Post by ©DURANMANIA Board Team on Mar 4, 2005 4:48:19 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]The Duran Duran effect[/glow]
-- Marty Hughley KELLY WHITE COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR ROSS WILLIAM HAMILTON/2002 JAMES ANGELL ALICIA J. ROSE NICOLE CAMPBELL/Friday, March 04, 2005
Duran Duran was a revelation to many American pop music fans, arriving on their radios and TV screens with a glossy sound and a jet-set image. A few Portland-area musicians talk about the band's early influence, as well as more recent interactions.
Courtney Taylor-Taylor of the Dandy Warhols, whose album "Welcome to the Monkey House" was co-produced by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes: "I loved their first record. You just knew they were playing a club and pretty women were showing up and it was a fabulous party . . . After seeing (their fashionable look) it was all over for me -- it was blouses and eyeliner every day . . .
"We were in the studio with them a couple of years ago, when Nick was helping us with 'Monkey House,' and they had all their stuff in the next studio. They were jamming every day. Those guys are monsters! Nobody knows what great musicians they are. Technically, the feel -- they're heavyweights in every way. And they have such lovely chord changes . . .
"And as people, they're all tops, tops. I love all those guys."
Singer-songwriter Nicole Campbell, who took part in a Duran Duran tribute night in January: "I was sheltered, growing up in Pendleton, and we were force-fed country music. MTV was like my only link to the outside world. They were really good at making videos, and that's what hooked you. I got on board when I saw the guy on top of the elephant with the flute . . .
" 'Save a Prayer' was one of my first favorite songs that made me want to learn to play it. I thought, 'I could do that.' It gave me hope for the future, that rock 'n' roll didn't have to be so difficult as it had seemed before."
Singer-songwriter James Angell, whose DVD "Private Player in Concert" features Duran Duran's John Taylor on bass: "I remember the very first video I saw on MTV was 'Hungry Like the Wolf.' That was kind of the nail in the coffin in terms of pursuing a career as a classical musician. Coming from a background of J.S. Bach and performing in church, I hadn't really related to rock 'n' roll before. But that was so melodic and sweet on the ear . . .
"John did two gigs with me in 2003, and I'll be working with him again soon. I'm finishing up my new album and he's going to be playing bass on some of the songs.
"The way he held his instrument and touched the strings reminded me of an archer -- the control and the precision . . . One thing about him that really impressed me is the way he plays with such a natural pop sensibility. The songs on 'Private Player' aren't that light, some of them, and I have to try to not let things be so dark. But when he played them they had a certain panache, a lightness of touch that made me say, 'Oh, these could be like this after all!' And he's very much like that as a person, just very dapper and lighthearted. It was really fun working with him, let me tell you."
Singer Lisa Stringfield, whose band Carmina Luna regularly covers Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur": "(What was the initial attraction) besides their good looks? I liked their music. It was different . . .
"As far as being an inspiration on me becoming a musician, not so much -- I particularly liked the female singers, so I was into Chrissie Hynde and Blondie. But I really got into that whole New Romantic style of the time, with Duran Duran, ABC, Simple Minds."
-- Marty Hughley KELLY WHITE COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR ROSS WILLIAM HAMILTON/2002 JAMES ANGELL ALICIA J. ROSE NICOLE CAMPBELL/Friday, March 04, 2005
Duran Duran was a revelation to many American pop music fans, arriving on their radios and TV screens with a glossy sound and a jet-set image. A few Portland-area musicians talk about the band's early influence, as well as more recent interactions.
Courtney Taylor-Taylor of the Dandy Warhols, whose album "Welcome to the Monkey House" was co-produced by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes: "I loved their first record. You just knew they were playing a club and pretty women were showing up and it was a fabulous party . . . After seeing (their fashionable look) it was all over for me -- it was blouses and eyeliner every day . . .
"We were in the studio with them a couple of years ago, when Nick was helping us with 'Monkey House,' and they had all their stuff in the next studio. They were jamming every day. Those guys are monsters! Nobody knows what great musicians they are. Technically, the feel -- they're heavyweights in every way. And they have such lovely chord changes . . .
"And as people, they're all tops, tops. I love all those guys."
Singer-songwriter Nicole Campbell, who took part in a Duran Duran tribute night in January: "I was sheltered, growing up in Pendleton, and we were force-fed country music. MTV was like my only link to the outside world. They were really good at making videos, and that's what hooked you. I got on board when I saw the guy on top of the elephant with the flute . . .
" 'Save a Prayer' was one of my first favorite songs that made me want to learn to play it. I thought, 'I could do that.' It gave me hope for the future, that rock 'n' roll didn't have to be so difficult as it had seemed before."
Singer-songwriter James Angell, whose DVD "Private Player in Concert" features Duran Duran's John Taylor on bass: "I remember the very first video I saw on MTV was 'Hungry Like the Wolf.' That was kind of the nail in the coffin in terms of pursuing a career as a classical musician. Coming from a background of J.S. Bach and performing in church, I hadn't really related to rock 'n' roll before. But that was so melodic and sweet on the ear . . .
"John did two gigs with me in 2003, and I'll be working with him again soon. I'm finishing up my new album and he's going to be playing bass on some of the songs.
"The way he held his instrument and touched the strings reminded me of an archer -- the control and the precision . . . One thing about him that really impressed me is the way he plays with such a natural pop sensibility. The songs on 'Private Player' aren't that light, some of them, and I have to try to not let things be so dark. But when he played them they had a certain panache, a lightness of touch that made me say, 'Oh, these could be like this after all!' And he's very much like that as a person, just very dapper and lighthearted. It was really fun working with him, let me tell you."
Singer Lisa Stringfield, whose band Carmina Luna regularly covers Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur": "(What was the initial attraction) besides their good looks? I liked their music. It was different . . .
"As far as being an inspiration on me becoming a musician, not so much -- I particularly liked the female singers, so I was into Chrissie Hynde and Blondie. But I really got into that whole New Romantic style of the time, with Duran Duran, ABC, Simple Minds."