eventually, they teamed with him in a studio.

"We did some stuff with Tom Jones a few years ago," he says. "We went to Willie Nelson's studio in Austin, Texas. ... We recorded a track from memory, and it was awesome."

And yet?

"I don't know what happened to it!"

So, somewhere in the world is a recording of INXS playing with Tom Jones. Wherever it is, it must be groovy.

Doug Elfman's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Contact him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.