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ICON: John Taylor/The Pop-Rock Candy Mountain Interview

Duran Duran are one of the most influential bands of the 20th Century. With more than 85 million albums sold, they are also one of the best-selling artists of all time.

The band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre, could be seen as one of their more ambitious efforts. When a band, however, has built their entire career around ambition, it is actually just another strong album in a larger body of work. Red Carpet Massacre features producers such as Timbaland and finds the band working with Justin Timberlake.

Later this summer, the band will perform a unique live set with Mark Ronson for an exclusive, invite-only performance. According to the band's publicity company, Sneak Attack Media, "They will showcase specially re-worked versions of some of the band's classic hits that will be created by Ronson, along with tracks from their critically-acclaimed new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson and the Version Players will also be bringing Mark's acclaimed live show to the event, performing songs from his hit album, Version. Simon Le Bon will bring his vocal magic to Mark's music as one of his featured guest vocalists."

John Taylor is a founding member of Duran Duran. His bass lines are as much a part of the Duran Duran legacy as Simon Le Bon's vocals. His style of playing is a direct reflection of his influences, Paul McCartney and Bernard Edwards of Chic. He was a member of the "supergroup" Power Station, which brought T. Rex to the masses in the mid-1980s. Taylor was also in the band, Neurotic Outsiders with members of Guns N Roses. He is also an accomplished actor and starred in the 1999 film Sugartown with John Doe and Michael Des Barres.

Pop-Rock Candy Mountain recently spoke with Taylor from Seattle as the band prepared to play their second night on their North American tour.

Pop-Rock Candy Mountain (PRCM): How's the tour going?
John Taylor (JT): We're having a good time. We opened up in Vancouver last night. We just got done with a tour that ran through Australia and the Far East, which was fun. We haven't been down there in a while and we did some festivals down in Australia and we went to Costa Rica for a Central American festival, which was great. So we're having a great time. We're trying some different things and stretching it out a bit.

PRCM: Keith Richards has said that he "gets really excited" when he sees Tumbling Dice come up on the set-list. Are there some songs that you enjoy playing live more than others?
JT: I really like everything that's in there right now. I kind of look forward to everything - kind of like I was having an Italian dinner. You kind of look forward to the carpaccio and then your pasta and then your veal - I kind of like it all. We spent a lot of time getting the balance of the songs right so that they work together. We mix the older songs and the newer songs and the slower songs and the faster songs. In fact, there's a dynamic to it all. You are finishing one song and you look up and go "Oh, right! That one's next." I want to feel like Keith Richards for every song. I want for every song to be great. We spend a lot of time on them.

PRCM: Tell me about the Red Carpet Massacre.
JT: It was a different step for us to work with hip-hop producers than to work with the producers we normally work with who are used to delivering the whole sound. It was a bit challenging, actually, to work with them because they are not used to working with musicians, they are used to working with singers. So, you know, it was always a fight on your hands - "Listen to me. I've got a voice in this band, too. That's how we work." It took us a couple of days with Timbaland to get that. Then we worked with Tim's partner Nate Hills - Timbaland went out on the road - and by that point, he realized that we were like a "jamming" band - that's how we write - and the sessions we had with him were really fruitful.

Justin was a little different. He wanted to like work on the ultimate Duran Duran track. He approached it from the position of a fan, really. At least that's what he told us (laughs).

PRCM: I've always wanted to ask you about how the band writes songs. Tell me how that works.
JT: It's one of the most fun things that we do. We tend to just set up the gear in a room and someone says, "What are you thinking? Fast? (laughs) What key are you thinking?" We kind of just wander around and then somebody finds a little part that they like. It's like cracking a safe. (click, click) Someone gets something into place (click, click) bass gets something into place (click, click). And someone's got a line and your like, "Wow. What's that?" We really just aim stuff over the head until we've got something that we like and we come back and try and build a song around it.

PRCM: From a fan's perspective, Duran Duran has always stayed relevant. Actually, 2004's Astronaut is one of my favorite albums. Is it a conscious effort to stay relevant or do you just do what you do?
JT: Yeah, I think so. One of the things that works for us, that enables us to do what we just did with the last album, is that if we had a manifesto, it would be to be modern. The Rolling Stones, for example, were a blues band. They can't stray too far from that and there are a lot of bands like that. We just want to be modern. Which means we have room to travel and we can play with beats and styles without upsetting our core audience.

PRCM: Are the crowds reacting well to the new songs?
JT: Yeah. I think it's all relative. If you like the band, you stay with the changes and you find what's going on interesting. If you don't, then you don't. It depends on where you are coming from.

PRCM: What basses are you playing on the road?
JT: I've got a very simple set-up. I use Peavey basses now. I have three. One is like a really high-range that I use for most of the classic songs, I use a stripped down version for the newer songs and I have a five-sting that I use for "Sunrise." That's it.

PRCM: What are your plans for after the North American tour?
JT: In June and July we are in Europe. Our families have signed us up for the month of August. We are doing a show in Paris in June with Mark Ronson, which is kind of exciting. He's doing this sort of remix-medley thing that will encompass a whole bunch of Duran Duran songs, some of Mark's material and other people's songs as well. We are thinking about doing something by The Killers or something. I don't really know where it's going to go come September. We would like to stay on the road for most of the year. But, who knows?

PRCM: How is touring for you nowadays? Is it harder for you? Is it as enjoyable?
JT: It's not hard. I really look after myself these days. I don't put myself through the ringer like I used to. It's not a lot of fun when you're not getting any sleep. I try to stay connected with home - it's very important for me to do that these days. It's not like I just go off on the road and nobody hears from me. We get along great - the band, really. We enjoy one another's company and we enjoy playing together. We're just here to make the show as great as we can on a night-by-night basis.