Twice-departed Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor is spilling the beans. His (hopefully) tell all juicefest “Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran” publishes September 9 (I’m getting an advance copy next week). Andy voluntarily left DD before/during the Notorious sessions in 1986 and again twenty years later after the original five reunited in 2001. The second departure’s finger-pointing is clouded in fog: with John, Simon, Nick & Roger claiming “an unworkable gulf between us and we can no longer effectively function together” while the Times reports Andy was “unable to get a US working visa to attend the New York recording session because of administrative failures by the band’s management. His departure was not unexplained and he did not leave the band—the Duran Duran partnership was dissolved by the other members.” 

So who’s to blame? While Andy was vaguely quiet on his website after the split, let’s hope he saved the juicy details for the book. Although I think the focus of the publication will be the coke and alcohol fueled heydays of the early and mid 80s, there might be some backstabbing 21st century style thrown in there as well.

The prologue starts at near the end of Andy’s time with the band, better known as Live Aid. As the Fab Five struggled onstage for their prime-time world-watching television apogee, disillusion, distrust and exhaustion is threatening to pull them apart; this would be the last time they would perform together on the same stage for over fifteen years.

The full prologue can be read here on Klaus’ site, but here’s an excerpt:

I’d had enough. I needed a rest from this Groundhog Day cokefueled lifestyle. I realized that the consumption had to stop for the madness to begin to subside. For a while, success had brought us happiness and wealth beyond our wildest dreams. But the lifestyle we had aspired to, and for which we had worked so hard, became the very cancer that was starting to destroy us. Little did I realize how long it was going to take to repair some of the lives damaged as a consequence of our excess. For sure, we paraded around in our fast cars, with beautiful models on yachts in the south of France and the Caribbean, without needing to pay the bill at times (that came later). But it begs the question: Was it all worth it? Not too many people knew about our incendiary arguments or my fights with our management—and the dark depression and bitter resentments that these confrontations created. Neither did they know about the blood and the exhaustion, all from being constantly on the road, or about the mad cocaine binges, or the paranoia and insanity that was caused by being in the spotlight for what amounts to twenty-four hours a day.

We were hanging on by our fingernails.

We were called Duran Duran. This is the story of how we came to rule the world and nearly threw it all away. Brace yourself—it’s a rollercoaster ride…

Copyright © 2008 by Andrew Taylor

UPDATE: I received an email from Daryl Mattson, the Event Marketing Manager of Borders who informs me that Andy will be discussing and signing his book on Wed., Sept. 17 at 1pm at Borders Columbus Circle (in the Time Warner Center; 212.823.9774). Daryl even says that Andy may perform, which would actually be kinda nice for an acoustic set. If you’re in Manhattan, check it out.

I’m about 4/5 through the book and Andy seems to be pretty much on the table. He’s not slagging anybody too hard, but I haven’t made it to that last chapter titled History Repeats: Why I Am No Longer in Duran Duran yet. 

Which color comes to mind when you think if the word “lonely”? What about “jubilant” or “decadent”?

Cymbolism is a site that’s set up so that you can assign the color you think of for certain words, albeit with a limited palette of colors to choose from. For example, there’s no pink. Regardless, it provides you with the word and its definition and you click in the color. It then provides you with a DNA-strand color bar that demonstrates the popularity of each color that other users have chosen for that word.

Let’s say your color for “hope” is bright red yet you find out others have mostly chosen a yellow or green. This doesn’t mean that your perception is wrong, only that it differs from others. Specific word searches will give you how the graph looks today, past 7 days, 30 days, 1 year and alltime.

Here’s “lonely”

“jubilant”

“decadent” 

Unfortunately, there is no graph for “future” but there is one for “junkie”

can you hear them? they talk about us!
baby baby baby light my fire
the future’s here to stay
cling & lacing
credit card roulette
1080i59.54
end of the line 
cha-cha-ching
anamorphic: detelecine:
how you get about 
push out the jive/bring in the love
hello yellow 

It’s easy like Sunday morning, here.

We have laughed and had a great time this entire weekend. We have also eaten so much wonderful food this weekend that I’ve tried to chronicle.

After our morning routine of morning coffees on the back porch, recounting the previous evening’s events and checking/updating emails and Facebook pages, brunch is calling.

Cuban Mix sandwiches are the call of the day and the only place for those is Cafe Sole. Another item tempting me on the menu is the chicken salad cordon bleu: best of both worlds, right? Chris and I decide to split sandwiches, so I get my chicken salad, he gets the Cuban and both end up delicious. For desert? Deviled eggs. Yum. We do a little walking shopping and then it’s time to go back to the house for a quick nap and then time for me, Chris and Michael to get on the road for our return trip; we have to work tomorrow while the rest of the team gets to stay and play for another day.

I’m up at 7:56 this morning, luckily early enough to be included on the only pot of coffee made (errand #1: get more coffee).

On the deck, as others wake up and join us, we’re reading the news of Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden. Cell phones are clicking on news sites and political commentary video plays from the laptop.

Breakfast Buffet: the kitchen is crazy busy, Jeff cooking up breakfast for thirty, although there are only seven of us in the house. Bagels, yogurt, grapes, another pot of coffee, fried eggs, bacon, two kinds of sausage and yet one more pot of coffee.

The overcast clouds are breaking apart, blue skies coming through and shadows being cast throughout the yard. It’s almost time to pack up and hit the sand!

Time: 5:55. We’re back from the beach, what a day! The sun finally broke through and we got some really good sun. I’m a little pinker but I’ve just dunked my entire body in lotion so I should do okay.

Three of us found three different dollar bills today, one of them floating in the ocean! So we took the floater and bought a ticket for tonight’s lottery with a prize of $54 million. Our lucky numbers are 15, 22, 39, 45, 46 and Powerball 02. Cross your fingers.

We’re energized for a night out and start it off by going to Blue Moon (which was dead) where I noticed their calendar had Pamala Stanley performing just about every other evening, all summer long, but unfortunately she was not performing tonight. A little history of Ms. Stanley: one-hit wonder singing the club hit “Coming Out of Hiding”, a staple at Lost & Found in 1984.

All of a sudden, Ms. Stanley’s name is called out (not by me) and I turned around and there she is walking down the sidewalk! I excitedly went over and talked to her and got some pictures taken. She was gracious and only a little tipsy but a good sport about the adoring fans.

After the Ms. Stanley happening dinner was in order and Chris wanted us to go for seafood at Fin’s Fishhouse. I opted for the North Carolina swordfish steak with broccoli and the best mac-n-cheese that I’ve had in my life. Everyone else’s meal was equally fantastic and included shrimp, scallops, mussels, oysters, clams and just about everything else under the sea. We were all so full from out meal that it was almost painful to walk the four blocks to the car. Needless to say, there was no late-night chit chat on the back porch, we all wanted to get in bed and be asleep as quickly as possible.

We’re off to a little bit of a late start, and thankfully it is not all my fault. After a little bit of sleeping in and some last minute packing my ride has arrived, complete with luggage already strapped to its roof. This caravan ain’t messin’ around. On board: Jeff, Kristal, Michael, Scott and Natalie. No one is traveling light for our 3-day excursion.

A brief detour: Rolling Pin Bakery in Bladensburg. After many of Kristal’s pining for cake I’m happy to finally learn where this bakery is located and also to go inside the store. It’s small inside, with views of the actual bakery in the back, and the staff is friendly and helpful. We pick up a yellow sheet cake they have (half-sheet) and ask them to write “Eat Me” on it. They oblige with a little giggle and even give us two exclamation points. Back on the road.

The playlist starts out with old disco, new Kylie and bubblegum pop remixes, which I’m enjoying but soon enough the iPod controls are hijacked to country songs that I don’t know but everyone else seems to be singing along with. And that’s fine, it’s all about the journey.

Our black boat arrives just shortly after Chris (who traveled separately with Lagerfeld, the big black dog) and after claiming sleeping rooms_I’m in the constellation room with skylights_we retire to the back porch for catch-ups and cosmos. And a big ole piece of that cake. I can’t imagine finishing that entire cake this weekend, but worse things have happened.

Next stop: happy hour at Aqua and Blue Moon.

But then… We skip Blue Moon and instead opt for dinner at Casa DiLeo which has delicious pizzas and we ordered enough to have a couple of boxes for takehome, which I’m sure will disappear as the weekend progresses.

I’m assuming he was on a train before sitting at this bus stop. Name, Age, Occupation, Hobbies and any other observations you may have that you’d like to share in the Comments section, please.

A month or so ago, right after I had been talked into joining Facebook, the entire studio where I work also started joining up and starting zinging friendships around, including me. There must have been a story about Facebook on NPR or something to get everybody so energized about it. Facebook was new to me and I didn’t really understand what it was all about except that it was fun to “rock the granny panties” or send someone a jpg of a piña colada.

Now that I’ve been on it for a while and have thoroughly gotten used to it (at least the old Facebook), I’ve realized what you can do with it, and more specifically, what is seen and what can/can’t be seen. And after hearing remarks at work such as “he said on his Facebook that he was going to the doctor” or “OMG did you see that picture of (insert employee name) on Facebook?!” I’ve decided to de-friend my coworkers, meaning they will no longer have access to the information on my page. It’s nothing personal, but it’s everything personal. If you want to come here to futurejunkie to see what I’m Twittering about or what I’m posting about that’s fine, it’s public domain, but at least make the conscious effort. Don’t scan your Facebook page and expect me to be there.

and when I do, it’s normally for a get-together (birthday) or before/after some other event (concert). Let’s chronicle last night:

Stop 1 » Dinner at La Lomita. Yes, yes, I know you’re rolling your eyes because I’ve eaten here again but shut up, it’s the best Mex in town. I went with Melba, as a prelude to Stop 2 and subsequent stops 3 & 4. Even though it was a little warm and the threat of mosquitos was high we opted to eat out on the patio as we always do. It wasn’t very populated which was nice. We were sat at a table right behind Olive, who was out on a date (check Olive’s Facebook page, that’s what is said) with Scott. They recommended the margaritas so we had to order a pitcher for ourselves, just to see if they were as tasty as Olive was saying they were. And they were. We texted O during the date to see how it was going and if he needed to be rescued. It didn’t look like a rescue was needed so we minded our own biznis.

Afterwards, I heard someone calling my name and I turned around to find Dawn, with her new baby, sitting a couple of tables back. I had not seen Dawn in a few years and it was nice to get a little caught up with her. I know Dawn from back when Blowoff was held in the basement, where it was much more cozy and personal. She also went to Duran Duran at the Warner Theater with me and Christopher V, and she said she was going to be visiting him out in the country in a few weeks. I gave her two Moo cards, one for her and one for Christopher, hoping they’ll get in touch. Those were some good times back in ’03.

Stop 2 » 9:30 Club to see The Faint, just about the only American band I like. Melba’s friend Ed was going to be joining us, and while waiting outside the Former Mr C comes up and says hello, he’s trying to scalp some tickets to get some friends in for the show. Apparently they’re successful, because I see them inside afterwards. He tells me my recommendation for Sticky Rice has been a success. Mmmm Sticky Rice. I’m going to have to go back there this week for some delicious sushi. Two-second review of The Faint: great show, nice imagery, but too short (1:15:00).

Stop 3 » Nellie’s. Since it’s a summer Saturday night we decided to have a drink afterwards. Walking down U we spot the expansive rooftop of Nellie’s, the gay sportsbar, and while we’ve already missed Michael Phelp’s 8th gold medal win, we decide to pop in-and-up anyway. Up on the roof it’s crowded but we find a spot that gives us a little elbow room. Before long, up comes another friend, Single, that I haven’t seen in what seems like a very long time although it’s probably been six months or so. I’ll save the history of Single for another post, or maybe it’s already been written in the archives somewhere, but he’s a treasured friend and it was nice to see him and talk for a bit. We disagreed on our own reviews of the Batman movie, and that’s alright. We’ll still have dinner together soon.

Stop 4 » BeBar. Ed wanted to head down the street to a dance party that happens every 3rd Saturday called Pulse: cutting edge electronic music and visuals. Me and Mel were down so we scooted down there. Ed talked our way out of paying the cover charge, which was kinda fun. The music was great, not a lot of people, but that made for more room to dance. And dancing there was Chris L, who is yet another blast from the past. I know Chris L through EFP and our nights dancing to DJ Carlos at Pearl in Adams Morgan. Quick laughs were shared and then Chris L had to bounce into another room, as he always has.

Thankfully I didn’t run into anybody I knew on the Metro on the way home, as Melba and I were too engrossed trying to play Monkeyball on our iPhones to really notice anything that was going on around us. Unfortunately, I think last night might do it as my quota of running into friends unexpectedly for the year. 

Name, Age, Occupation, Hobbies and any other observations you may have that you’d like to share in the Comments section, please.