Duran Duran uses same themes with different sound

We already had an album's worth of material, and the label wanted one or two songs they could work at pop radio. We suggested working with Timbaland and it all came together. During the course of that week, we fell out with Andy and we ended up without a guitar player, but with three tracks we had cut with Timbaland ["Nite-Runner," "Skin Divers" and "Zoom In"], which had a very different sound than what we already had. We were so excited with the new direction the music had taken that we decided to scrap everything we had done with Andy and just use these new songs as a basis for a new album.

This album is similar to older albums in its examination of decadence. How would you say the idea of celebrity today compares to when you were making thematically similar songs in the early '80s?

There's so much room in the media now that it'll let in anybody. There are so many more opportunities for exposure now that if you like music, for instance, you've got to be a filter. I'm not a snob, but I'm not interested in "American Idol" or any of those shows. For me that's not about music, it's television entertainment.

With Andy Taylor out of the picture, do you have a live guitar element on this tour?

We sure do, and he's from the same English blues/rock school as Andy. His name is Dom Brown. He's very sharp, he's a great player and a lot of fun to play with. I think this version of the band sounds as good as we've ever sounded.

This tour has a pretty elaborate production, including a mini electro set where the band plays only electronic instruments. How did that idea come about and what else can you tell us about this weekend's show?

We were in the studio one day with Nate Hills and we played "Warm Leatherette" by the Normal, which is considered one of the first techno tracks, and we said, "Wouldn't it be great to incorporate this song into our set?" And the whole unplugged concept ... we've done a bit of that but it never felt entirely honest. So we decided to do a spin on that where we group the keyboards at the front of the stage, Roger [Taylor] would play electronic drums and we'd all play keyboards rather like Kraftwerk. We arranged this 25-minute mash of Duran songs with a couple of nods to other songs, like "Warm Leatherette." It's just a great ride, and the fun thing about it is once it starts it just rolls, it's like going downhill on skis.

You're going to hear your favorite Duran Duran songs, there's no doubt about that. But you're going to see a band that has been making music for 30 years highly invigorated. We're really on it right now, and you'd have to be tired of living not to get a kick out of the show.

• THE 411: "Red Carpet Massacre Tour" with Duran Duran and Your Vegas. $68-$88. 8 p.m. May 17 (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 4469 Stella Drive N.W., Buckhead. 404-233-2227, www.duranduran.com, www.chastainseries.com.