Just because Duran Duran is F-ING AWESOME!!!

Duran Duran + David Lynch, Online On March 23!!

(Click Above for the teaser!!!) 

Published on: Mar 15, 2011 9:42:02 AM CDT

Merrick of Ain't It Cool News here...

I saw Duran Duran perform a while back.  At that time, most would've considered them to be well past their heyday - but that didn't stop them from advancing one of the best live musical performances I've ever seen.  

As such, the project below is of particular interest to me -  and that they're combining talent with David Lynch makes the notions even more intriguing.  

The following snippets of a press release will explain more...

AMERICAN EXPRESS LAUNCHES SECOND YEAR OF “UNSTAGED” MUSIC SERIES

WITH ICONIC PAIRING: DURAN DURAN AND FILMMAKER DAVID LYNCH

First Installment of Unstaged 2011 Features Duran Duran Performance Coinciding with

the Release of the Band’s 13^th Studio Album and their First Official Tour Since 2008

March 23^rd Live-Stream Performance Will Be Available as a Live VEVO event on YouTube

NEW YORK, March 14, 2011 – Grammy® award-winning rock icons Duran Duran will kick-off the second year of “Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express” on March 23^rd at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. The event (featuring all four original members: Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor) comes one day after their critically acclaimed 13th studio album, entitled ALL YOU NEED IS NOW (S-Curve Records), hits stores.Duran Duran’s performance will mark the first time an artist within the “Unstaged” music series plays from Los Angeles.  Upon release, tickets for Duran Duran’s performance at the Mayan Theatre sold out in under five minutes.

The 2011 “Unstaged” kick-off performance will be live-streamed at 10:00PM ET / 7:00PM PT at www.YouTube.com/DuranDuranVEVO.  American Express, in partnership with VEVO, the leading online premium music video and entertainment service, and YouTube will provide Duran Duran fans worldwide with access to their “Unstaged” performance, which coincides with the start of the band’s first official tour since 2008. Award-winning filmmaker David Lynch (The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive), known for his unique cinematic style that masterfully blends imagery and sound design, has been enlisted to capture the performance, providing fans with a visually stunning home viewing experience.




“I am very excited about this opportunity to experiment with the band, Duran Duran, at the Mayan Theater on March 23rd,” said filmmaker David Lynch. “The idea is to try and create on the fly, layers of images permeating DuranDuran on the stage. A world of experimentation and hopefully some happy accidents.”

Speaking from a rehearsal studio in London where they are preparing for the ‘Unstaged’ show, lead singer Simon Le Bon said: “We are all beyond delighted that David Lynch has agreed to direct this show for us.  It’s a dream come true quite frankly.  We are all such fans of his work and think he has a creative vision like no other.  In talking to him about what he is planning, we all believe this live-streamed performance is going to look nothing like anyone has ever seen before.  We can’t wait.” 

Duran Duran’s “Unstaged” performance represents the fourth installment within American Express’ innovative music platform “Unstaged,” which launched in the summer of last year and has featured music sensations Arcade Fire, John Legend & The Roots, and Sugarland. Collectively, these artists from the 2010 “Unstaged” music series recently combined for eight Grammy® nominations and four Grammy® wins at this year’s 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards. Additionally, two of the three artists’ albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart following their “Unstaged” performances. American Express, in conjunction with VEVO and YouTube, tracked more than 30 million total streams for all three artists’ performances combined.
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• Choose Your Cam: The audience can control their viewing experience throughout the show by switching between the director’s main stream and alternate “Lynchian” artistic lenses on the night.
• “The Now Pulse” Crowd Visualizer: Further uniting the audiences at the show and at home, this new interactive project will create a real-time visualization of crowd excitement based on social chatter online. When the social buzz reaches a climax, a special Duran Duran memento will be unlocked for fans everywhere.
• “All Of Us Now” Photo Project: Audiences worldwide will collaborate with David Lynch in an on-stage and online art installation, by submitting photos. In true Lynch style, the photos will be showcased on surreal displays throughout the night. Visit www.YouTube.com/DuranDuranVEVO to find out more and submit videos.
• On-line Pre Show: Building anticipation of the night, viewers who tune in early to the live-stream will catch an exclusive segment directed by David Lynch.
• Tweet The Band: Fans can Tweet questions to #amexduranduran for a chance to have them answered by the band in a series of Pre-Show vignettes.

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