Buy the cd/dvd at the following link: New Roads 15th anniversary |
May
16: duranasty.com review | I just got my copy
of the New Roads cd/dvd wich I purchased for only $25.00
[plus shipping] on newroads.org.
This very cool project deserves a new and updated post [in addition
to the news posted on march 30]. You'll discover that John Taylor is
actually the mind behind the whole project so he has a great role in
the making of it all. The behind the scenes dvd reveals it all! These
pics are just some screencaps I made of the video where you can see
our bass player interact with the kids and in the recording studio following
every step of the making of this unique and very orginal initiative.
The highlight of the whole thing, from a Duran-fan point of view, is
of course the video of John jamming with rock legend Stewart
Copeland of the Police. I highly reccomend to buy your copy
of this very cool limited edition collector item [only
1000 copies were made!] since John plays in 5 songs. Purchasing the
cd/dvd you will also help the school raising funds. |
I asked my friend Stephane LeClair [facebook/LeClair] to make a promo-sample using very short clips [20/30 seconds] of the five songs John played on, so you can have an actual idea of the kind of music and the singular arrangements that John created for the project. In the dvd you can feel John's human side and his felt involvement in the project, passionate about music and art, highly interested in the process of creating something cool with a group of very young and talented kids. From a musical and creative point of view, John has a lot give, so I hope to see more projects and collaborations like this in the future.
Above pics of the gatefold packaging [cd/dvd]
Above pics of the rehearsals: John jamming with rock legend Stewart Copeland of the Police.
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John Taylor plays bass on: 'We Are Going To Be Friends', 'Crazy', 'Music', 'House Of Cards' and 'You Learn' Listen to a promo sample made of very short clips of the tracks featuring John Taylor playing bass [save target as] |
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May
12: Deejay Roger in Italy one more time: it's love! | Ancona
- Italy - On May 8th Sui Club was packed, even tables were
full. It's 2:40 am when Roger Taylor arrived at the club with Jake
Fonique and their wives. Fans came from various part of central
Italy to meet the Duran Duran drummer. Before the deejay-set they had
a dinner at 'Bar Giuliani' with Marco Cerioni, one of the holders of
Sui Club. Not an expensive restaurant, just a fine a place in the heart
of Ancona. The couple had a quick tour of the city, they visited the
Pope square, the harbor and the cathedral,
then straight to Marina Dorica where the Club is located.
Roger loved those places, "It's beautiful" he said. His wife,
Gisela Bernales, who met in 2005 and married in 2007,
followed him affectionately, she was happy to be in Italy. Taylor showed
off, as well as discs and drums, even a camera to take pics of the crowd...
cheers and smiles to those who came to meet him or just say Hello. During
the deejay set Roger said: "I am really enjoying it, the reception
is fantastic, there's a familiar atmosphere, I'm really satisfied".
House music and some Depeche Mode,
Roger only left at at 6 am closing the deejay-set with Wild
Boys! The couple stayed one more day in Ancona to visit Portonovo,
"they told me is a beautiful coast", the 'Palio di
San Floriano' and the medieval villages of Jesi.
Roger said he'll definitely come back on vacation in these nice places.
Click below to get the photo report. On the right an article in the
local newsper. |
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*Updated on May 12*
The guys have just made an official online petition for their effort, it's at the following link, sign it please:
Duran Duran to the Rock Hall of Fame
May 11: Check out what a group of active, passionate and organized fans is doing to promote Duran Duran's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland | Just got a very nice email from Kirk, Lead Effort Organizer of the initiative... have to pass it along 'cos this group of fellow Duran Duran fans is doing a great job but they might need also our precious help so don't hesitate to join all their webpages/social networks in support of this cool initiative! You guys have all duranasty.com's support and friendship.
Check out what these guys are doing in this great article from the Barrie Examiner! [they even got the front cover!] Kirk also gave me these additional info:
"We started in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock Hall of Fame! Our staff is as follows:
Kirk Harrington,
Lead Effort Organizer
Jason Henry, Admin, Youtube and Media assistance
Anitra Delorenzo, Admin, Myspace and Media assitance
Donna Searle, Admin, Facebook special projects
We sent letters to both the Rock Hall Foundation in New York and the Rock Hall Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. We received a reply from the Museum, explaining the induction process. You can see what our Myspace page is like and the bands we have 'befriended' at myspace.com/ddrockhall. Many of these bands were influenced by Duran Duran or directly influenced them [like David Bowie - himself a Rock Hall inductee]. We are working on trying to get 'official' support messages or interviews from these bands. We have a Youtube video. In it there is some ongoing research we are doing to support our point of view. There's a Facebook site, under Duran Duran to the Rock Hall - Official site. We now have over 1000 fans and are growing daily. We also have a Twitter account under DDTTRH, if anyone is interested in following us there. Finally, we have some interesting ongoing things... interviews with Your Vegas, Diminished 7 and Pride and the Vanities. Plus, fans approaching their radio stations and local newspapers about our effort. We are always doing ongoing research about the band... what bands were influenced by them, community service they have done, and how they have influenced the popular media. Very cool stuff! If you want to see the ongoing history of our effort you can find it in the blog section of the myspace page. If you prefer blogger, we are also at ddrockhall.blogspot.com"
If there are fans interested in either helping to get the word out or assisting with all the websites please email ddrockhall@yahoo.com
May 9: Nick and John have been in New York for some meetings and to attend some events. On may 4 they attended the 'American Patrons of Tate Artists' at Hearst Tower [where John shared the table - and some wine - with none other than Patti Smith! see pic below]. The previous day Nick attended the Unofficial After Party for The Metropolitan Museum of Art's and on april 30 he also went to the Cinema Society with Ambrosi Abrianna & Vanity Fair after party for 'Ultrasuede: In Search Of Halston'.
But more importantly we have a new update on the Duran Duran album from Nick Rhodes, who speaks from New York, through the new Katy Kafe up on the official fan community site, but first of all...some words to congratulate Katy and her husband on the arrival of their newborn!
Happy motherhood Katy! Motherhood/fatherhood are the most beautiful and fulfilling part of life, so enjoy it!
So, the news... one of subjects of the new Kafe is Duran Duran's 13th. Nick says: "I'm here [in New York] for a number of reasons, a few of them musical a few to have some meetings [...] I just came from London where we were doing some more work on the album".
Katy asks 'How is it coming?' Nick says, "slowly but surely, I'm so thrilled with everything we got, I think now we set ourselves a standard, that's pretty high. We need to try to make sure that every song leaves up to that, 'cos I'm always the first to say, when I listen to other people's albums, only two decent tracks on it, why would I want the rest of it.
[...] So we are trying to make an album that I hope people will listen to in its interity". Katy also asks what's coming up for the band in the next few months, in particular if they'll be doing any summer shows. Nick says "nothing planned at the moment, thus the end of the year I would like to think we play something...
we certainly have the album finished sometime within the next 2/3 months
I'm actually pretty sure about that just because I know how far we have gone, there must be at least 6 finished [songs], and other 3 almost finished, I don't know how many will end up... 10, 11, 12, but I'm pretty sure... I do, unfortunately, belive that leave us, probably, in the first quarter of next year for the release, purely because of all the setups, anything else".
Below pics of John [with Patti Smith] and Nick [with Laura Brown] at the 'American Patrons of Tate Artists' on may 4th
May 9: Nick Rhodes's message for 'Save 6 Music Campaign'.
"There are many generic mainstream radio stations who adhere to the rigid format of their limited playlists and cater to the taste of the masses, yet there are currently very few stations who actually support the upcoming artists of tomorrow and play a broad, eclectic selection of music across many genres. Radio 6 Music does exactly this. It is a true gem, cherished by its listeners, including myself.
I
personally think it is vitally important to nurture new and creative British
musical talent, and I would be appalled to see the BBC deny artists the opportunity
to be heard. It would also be a terrible loss for all those music fans who
get such great pleasure from 6 Music. I support all of the BPI's efforts in
this campaign to save the station, and sincerely hope the BBC reconsider their
decision.
Nick Rhodes [Duran Duran]
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*Last Updated on may 9* May 6: More info on the news I posted early this morning on the Quick & Brief section | from todays Daily Mirror, printed edition | 'His name is Rio ... And He Could Be Singing With Simon’s Band'| England are – hopefully – in for a very busy summer but the most exciting World Cup match of all time could be about to kick off in a recording studio. We can reveal that Rio Ferdinand and Duran Duran are set to team up for the ultimate football anthem. |
The Manchester
United and England defender has been approached by the 80s legends to re-release
a stonking new version of their hit Rio before he jets off to South Africa.
Duran Duran once said that they’d be tempted to re-record the 80s classic
in the defender’s honour if England ever triumphed. Lead singer Simon
Le Bon and Rio have been in touch about doing an unofficial tune before he
sets off. Says our source: “ Simon and Rio are old mates. Rio got Si
and the band along to a behindclosed-doors session at the Manchester United
training ground to watch the lads go through their paces, and even introduced
Sir Alex Ferguson to the group.” Blimey. Wonder if they asked to borrow
Fergie’s hairdryer? Our source goes on: “ No one’s released
a serious World Cup song this year and Duran Duran, with millions of fans,
would be guaranteed a hit if they stepped up to the plate.
“Mark Ronson has been in touch, and would be up for
remastering, as has Nick Hodgson, from the Kaiser Chiefs.
Rio fancies himself as a singer. It’d be fantastic if they can find
the time to get into the studio and bash something out.”
News of the collaboration comes after Rio joked in an interview that he wanted
to take Simon Le Bon’s place in the band. Asked if he would be up for
a joint number, he told FourFourTwo: “ No, I want to
be the front man! Simon Le Bon’s gone – just give me a couple
of bars. Can I sing? Of course I can sing. I can dance, but my voice is a
lot better. I’d get to the latter stages of Britain’s Got Talent.”
That’s fighting talk. Come on then lads, the clock’s ticking.
Altogether now: “ His name is Rio and he dances on the sand,
defends for England and his surname’s Ferdinand.” Well,
it’s a start...
[I guess
it can't be 100% speculation]
May 4: On the eve of the release of their first album under the name Chicanery, I had the pleasure to interview old time friend Warren Cuccurullo [Duran Duran guitarrist 1986/2001] and Neil Carlill whom have embarked on a new project, a band and a brand new album that will be out on may 11 [as reported on april 17]. The result of my chat with the guys is a very candid and indepth interview which I really enjoyed to do. I Know Warren from a long time, I told him that he still has a place in the heart of all the Duran Duran fans for the great contribution he brought to the band with his talent as musician and songwriter and for the great human side of your personality, and I didn't have any problem to ask questions about Duran and related projects. So there are some exclusive news in the interview but I won't tell anything here. You have can read it all, just click on the banner below.
