June 25: Special thanks to Pietro Modica, Manager at Palazzo Guiscardo, for sending these exclusive pics of Roger and Gisela taken on june 18th 2010 and to Luca Mori, Deputy Mayor of the Pietrasanta Municipality, who is a great Duran Duran fan and organized with Modica the event at Palazzo Guiscardo. This morning they also informed me that they have some more projects going on with Roger so he might come back in Pietrasanta for a major event in the near future. They can't add more at the moment 'cos they are still working on it [watch this space]. All pics are taken at Palazzo Guiscardo where Roger and Gisela with Roger's Pr Erin McKee attended Ferdinado Cioffi's photographs exhibition [as we already reported]. Michael Guttman, the great violinist, delighted the guests with his music. The only pic in the photo-report taken out of the Palazzo is taken at the Enoteca Marcucci, the most famous restaurant in Pietrasanta, where the couple spent the evening. Click on the banner below to get to the photo report page. Enjoy!

 

June 23: Exclusive Report | Roger in Tuscany - Italy | On June 16th, during the Pitti Uomo fashion week in Florence, Roger Taylor played a deejay set at the 48th 'L'altro Uomo Party' which took place at the Villa Castelletti in Signa. Fans reports that it was a fantastic night [thanks to Katia Romani for sharing these very nice pics]. On June 18th Roger also attended the opening of the exhibition 'Portraits' by photographer Ferdinando Cioffi at Palazzo Guiscardo hotel in Pietrasanta.
Event involved all local authorities and special guests with a special appearance by Roger [with his wife Gisella], Andy from the italian band Blue Vertigo and musicist Michael Guttman.

Local newspaper 'Il Tirreno' reports that Roger has been filmed in Pietrasanta by a television crew for a British reality show he's taking part in. "I know Roger Taylor for some time through his friendship with Boy George and his manager Erin McKee," said Pietro Modica, Director of Palazzo Guiscardo Hotel, at the local newspaper. "He knows this area, he loves Versilia and Pietrasanta. On saturday 19 moreover, Taylor with his wife Gisella went to Bagno Sandra in Forte dei Marmi.

McKee has interviewed Roger in Forte dei Marmi, I translated the most interesting questions of the interview, originally published in italian.

What's more exciting, being on stage - any stage - or being in the studio?

Any live performance is exciting. As a group we are all born to be on stage and I think we all live for the adrenaline rush you have when you're in front of a crowd of fans. It is said that musicians, singers, suffer from low self-esteem , that’s why they need the applause of the crowd...

What was your worst mistake as a DJ?

I was playing at the Blue Marlin in Ibiza and in the middle of my set - by mistake - I pressed the 'stop' on the console that was airing in that moment: was there that I realized that silence is the worst enemy to a DJ - but at least everyone realized that I was there.

How do you see your career as a DJ in the future and which goals you want to accomplish. Are we going to see you more often in Italy?
Of course, you'll see me more often because I love Italy, the food, the culture, the people. Italians like Duran Duran and they love electronic music and this is a perfect combination. I would be very happy to continue deejaing around the world and we are also beginning to produce some of our dance songs, which should come out this year.

If you only had one day on Earth before leaving for a space mission, how would you spend it?
Would soon get out all my records and listen to them all day, then obviously I'd give a couple of kisses to my wife before leaving.

What does the "luxury" for you?
Refined sheets and a very good cushion.

What can we expect from the upcoming Duran Duran album?
Ha ha! You have to wait to know, but I assure you, it is worth it.

June 20: John Taylor celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday with a huge party in England [news from Nile Rodgers's facebook page - thanks Tin for the heads up]. John just moved back to Uk to stay there untill the record will be finished.

We'd like to add duranasty.com's 'Happy Birthday' to the chorus of birthday wishes coming from the entire fan community.

John, thanks for being a main creative force in the band and for putting heart and soul in everything you do. We appreciate it! Have a special day!

[download the special 'John's 50th birthday' splash page]

In the recent Katy Kafe exclusively on duranduranmusic.com John discusses various topics. If you are a member login into the site to listen an enthusiastic John Taylor. I think it's worth reporting the news that John gives about 13th. "It's been a slow year" John says, "we had a couple of gigs last month, we went back into the studio, we really had to look at what it was that we had and we where at, and we actually had a few really good days that changed the energy of the project [...], we were all excited, we were all hearing an album, so it's really exciting, we'll be back in the studio next week". The band will go on for a period of 4 weeks to finish the album. "That doesn't include mixing", John continues, "but the important thing is to get the songs finished and then we can go to get a deal... which I have no idea what kind of deal it's going to be for this album, [maybe you'll have something to hear before the end of the year]". About a possible record deal John says "I'd like to be reunited with our catalogue, I know the catalogue is with EMI, I think that's the best way for us, we are gonna try to make that happen".

Not long ago in the official site has been posted an audio file, a roundtable with Simon, Nick and Roger answering fan's questions. I submitted one, about the direction of the new album and it got an answer from the three Arcadia guys. Below the original question with the guys's answer [bear in mind that the roundtable has been recorded in march].

Salvo: Guys, you have already produced a good quantity of material for Duran Duran’s 13th album, so is there any orientation about the kind of impact you want to have with the first single? I mean, maybe is too early to say anything, but if you had to pick a song to represent the new album from the ones you have written so far, would you be mostly oriented to a ballad kind of slow song like Falling Down and the always contemporary Ordinary World or would you pick something more rhythmic, danceable a la Sunrise and Electric Barbarella?

Roger: very early in the day to say that
Nick: Little previous, little previous Salvo
Simon asks: Salvo is asking to pick from the record we have made already? The lost album? Or that represent the new album?
Simon: there's not a lot of similarity wise with ...
Nick: Could be further away from the last album
Simon: maybe 'Tempted' is a little bit like stuff... maybe?
Nick: Not really.
Roger: there's a lot of up stuff, there's a lot of rhythmic up-tempo with really good grooves and stuff, so Salvo that is going to fairly represent most of the album...
Nick: definitively more up tempo
Simon: you know, we didn't take RCM as a starting point for this album, enough time has gone by to do something completely different, with a compleeetely different style, and producer, we love that freedom...

More from John's recent Kafe: John speaks about Mick Karn, who has recently been diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer: "it's terribly sad, I was in touch with Mick about two monts ago, because we're both involved with this Bowie tribute album, it was really nice to have a little back and fort email with him, I had spoken to Nick about possibly asking Mick to contribute something to the new Duran record, I didn't know he was sick, I'd like to do something for him, I'm not sure what that is, we talked about it as a band..."

Mick Karn is undergoing further tests and treatment. Since Karn has been struggling financially for some considerable time now, his official site is trying to help to raise funds for any necessary treatment. So if you want to donate just click here

Last but not least, John speaks about his contribuition to Swahili Blondie debut lp. It's John Frusciante and his girlfriend Nicole Turley's band. The album is titled 'Man Meat' and will be released this summer on Manimal Records. John Taylor plays on 'Tigress Ritual' that you can listen here [cool bass John!]

 

June 10: Exclusive | Jamie Walton, the talented and established classical cello player, has been involved in the making of 13th, in fact the virtuoso cellist recorded two tracks with the guys, one of them is a ballad he says. Jamie has been kind enough to stop for a chat with duranasty.com about his involvement in the making of these new songs and other stuff. He says "Duran Duran certainly haven't lost their great songwriting gifts and with Mark Ronson in the mix too, I would expect a very exciting record..." Check out the interview, you'll find out how how this collaboration started and developed and some interesting news about Simon and Jamie's performance at the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Party held on june 5. Click the cello to read the interview.

 

"I listened to the track and played around for a while before actually writing my part, in collaboration with both Simon and Mark who would suggest motifs and melodic structure. In then took off, layering part over part so that it became a chamber group of cellos"

 

June 8: We'd like to add our 'Happy Birthday Nick!' to the many he has received during these days. So, happy birthday dear Nicholas also from duranasty.com. Keep on the great work in the band. You are such a great inspiration to all of us. Thank you!

We'd like to celebrate the man with an exclusive video download [thanks to Akiyoshi at Korg Japan]: it's a video of Nick in the studio playing his Korg micro, the video has been shot in march. Enjoy!

 

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