DDTTRH response to 'Pressure's Off - Duran Duran Don't Need the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame'

If you haven't read this article, you should.

https://www.yahoo.com/music/the-pressures-off-duran-duran-dont-need-the-153052592.html

The Rock Hall is mentioned in it.  Here is our response:

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in itself is not a bad thing...", said Simon LeBon. That's all I needed to hear! I know how humble Duran Duran is. It makes me love them more! The only reason I do what I do is because I want this for them and I know many other fans do as well. And its not because we want to "institutionalize" them...but to give them a place where they can be enjoyed for years to come. To me, the Rock Hall is a museum...and its in museums that they keep records of precious things. To me, Duran Duran is precious and is worthy of being shown to the world for many years to come.

This said, we will make sure to ask that if Duran Duran is ever inducted, that black ties be optional.

Kirk Harrington
DDTTRH, a Project under Duran Duran Worldwide

10 Reasons Why Duran Duran Should Be in the Rock Hall

This will eventually be put up on our official site, but we at least wanted to share it to you here.  This is our official DDTTRH Top 10 Reason why we think Duran Duran should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  This list is important because the Rock Hall will be announcing its nominees soon and we want this list to be the basis of our DDTTRH project promotions for 2016.  We put a lot of work into this, we hope you like it!  Special thanks to those who contributed towards this, namely Kirk Harrington, Andrew Golub, Christian Helwig, Tracey Elena, Pranav from Radio Creme Brulee (Editor and Contributor, and Josie Beaudoin (Editor and Contributor).

10 Reasons why Duran Duran should be in the Rock Hall

10.  Their musical and commercial footprints are global.  Their success is not limited to specific geographic regions in the world.  

9.  Pioneers of the location "music video" shoot (e.g. videos shot in Sri Lanka for the "Rio" singles). They took a purely auditory stimuli such as music and gave it an exotic visual cloak of escapism.  They had essentially taken the medium of the music video one huge step further fairly early in the evolution of this new art form.   

8. They are consummate live entertainers. They have the physical presence, the charisma, and the raw talent, not to mention the years and years of experience, to put on a fantastic, engaging, dynamic live performance that energizes a crowd and gets them off their chairs and on their feet. This is not something automatically granted to everyone in a rock band. It is a skill that requires work and effort to hone and refine, and Duran Duran has it. 

7.  Their recent chart success of “Paper Gods” (and its entering of the US top 10 Billboard album chart) suggests a relevance of the band that transcends generational boundaries.  How many bands can say they’ve done this 35 years after they have formed? 

6.  They were one of the bands that fused all the best elements of '70s music into something new for the '80s. Their mixture of glam, disco, punk and avant-garde heralded a new era in music. 

5.  They have had hit songs throughout their 35+ year career, reaching beyond Hungry Like the Wolf and Rio.  Examples from the Top 5 music markets (US, UK, Japan, France, and Germany) include I Don’t Want Your Love (1988), Ordinary World (1993), Come Undone (1993), Electric Barbarella (1997), (Reach Up for the) Sunrise (2004), What Happens Tomorrow (2005).  There is a breadth and depth to their work that has touched on about every human condition…inspiring countless fans over the decades.

4.  Duran Duran's influence has been felt across generations of music, video, and fashion, inspiring artists from nearly every genre and becoming a pivotal part of cultural history. (drops mic)

The fact that they were invited to perform at the “Fashion Rocks 2014” event is testimony to the fact that their contribution to fashion remains a milestone of pop culture history. 

3.   They have won several awards and made music history throughout their career.  Notably:

1983:  The band are awarded Best Album (Rio) and Best Group, and Simon is awarded Best Male Vocalist, at the British Rock & Pop Awards.

1984:  Grammy for ‘Best Music Video/Short Form’ for “Girls on Film / Hungry Like the Wolf – Video 45″.

1985:  “The Reflex” is named International Hit of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards in London.

1986:  Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 announces Duran Duran as the most successful duo or group from England based on the Billboard charts. Duran Duran were ranked first, followed by The Police, Culture Club, Wham! and The Rolling Stones.

1993:  The band is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1993:  A world-first Enhanced-CD produced by AMXstudios [Alasdair Scott and Malcolm Garrett] premiered at the EMI Records world conference in Brighton, 1993. “Universe” featured a revolutionary audio mixer, allowing users to remix “Ordinary World” on their CD-ROM enabled computers.

1994:  Received the ‘Best Song Musically & Lyrically’ Ivor Novella Award for “Ordinary World”.

2000:  The UK Pop Trash tour features the world’s first use of “augmented reality” technology in a live concert. Duran Duran works with a computer graphics producer to create advanced 2D and 3D visual effects, which allows animated characters to appear live on stage with the band.

2001:  During a ‘Close Up Tour’ show in Anaheim, California, the first fully immersed video and audio recording of a rock concert is conducted. The live rock experience is captured using a unique 360-degree panoramic video and 10.2 channel audio recording system. This pioneering recording is coordinated by producer Jarrell Pair with audio/video researchers working with Dr. Tom Holman, famous for creating Lucasfilm’s THX audio standard.

2003:  For the first time in history, Ticketmaster’s servers crashed for 30 minutes due to the demand of the band’s August 27 Webster Hall, NY, USA show.

2003:  Received the ‘MTV Lifetime Achievement Award’.  Also received the ‘Q Lifetime Achievement Award’.

2004:  Won the Brit Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’

2005:  Received the Ivor Novella Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’.

2008:  Duran Duran make history by becoming the first band to ever play at the Louvre Museum (home of the Mona Lisa) in Paris. They perform under the I.M Pei glass pyramid as part of the biggest fundraising event ever held on the Paris museum’s premises.

2008:  MTV viewers voted the band’s legendary clip for their hit single “Rio” ‘The Greatest Video Of All Time’.

2011:  GQ Lifetime Achievement Award

2015:  Q Icon award

2016:  Golden Note Award, ASCAP, London

2.  Their music has influenced multiple generations of musicians, including some of the most popular bands and artists of the past couple decades.

Examples of artists that have cited them as having been influenced by Duran Duran include Justin Timberlake, Pink, Rob Thomas, Scissor Sisters, Smashing Pumpkins, Mark McGrath, Gwen Stefani, Garbage, Moby, and Dido.  < DDTTRH research>

They can and have and continue to work with anyone and everyone, collaborating with all sorts of musical artists (from opera singers to rappers) and award-winning producers (like Mark Ronson). And for them, it works, because they have the versatility and style to pull it off. 

1.        Showcasing an almost stubborn commitment to making music through some rather dark years (commercially speaking) - which also saw the band shrinking to a three-piece (featuring only two original band members) and resurrecting themselves both creatively and commercially through new musical endeavors. This is how artists evolvement happens. It sets an example for a future crop of musicans and instructs them not to throw in the towel even if the critics have labelled them as being "washed up". Nothing tastes sweeter than a comeback against all odds.  

They are such an enduring band. They've been together, lineup changes notwithstanding, consistently for 35 years.

A Parting bit of Gratitude

I would be remiss if I did not at least say some parting words to DDTTRH as an effort (and thank all the people who made it great).  As you may already know, we have decided to make DDTTRH a project under Duran Duran Worldwide (along with other projects we will be working on). 

So, to be clear...DDTTRH is not going away...its just being done in a different way.  Its definitely going a bit more under the radar...with more focused and targeted efforts.  Making it a project means it has a beginning and an end...the end being when Duran Duran makes it to the Rock Hall.  And don’t forget…if you want to help us with any of our projects (including DDTTRH), please friend Kirk DDWW or Christian DDWW on Facebook.

This thing started as an effort because I wanted to do something special for the band who means so much to me.  I had seen a list of Rock Hall inductees and noticed Duran Duran was not on the list.  How could this be? 

Jason Henry was the first that signed on to help.  Jason became a great friend and helped us out in many ways when we first started.  One of the highlights of working with Jason was him helping get us published about in an article in a Canadian newspaper.  Jason, when you read this…thank you for all you did for us.

Then Anitra came on.  Anitra was the force behind our artist and band interviews and helped us navigate the media waters as our publicist.  One of my fondest memories of Anitra was when she passed out fliers to people in Florida.  This, and some of the amazing interviews she did for us, including the likes of Erik Alexandrakis and Your Vegas.  Anitra was (and continues to be) a livewire.  We are grateful for the energy she brought to us at DDTTRH.

And along came Kandace, who we charmingly referred to as our ‘Petition Duchess’.  Kandace worked well with those that interviewed with us and thanks to her, we were able to get many quality signatures on our Petition (which is still ongoing—link here).  Kandace radiated positive, calm energy…creating many times the perfect balance we needed on our team in our ongoing efforts.  Plus, she helped us improve our communication lines, which sometimes were lacking.  When Kandace left, I received a binder from her which detailed all the contacts and work she did for us.  It was a LOT!  To me it represented the dedication and commitment she had to DDTTRH (as an effort) and its something I will be eternally grateful for.  Love you Kandace!

Christian…the man behind our websites.  At first impression, Christian may seem a little rough around the edges.  I remember my first experience with Christian…when I asked him not to be so hard on Madonna on our sites (btw…today I could care less about this…I suppose I was a bit nieve back then…LOL).  You may also know that Christian can be a bit opinionated when it comes to politics.  Behind all of this though is a fan passionate about Duran Duran, an online media wizard, a trusted adviser, and a committed friend.   Its these last two things I mention about Christian (being a trusted adviser and committed friend) that have meant the most to me.  I have had many a phone call with Christian…sometimes in my  ‘not’ finest hours.  He has always been patient and supportive of me and the DDTTRH cause.  I look forward to continuing to serve with Christian in Duran Duran Worldwide.

Josie I cannot forget to mention either.  Josie from Montana...the land of mountains.  In a way, Josie has been like a mountain…firm, steadfast and always there for us as our editor.  I have always appreciated Josie correcting our press releases and articles, making sure we come across the right way in our Facebook posts…and…just being there.  Josie has always told me that she signed on to help us because she wanted to do ‘something for the guys’.  Well Josie…you have…and its much appreciated.  And when Duran Duran makes it to the Rock Hall (which I am positive they will someday), you can add your name to the list of names that helped get them there.  Thank you Josie.  Feel free to correct the grammar in this article and get it back to me J.

Now for the special mentions.  The list for this one could be very long, but I will cover the most special ones.  Here goes…

Tracey Elena:  She will continue with us at Duran Duran Worldwide.  I am grateful to Tracey for the excitement, passion, and interesting wrestling stories she has brought to our team.  I look forward to continue to serve with you Tracey!

Andrew Golub:  I could say so much about Andrew and the support he was and continues to be to me through the years of DDTTRH and now DDWW (with DDTTRH as a project).  I have many fond memories of working with Andy and am happy to call him a friend.  He truly radiates an energy (definitely off-the-charts Duranium) that is more than catchy…to say the least.  He was an instant voice of support for DDTTRH when I first introduced it to him…he was there for me when it was hardest to deal with ‘crazy fans’…we explored the planet together and discovered Duranium...we have laughed and had fun, never at the expense of others but in the joy that comes from Duran Duran.  Love you Andy!

Kitty Paige:  Kitty is brilliant when it comes to working with the media and marketing efforts.  I have bounced many ideas of off her, and she has always been a willing participant in our many machinations.  I had the pleasure to meet Kitty when I visited Seattle…she is even cooler in person.  I am happy to call Kitty a friend and look forward to continuing that with ‘this music between us’ for years to come.

Stefan LeClair:  From his interview with us to his words of support and friendship..Stefan has been there for us throughout DDTTRH’s time as an effort.  I am personally thankful that I can always count on Stefan to listen and provide words of wisdom to me.

Jake Crawford:  Jake has always been willing to help us with our Youtube needs and is continuing on with us at Duran Duran Worldwide.  He has been extremely helpful in creating promotional videos for us and most recently worked with me to create the Duranium videos you see on our Youtube site.  Jake's passion for Duran Duran has been evident in the videos he's worked on and I always appreciate his laid back Aussie demeanor...truly fun to work with.

M. Douglas Silverstein:  M, the producer of ‘Something You Should Know:  A Duran Duran fan documentary’ interviewed with us and was helpful in judging our first Youtube contest.  Further, M has been super supportive of our efforts and has just been a cool guy to hang around with on Facebook.  Thanks M for your support!

Hanna Cruz:  Hanna did some work for us with Spanish translations.  She was very excited to be helping us and it was nice to work with her for the short time we did.

Pranav of Radio Crème Brulee:  Pranav helped promote us on his radio station and helped generate ideas for some of our promotions.  I had the pleasure of meeting Pranav in Chicago...great times.  Thank you Pranav for being there to help us.

Nile Rogers:  For signing our petition!

Lynn Capirsello:  Although Lynn was with us a short time, it was fun to work with her.  She currently is doing the Art for Duran Duran Facebook site (please visit it!).  Lynn made us a cool promotion video that you can see on our Youtube channel.

Julie Ann Rhodes:  For her positive inspiration and words of support.

Iain Johnson:  When we released our Snow Leopards (in conjunction with the Snow Leopard Trust - www.snowleopard.org), Iain was helpful in promoting them on his 'The Man Who Stole a Leopard Must get to No 1' Facebook site.  Iain also became a member of DDWW when we had members (now Friends).  Thanks Iain for all your help...and for helping to save the snow leopards.

Jeff Piorkowski:  For the fun interview he did with me for the local Sun Times paper.

Debbie and Emily Vernon:  This mother and daughter live in the Cleveland/Akron area and have been extremely supportive of me and our efforts (both with DDTTRH and DDWW).  They were instrumental in 'pulling the wool' over several of our fans' eyes with the Simon's Moustache infamous interview (Emily revealed herself as the Stache).  Debbie is always fun to talk with and makes a special point to make witty comments on our posts (which I always appreciate).

Maria Sbrocco:  I met Maria in person for the first time at the latest Duran Duran concert in Cleveland.  She stood out in the rain with me and passed out fliers for people to sign our petition.  A really fun lady and a huge fan of Duran Duran...I am grateful to know and associate with her.

Nabeel Shahid:  For making our first logo.

NUNO:  For creating our second logo and being a friend and supporter of the cause.

Vader Vader:  For rocking out in our T-shirt.

All the Bands, Artists, and Duran fans that interviewed with us!  Including some notables...Andrew Golub, Erik Alexandrakis, Nathan Stack, Salvo of Duranasty, Your Vegas, Sharmila Tredger, Marc Massive (Massive Ego), Jen Chaney (Washington Post), Scarlet Soho, Owen Paul Mcgee, Nuno, Gretchen Morganstern (maker of Lebon perfume, Adirondack Aromatherapy)

Please follow DDTTRH on Twitter @DDTTRH!

Duranium SPECIAL EVENT Contest

Contest starts:  May 24th, 2014
Contest ends:  June 7th, 2014

For SIGNED Duran Duran RCM promo poster (100% authentic!), name 10 places where Duranium can be found in high concentrations.  Submissions will be judged based on creativity by a panel of judges.  To enter, please visit us at www.ddworldwide.info and contact us with the email address on the site.

2nd Place prize:  A 'Stolen Leopard' cards package, including a set of artist cards, 10 Snow Leopard postcards, and 2 blank Holiday cards...

3rd  and 4th place prizes:  10 Snow Leopard postcards

Spread the word...a new element has been unleashed on the Duraniverse.

Want some ideas?  Please watch our Duranium Youtube videos:
The Duranium Encounter:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw5tfNteLhU
Outtakes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF2o8ICPqDw

#playingwithduranium

 

My Archive Away Mission, Starring Andy Golub

One of the things I didn't share about my trip to Seattle was about my visit to Andy Golub's archive.  It so happened that I was also in town for a Star Trek convention, so I had my Star Fleet uniform with me.    Christine (not Chapel) was gracious enough to show me around while Andy 'geekily' and 'happily' hovered around me taking pictures.  Here are some of them...

Duran Duran dream - the Living Facebook post

I've had several Duran Duran dreams since I started this effort. I thought it would be fun to share them. If you have had a Duran Duran dream and you feel comfortable sharing it, please contact us through our DDWW site (www.ddworldwide.info).

The Dream...

I was on a Facebook page and there was a picture of Simon with red hair and he was facing a door with another older shorter man coming out of it. It was almost like a picture taken off the set of a soap opera. There were several comments about the picture, I added a question like 'What is Simon doing here?'.

Then, the picture came alive and my point of view was as if I was watching the soap opera. Simon pushed through the door with the man and the two were arguing about something. They were then both standing on a sidewalk on the border of a small town by the ocean. The man asked Simon a pointed question and Simon answered by starting to sing the song 'My Own Way'. The funny thing was is that it wasn't his voice, he had a deeper voice, and I'm pretty sure the song was in a different key (and to the tune of a different song).

On the second line of the song, the camera zoomed out and it showed Roger and Nick walking towards Simon, singing the same song.

Then I woke up!

Kirk, DDTTRH

From an Effort to a Project, Whats next for DDTTRH

Its with joy, feelings of nostalgia, and humility that I announce that DDTTRH (Duran Duran to the Rock Hall) will now become a project under our newest effort, Duran Duran Worldwide.  This means that DDTTRH will no longer be its own effort, with its own supporting staff, and its own mission…but will be an ongoing project to be worked on at Duran Duran Worldwide and its mission…To raise awareness of Duran Duran and their importance to music, to energize, connect and excite the Duran Duran fan base all over the world, to boldy go where no Duran Duran effort has gone before (cue Star Trek theme music).  It also means that DDTTRH will be alongside other projects that DDWW will be working on, to be announced in the coming days.

Changes to DDTTRH

·         Making DDTTRH a project implies a start and an end to it.  When Duran Duran is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that’s when the project will end.

·         We will be shutting down the DDTTRH Facebook page as of June 1^st.  We invite you all to join us at our Duran Duran Worldwide Facebook page.  It is from here that we will continue to provide you original content and will give you statuses of the projects we are working on.

·         The DDTTRH Twitter site will remain open and will be the way we inform you of specific developments in regards to the DDTTRH project and its progress.  Please follow @DDTTRH on Twitter to keep informed.

·         Any DDTTRH email addresses will be shut down by June 1^st.  The website with details about the project (and any news) will still be accessible through DDWW (under Projects).

·         Meaningful interviews and blogs from the Blogger website (ddrockhall.blogspot.com) will be moved to our Duran Duran Worldwide website and be posted with our DDTTRH project work.  The Blogger website will be shut down after this happens.

·         Any supporting staff that are currently helping DDTTRH are now a part of DDWW.  We continue to appreciate the efforts of Christian Helwige (our First Officer), Tracey Elena (our Rock Hall Liaison—she’ll need a new title now!), Jake Crawford (who provides us Youtube support), and Josie Beaudoin, our amazing editor

·         Because DDTTRH is now a project and isn’t going away, we still need your help!  If you would like to help us get the word out and continue to support us, please friend Kirk DDWW and Christian DDWW on Facebook.  Through this medium we can organize projects directly with you and give you any marketing materials you need to help us out.

Changes to DDWW

·         We have decided that there will no longer be ‘Members’ of DDWW, but ‘Friends’.  We still will enjoy cross-promoting those who are our ‘site and effort friends’ (and we hope they will continue to do the same with us).  If you have a Duran Duran page, effort, etc. and would like to become a ‘Friend of DDWW’, please contact us through our Duran Duran Worldwide site (ddworldwide.info).  Being a friend implies not being formally connected to DDWW, but as a friend who we keep in contact with and promote through our site.

·         As mentioned, we will be adding other projects in the coming days to DDWW.  If you would like to help us in any of our projects, we invite you to connect with us personally through our Kirk DDWW and Christian DDWW Facebook profiles.  We have already connected with many of you through this more direct and personal medium and we look forward to continuing to do so as we work on projects and roll out original content from Duran Duran Worldwide.

·         We will continue to do interviews, but under DDWW instead.  In fact, we are coming up with a list of those we would enjoy having podcast interviews with us a new way to bring you original content.  If you have something to say about Duran Duran and would like to interview with us, please contact us through the DDWW site, our DDWW email, or our personal DDTTRH or DDWW Facebook pages.  We will also reach out to many of you personally about this.

I would like to personally thank all of you for making the DDTTRH ‘effort’ (while it was a formal effort) a special one.  I have enjoyed associating with all of you and look forward to seeing many of you on Twitter (@DDTTRH) and Duran Duran Worldwide (and lets have some fun together!).

Notorious-ly and Duran-fully yours,

With much love,

Kirk Harrington, Captain, DDTTRH