TigerBeat Q and A with Nuno

Just found this Tigerbeat interview from 2003 in my archive and it's so good to read it again.

Q AND A WITH NUNO
TigerBeat 2scnd 'Graphic Guru' ... http://www.tigerbeat.nl/ (March-2003)

1: WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHAT DO YO DO FOR LIVING?
:: I live in Lisbon, Portugal and I always wanted to have a career in design. Unfortunately the destiny was different and am now currently working as an engineer.

2: WHAT KIND OF MUSIC YOU LISTEN TO?
:: Appart from DD and related I still enjoy some groups of the 80's and I am always focused on the new sounds. Today there are 2 groups that I really enjoy to listen to and they are "the calling" and "coldplay".

3: WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?
:: Listening to music, creating designs, the internet, playing synth, etc..

4: SINCE WHEN YOU'RE FAN OF JT AND WHY?
:: Since the beginning. In 1980 when I first listen to "Planet Earth" on the radio, I discover a new world of sound (thanks DD). The, so called 'new-romatic movement started, and new kind of band appeared (Human League, Classix Nouveaux, Soft Cell, OMD, etc.). I bought the Duran Duran vinyl (do you remember what's that?) and I was almost hypnotised with the fascinating melodies. After that, I "had" to buy every record from them

5: HAVE YOU EVER MET JT IN PERSON?
:: No, I don't think that I will ever have that chance.

6: HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE TIGERBEAT WEBSITE?
:: It was a kind of an invitation. Thanks Madeleine to make me part of this "family".

7: WHAT MADE YOU SAY YES?
:: I couldn't resist. It's so good to see that people like our "work" and for me it's a honor to contribute with something to TB!

8: WHAT DO YOU DO AT TIGERBEAT?
:: Till now (nov'02) not much but I pretend to do a lot. I made some wallpapers, postcards, cover sleeves and screensavers.

9: YOU'RE FAMOUS OF YOUR GREAT COVER DESIGNS, AND RECENTLY NOW THE TIGERBEAT WALLPAPERS. HOW DO YOU MAKE A GOOD GRAPHIC? WITH WHAT YOU START FIRST?
:: Famous? Who told you that? (Madeleine thinks so, ED) The secret is simple ... just enjoy doing it ... let my mind fly away and then get into this design programs and try to pass it to the screen. It was funny because I never pretend to be so involved in this DD things. I started with a very simple webpage (do you remember nuno's home page? ... it was at http://duran.com.sapo.pt) with only one front page. After I included some "goodies" on it and people start to email me about the site. Then the site increased a lot with almost everything I had from DD (lyrics, sounds, images, bootlegs, concerts dates, ringtones, etc.). Regarding the bootlegs I hate to have the cds without covers, so I decided to make some for my own. And I enjoy it so much that I start to make also some wallpappers and postcards. Meanwhile I started a yahoo group (duran_pt) and with some suggestions from the members I made birthday cards to each member of DD (you can still see those on the yahoo group) and it seems that they liked. At least it was what I heard from Katy.

10: WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS FOR THE TIGERBEAT WEBSITE?
::Just showing that you don't need to be in the official sites to make very good things.

11: DO YOU BELIEVE JT KNOWS ABOUT YOUR SITE AND HAVE SEEN IT?
:: I think so, but you will never know (I think).

12: HONESTLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE OFFICIAL SITE OF BOTH JT AND DURAN?
:: TTP it's a very good site indeed. They have always something new every week (a new front page, new sounds, new photos, etc.). I really like it. About dd dot com, I would love to say the same but the truth is that the site is so inactive. Well, we can say that the site is almost like the release of the albums (very slow). In one point it was very disapointed to me to see that the most innovated band of the world (do you remember the 1st video's) have a site ... like the normal bands have!

13: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FANSITE (OTHER THAN YOUR OWN) AND WHY?
:: duranduran. com (just because is the DD oficial site), trusttheprocess.com, TigerBeat! and many many more.
14: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE JT RECORDING?
:: Techno for two. I think in this cd where you can find the best vocals from JT ... and the melody is so so DD. Regarding the cover sleeves for JT albums I just did't liked the 1st one ... but the others are suberb. Patty it's a very inspired person.

15: DO YOU THINK JT SHOULD GO FURTHER WITH THIS?
:: Yes, he isn't the best singer but he is in fact a very good entertainer. Even so, I think he is one of the most creative persons in DD. 007 bass player.

16: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DURAN REUNION?
:: Still don't believe and still waiting for the album. It's a dream come true. Maybe this time I will have a chance to see the 5fab live for the first time in my life.

17: WOULD THAT HAVE ANY EFFECT ON JT'S SOLO CAREER YOU THINK?
:: No, I think that those 2 projects are complety different. The musicians are different and the musics also will be.

18: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE JOHN?
:: The best bass player in the world.

19: (asked by Sandra, 16 February 2003): WHAT WOULD BE YOUR TOP 10 LIST OF THINGS YOU DO NOT LIKE OR DO?
::TEN? Can it be just three? OK!(Like) - Sincerity - Friendship - Life. (Don't like) - Lies - Stupid people - Clocks

20: (asked by Menno Fischer, February 20 2003): WHAT INSPIRES YOU NUNO?
::Mainly these 4 letters - LIFE!! Everything and nothing is as inspiration to me. I really like the art work done on both the duran duran and the rio album. Sometimes, those two decide for me to make my first move/ step to do create something. At the end most designs turn out to be completely different ... but maybe that is the real meaning of art.

21: (send in by New Idris Febryary 25, 2003): NUNO, WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? HOW YOU WERE AS A KID?
::I grow up in the capital of Portugal and I had a very happy childhood. I started to love Duran Duran from the age of 12.

22: (send in by New Idris February 25, 2003): DO YOU HAVE ONE FAVOURITE SONG (NOT DURAN RELATED)? AND WHY IS THAT?
::That's a very good question ... I stopped for awhile to think about it, and ... can you believe it? I didn't found any particular song (non dd related) that I can call as my favorite one. Yes, there are a lot of songs from groups from the early eighties and also from this present day that I really enjoy listening to. But none is my favorite. Maybe, my favorite song is the one I am writing at this moment ... well, I don't know

23: (send in by Sandra, 16 February 2003): WHO DO YOU THINK WAS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTIST OF THE EIGHTIES AND WHY?
::I think that Andy Warhol and Patrick Nagel were the most important artists in the 80's because they described exactly what was happening in that decade ... the colors, the non-sense, the fashion, the music.In my opinion, the artists from the 80's had a lot of influence from the surrealist painters like Salvador Dali and Magritte. I enjoy a lot those artists ... and I also like some work done in the impressionism era (Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, ...) those were really artists.

24: (send in by Maya Benson): ANY BAD EXPERIENCES WITH DURAN?
:: No. Not untill now ... why should I?

25: (send in by Sherin Hartley, March 13): HOW DO YOU LIKE WORKING WITH MADELEINE? HOW DO YOU WORK TOGETHER? DESCRIBE THAT FOR ME.
::Well, "working" with Madeleine is a very magic moment. It's a pleasure to "work" with someone that can understand everything we do ( I am talking about art). She helps me a lot and she always encourages me. She is fabulous in that point. The working process is very simple ... how can one person from Portugal and other from Netherlands work together? Right, via the internet. During our "creations" we "talk" a lot and what makes it work is the sincerity. I am very proud to be "working" with her.

26: (send in by Mark, 20 March 2003): WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ON THE CURRENT SITUATION (IRAK) IN THE WORLD?
::Mark, that's a difficult one to answer. I don't think that the way the things are going now is the correct one. - Make love, Not war! -

Regards,
Nuno.