Gore Announces Climate Change Concerts
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 15, 2007; 2:48 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Al Gore announced on Thursday a series of worldwide concerts to focus on the threat of climate change, with a powerhouse lineup from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Bon Jovi.
The 24-hour event on July 7 is part of a campaign, Save Our Selves _ The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis, that promoters hope will trigger a broad movement to address what the former vice president calls a global climate crisis.
"In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," the environmental activist, filmmaker and 2000 Democratic presidential nominee said in a statement. "The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement."
Gore is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008 despite his repeated statements that he's not running. Recently, some former aides met in Boston to discuss a campaign to draft the former vice president.
The concerts on seven continents will bring newfound publicity to Gore, who already is enjoying celebrity status with his Oscar-nominated documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Gore said he was thrilled that the film, on the perils of global warming, was nominated for best documentary and for best song, the latter nod coming for Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up."
The Academy Awards are Feb. 25.
More than 100 performers are scheduled to appear at the July concerts, including Etheridge, the Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Duran Duran, Korn, Pharrell, the Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
Promoters said the Live Earth concerts will take place in Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; London and cities to be announced in Japan, Brazil and the United States.
Promoters said the concerts _ dubbed Live Earth _ could reach 2 billion people through attendance or broadcasts. Proceeds will create a foundation to combat climate change led by The Alliance for Climate Protection, which is chaired by Gore.
The Save our Selves campaign was founded by Kevin Wall, who won an Emmy as Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8.
Courtesy Associated Press
[posted 2/15/2007 U.S.A.]
Gore unveils plan for ‘Live Earth’ concert
Gore unveils plan for ‘Live Earth’ concert
By Carlos Grande
Published: February 15 2007 18:53 | Last updated: February 15 2007 18:53
Plans for a global day of concerts and events to promote awareness of climate change to more than 2bn people were unveiled on Thursday by Al Gore, the former US vice president, and leading lights of the entertainment industry.
As reported by the FT last week, the “Save Our Selves” campaign will feature events in seven cities on July 7.
Mr Gore said the SOS international distress signal had been chosen because climate change was “the paramount challenge facing humanity”.
“The most important part of SOS is how individuals, corporations and governments respond,” the former US vice-president added.
More than 100 artists are lined up to play in a 24-hour concert, known as “Live Earth”, which will be carried on television, radio and the internet.
MSN, the Microsoft internet portal, will broadcast the concert on the web. In the US, NBC-Universal, the television network, and the radio groups SIRIUS and XM will take part. In the UK, the BBC will be the event’s broadcast partner.
Shanghai, Sydney, Johannesburg and London were confirmed as the four concert-hosting cities. Other locations in Brazil, Japan and the US are yet to be determined. It is estimated that more than 1m could attend the live events.
Artists due to participate include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Keane, Snow Patrol, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran and Kelly Clarkson.
Kevin Wall, one of the leading organisers of the “Live8” concerts to campaign against Third World poverty, founded “SOS” and will produce the event through his company, Control Room.
Concert proceeds will go to fund further campaigning by The Alliance for Climate Protection, a movement chaired by Mr Gore.
The organisers also plan to use only electricity from renewable sources, employ recycling and biodegradable materials where possible, and offset travel via carbon credits.
Copyright The Financial Time
[posted 2/15/2007 U.S.A.]
Oasis, Kasabian take part in huge guitar exhibition
Oasis, Kasabian take part in huge guitar exhibition
The event starts in London this week
Guitars played by Noel Gallagher, Kasabian and Franz Ferdinand will all feature at Europe's largest ever guitar exhibition, which kicks off in London later this week (February 2).
The event, called 'Harrods Rocks', takes place at the Harrods store in Knightsbridge from February 2 until March 3.
The collection includes many rare and extremely valuable guitars, both vintage and modern. Other famous names whose guitars are included in the collection include The Edge, Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Marc Bolan.
There will also be a collection of personally customised guitars from the likes of Neil Young, Bono, Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, Graham Coxon and Jennifer Lopez.
The exhibition space includes an art exhibition featuring the work of Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood , who will also be staging his own art installation in one of Harrods' main windows.
Further information is available now at Harrods.com.
Courtesy NME.com
[posted 1/30/2007 U.S.A.]
Q Magazine's 500 Greatest Lost Tracks
Q Magazine's 500 Greatest Lost Tracks - The Best Songs You've Never Heard:
Number 129 - Duran Duran - MY OWN WAY (NIGHT VERSION)
Thunderous, orchestral-art disco, as Producer Colin Thurston stretches the Brummie heart-throbs' underrated fourth single for the new romantic dancefloor.
GET IT: THE SINGLES '81-'85 (EMI, 2003)
Courtesy Q Magazine, Feb. 2007
[posted 1/14/2007 U.S.A.]
Don't try to change girlfriend, change girlfriends
GUEST DIVA
Don't try to change girlfriend, change girlfriends
Nick Rhodes, Duran Duran alum
Q: I'm a guy in my late teens and I think it rocks when guys wear makeup. My girlfriend is not quite sold on the idea, though. What can I say to convince her that not only is it cool and modern but it's pretty damn sexy?
Nick Rhodes: Dump her and get someone cooler! I don't think you need to say anything to people. People need to have personality and originality, and everyone should be unique in their own way. If the other people you're mixing with don't accept that and are excited by it, then you're mixing with the wrong crowd.
I think that most girls I've ever met, that I've liked, are much more fascinated by men that are in touch with both their masculine and feminine sides. If they're not, that's OK, they're just a different type of girl.
The first time I ever recognized guys wearing makeup was in the 1970s when I was growing up in Britain, listening to glam rock and watching David Bowie, Mark Bolan, Brian Ferry and all of those English bands that really did pioneer a new look.
But interestingly, it goes all the way back to old Hollywood -- the '20s and the '30s, when glamour was glam. It's about doing what the hell you want and not caring what anyone else thinks. Life is too short to find the people who have a problem with too many things.
We should all just live in a safe and beautiful world.
courtesy Miami Herald
[posted 1/10/2007 U.S.A.]
Duran Duran Grooves With Timbaland, Timberlake
Duran Duran Grooves With Timbaland, Timberlake
December 20, 2006, 11:10 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Duran Duran is eyeing a May release for its second Epic album since its original quintet reunited in 2001. But, as previously reported, the set will feature minimal contributions from guitarist Andy Taylor, who left the band in October to pursue other projects. It will, however, include three tracks produced by Timbaland, one of which, "Night Runner," features Justin Timberlake.
"I'm always personally really inspired by working with urban producers, moreso than rock producers," keyboardist Nick Rhodes tells Billboard.com. "They really bring something to the songs that we don't have completely covered, whereas with rock producers, often I find [they suggest] things we'd do ourselves naturally anyway."
The Timberlake collaboration is one Duran Duran has been trying to engineer for quite some time and finally materialized in September in New York. "All of us have admired his work, particularly on his first solo album," Rhodes says of Timberlake. "He's a real talent. It was quite natural for him and [Duran Duran frontman] Simon [LeBon] to be working together on vocal arrangements and melodic structure."
The as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2004's "Astronaut" will also feature the reggae-tinged "48 Hours Later" and "Transcendental Mental," which Rhodes says takes aim at "new-age frauds. It's one of the funniest lyrics Simon has written in many years."
The other Timbaland-produced tracks are "Skin Divers" and "Zooming In." Asked if the disparate sounds of those cuts compared to the album's more guitar-driven songs may be jarring to the listener, Rhodes says, "With [the Timbaland tracks], you can tell there was another hand in them for sure. Although they are a slight change of direction in that some of the others are a bit more guitar-heavy or indie-sounding, Simon is the glue that holds them all together."
Rhodes adds that he doesn't think the album "will suffer" for the dearth of Taylor's contributions. "With Duran Duran, we've always accepted change. Music evolves, or sound has evolved and this is a new phase we're moving into now, and I couldn't be more excited about it," he says. "I truly wish him well. You never say never with these things. We may end up playing with Andy another day in the future. For now, we'd done another five years together and I guess that seems to be our attention span. It was five years the first time and five years this time."
The group will launch a summer tour in conjunction with the album. "I always think it's much more fun when you can go out with material that isn't more than a year old," Rhodes says. "Last time, we were playing material, as new material, that to us was already three years old."
Courtesy Billboard
[posted 12/20/2006 U.S.A.]
ROCKCHICTM: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ELECTRIC GUITAR 1931-2006
ROCKCHICTM: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ELECTRIC GUITAR 1931-2006
Set within a dynamic multimedia experience that captures the essence of a rock stage, RockChicTM: The Life And Times Of The Electric Guitar features more than 100 legendary, vintage, rare and customised guitars, in an exhibition which examines the electric guitar’s origins, and focuses on its evolution and influence on society over the last 75 years. Produced by BigTime.TV, RockChicTM is, essentially, a 'History Of Rock' multi-media experience, showcasing guitars and artists who have helped shape contemporary pop culture.
Visitors will embark on a journey that spans 75 years, starting with the ‘Frying Pan’, the world’s first electric guitar - never previously exhibited outside of the US - together with a remarkable display of vintage instruments, including a 1950s Silvertone guitar with an amp in the case, and an early Rickenbacker arch top. The collection also includes instruments associated with rock’s greatest icons, including the likes of Keith Richards, Bo Diddley, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Van Morrison, and Phil Lynott, to name but a few, and an amazing collection owned by the legendary Rory Gallagher, alongside an extraordinary display of unique customised guitars.
A multi-faceted exhibition, the RockChic™ project has also invited a host of the world’s leading multi-disciplinary creators, from the fields of design, photography, architecture, music and visual arts, to take an electric guitar, and treat this emotive object as a blank canvas. Creators include Nick Rhodes, Patrick Cox, Christopher Bailey, David LaChapelle, Diane von Furstenberg and Dave Fanning. These resulting artworks, which feature in the exhibition, are as individual as the artists themselves, offering a unique insight into the Creator’s relationship with this iconic instrument. Using a variety of materials, from diamonds to snakeskin and photographic images, some have chosen to produce signature artworks, or tell a story, while others have used this project as an opportunity to pay homage to their own heroes.
Each of these customised guitars will, ultimately, be auctioned for charities nominated by the individual Creators, including Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, Amnesty International, Keep A Child Alive and the Irish Hospice Foundation.
Playing at the National Museum of Ireland’s Decorative Arts & History site at Collins Barracks, Dublin from 23 November 2006 - 21 January 2007, RockChicTM promises to delight fans of music, art and history alike.
Admission is free. This exhibit will be coming to London in January.
[posted 11/25/2006 U.S.A.]
DURAN DURAN, MUSIC STILL VIBRANT
DURAN DURAN, MUSIC STILL VIBRANT
by JEFF MIERS, News Pop Music Critic
11/5/2006
Duran Duran
Saturday night in Seneca Events Center, Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel, Niagara Falls.
It's remarkable how well the music of Duran Duran has aged. What, at the time the band emerged in the early '80s - and on through its commercial heyday late in that decade - seemed like a prefabricated bit of pop fluff now sounds like an astute comment on the new wave and "new romantic" scenes of the late '70s and early '80s.
Saturday night, inside a full Events Center at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Resort, four-fifths of the original band celebrated a legacy that now boasts more weight than one might've originally imagined.
Opening with its massive mid-'80s hit "Hungry Like the Wolf," the band managed to successfully maneuver the tightrope walk between blatant "nostalgia for cash" and an immersion in the deepening of a musical ensemble's body of work. Yes, the group played the hits we'd expect from it, but pleasantly lacking from the whole affair was the stench of "cash-in," that uncomfortable moment when you realize a once great band or artist is simply going through the motions in order to pay the mortgage.
Led by vocalist Simon Le Bon, still quite agile and in possession of a strong, vibrant and remarkably in-tune singing voice, the Duran boys plowed through a vibrant set of tunes from throughout their career. They also tossed in a few bits from side projects - a killer version of bassist John Taylor's and guitarist Andy Taylor's collaboration with singer Robert Palmer, the Power Station's hit "Some Like It Hot," was a high point - and generally looked, acted and sounded like the past 20-odd years never actually passed by.
The group recently lost original guitarist Andy Taylor, but it hasn't noticeably skipped a beat. Taylor's replacement did an excellent job of re-creating the original Duran guitarist's mix of funk, flash and then-fashionable metal-tinged licks.
Bassist John Taylor stole much of the show, from a musical standpoint. His bass playing was always interesting, a smart blend of disco, punk, pop and new wave that roots the best of Duran Duran's work. Taylor sounded wonderful working his way through the sexy "Union of the Snake," and added considerable bite to "The Reflex," a moving slab of white funk.
Keyboardist Nick Rhodes brought his idiosyncratic blend of sequenced lines, synthesizer washes and melodic bits to bear on the entire set, complementing the sparse, economical blending of bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor.
The crowd screamed the loudest for singer Le Bon, however. Of particular note was his ability to invest powerful Duran Duran ballads like "Save A Prayer" and "Ordinary World" with both consummate musicality and the rather foppish stylistic sense that the band was always known for.
Courtesy Buffalo News
[posted 11/5/2006 U.S.A.]
Stars coming out for charity
Stars coming out for charity
July 25 2006
By Gordon Barr, The Evening Chronicle
Geordie rocker Andy Taylor gave his backing today to the launch of a special gig on Tyneside. The Duran Duran star was due to announce a musical and comedy show to raise funds for teenagers with cancer, but missed his flight from his base in Ibiza to Newcastle.
Instead, Taylor gave his backing to BandStand - a one-off show featuring some of the UK's best known musicians and comedians.
Already in the line-up are Jools Holland, Ross Noble and Johnny Vegas, with Taylor hoping he will be able to make it too.
The event is in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust and will raise funds for a new unit planned at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.
BandStand is on September 16, at The Sage Gateshead. It will comprise of a show featuring top comics and a live music performance.
The Cancer Trust is renowned for its annual music concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall and this is the first event on this scale outside the capital.
Taylor pledged his full support to the project.
The Trust builds specialist wards for teenagers with cancer at NHS hospitals.
Along with the unit at the RVI, TCT has six others across the UK and funds raised through BandStand will go towards a new unit at the RVI.
Born and raised in Cullercoats, Taylor, 45, has first-hand experience of cancer. His father, Ronnie, recently died after a long battle with the disease.
The majority of the musician's family still live in North Tyneside and his dad saw him play at the Metro Radio Arena two years ago as part of the group's reunion tour.
Duran Duran made a triumphant comeback in 2004 with all five original members being honoured at the Brit Awards with an outstanding contribution to music award.
Taylor quit the band back in 1985 at the height of their fame.
Tickets for BandStand went on sale today and are available from The Sage.
oh che bello sono troppo contenta
°*°AnnaLB°*°