Who are you and what do you do? My name is Elisa Lorello. I’m originally from Long Island but am living in New England after having spent six fabulous years in Raleigh, North Carolina. I’m the author of the best-selling Kindle novels Faking It and Ordinary World (yep, inspired by the song), Why I love Singlehood (co-written with Sarah Girrell), and most recently, Adulation. I’ve also been teaching writing at the college level since 2000, but am taking a sabbatical at the time of this blogpost.
What is your favorite song and why? Tough question – so many to choose from! “Ordinary World” has a very special meaning for me, and not just because it inspired me to write the novel of the same name. That song helped me to get through one of the lowest points of my life. On top of that it’s a beautifully written and well-produced song. I also love “New Religion” – it has so many fantastic musical layers to it, from Simon’s manic vocals, to Andy’s jazzy guitar riff, to John’s funky bassline, to Roger’s smooth rhythms to Nick’s haunting intro. The new album has some great tracks as well (“Runway Runaway” is like musical chocolate, and “Blame the Machines” sounds like something my older brother would’ve written/produced.)
Runners up: “Rio”, “Girls on Film”, “Come Undone”, and “Someone Else, Not Me”, to name a few. (On a different day you might get different answers.)
Tell us about the first time you saw the band live. April 3, 1984 was the first time I saw the band (and my first rock concert in general at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island – I was 14). My favorite gig, however, was August 21, 2012 at DPAC in Durham, NC. I went with friends who’ve never been to a Duran Duran show, and frankly I think they had more fun watching me having the time of my life. I think it was also emotional because it was at the end of the All You Need is Now tour, and I was moving back up north two months later, after living in North Carolina for six years. The band never sounded better; they’ve musically aged like a fine wine. Plus there’s a mutual appreciation and respect between them and the fans now that we’re all grown up. The set was full of energy, and I was dancing the entire time. Neither the fans nor the band wanted it to end. I don’t own a smartphone, but even if I did I wouldn’t have taken it out because I didn’t want to miss a moment of real time.
Runner up was in 2004, on Long Island, during the Astronaut reunion tour. I love Dom, but it was so great to see Andy back on stage. Not counting Power Station, I’ve seen Duran Duran 9 or 10 times – I’ve lost count!
The age old question: which is your favorite band member? If you don’t have one, tell us about your favorite piece of Duran memorabilia. John! I know, big surprise. In retrospect, I don’t think it was only about his looks – although, let’s face it: he is quite the looker. After reading his blog posts on the Duran site and then his memoir, it seems to me that we have a similar kind of introspection and artistic viewpoint of the world. And I really love how much he’s grown as a musician.
And yeah, it’s about his looks. 🙂
As for memorabilia, there are so many things that, in hindsight, I wish I’d bought and collected (like the calendars for example) but unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of money when I was a teenager. I’m trying to collect some things now (especially vinyl), but of course now it’s all even more expensive! I noticed some things on eBay that I already own, like an ad featuring John Taylor for the Aria Pro II bass guitar that I got from a music magazine, some pinups and centerfolds from Star Hits and couple of picture discs. Some of my favorite pieces include “A View to a Kill” on white vinyl and an unopened complete box of trading cards. I also still have the concert jersey from my first show in 1984, and the bag it came in. There are a few pieces I wish I’d taken better care of – for example, I wish I’d kept that 1984 Rolling Stone cover intact. But hey, what did I know back then? I was a dumb teenager! I also lost some ticket stubs when my keepsake box was stolen.
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| The drawing of John Taylor – finally framed! |
I used to draw and paint when I was younger, and recently framed a few portraits of band members. One is a drawing I did of John when I was sixteen – it’s finally hanging in my room, over 25 years later.
How do you feel that the band has influenced your career? In some ways, they were (and still are) a muse. As I mentioned above, when I was a teenager I used to draw and paint, and I copied their portraits from all my pinups and album covers. I also wrote a lot of fan fiction during that time. In later years when I became a novelist, the song “Ordinary World” was the inspiration for one of my novels, even though the song/band is never mentioned. And even though my novel Adulation is about a celebrity screenwriter and a fan, the seed of the idea was planted following the Duran Duran concert I attended in 2005 – originally it was going to be about a woman who meets her 80s idol, but I couldn’t find the proper angle, and then the movie Music and Lyrics came out, so it kinda killed my buzz.
I also recently announced that I’m publishing a memoir about my thirty years as a Duran Duran fan (so I don’t wanna give away all the good stuff here! Hahaha).
And of course, I listen to them constantly – just about every day, in fact, so I think they indirectly affect my creative process. It’s always been about the music for me.
Thank you so much, Rhonda and Amanda, for including me in your Take Five series! So honored, and so psyched for the convention!
Interesting blog, contradicts the blog a few days ago. One minute it is a waste of money and not OK to buy memorabilia and if we do we are sad, then the next minute we are interviewing people about their favorite Memorabilia. Scraping the barrel for blog content?
Thank YOU for sharing with us, Elisa! We're really looking forward to the convention as well!-R
Obviously the topic of the first blog was completely missed. That's too bad. -R