Back in 2004, INXS raised more than a few eyebrows when it announced Rock Star: INXS, a competition reality show in which the band held high-profile auditions for a new frontman to replace the late Michael Hutchence, who died tragically in 1997.

Shortly after the conclusion of the show, which resulted in the hiring of J. D. Fortune as the band’s new singer, all three of the band’s guitarists – brothers Tim and Andrew Farriss, and Kirk Pengilly – sat down for a chat with Guitar Player.

Questioned first, with a fair bit of skepticism, about Rock Star: INXS, Tim Farriss was more than happy to defend the televised audition process, contrasting it with other music-centered reality shows of the time.

“We knew that doing the show would be like going into the dentist’s chair,” Farriss explained to GP. “You know it’s going to hurt, but you’ll come out with much better teeth.

“We figured our old fans would be pissed off, but, in the end, we finally had great rock and roll on television, and someone had to come along and knock that American Idol crap out of the way. That show is destroying music.”