Perhaps the last thing a Duran Duran fan would expect John Taylor to sing is Don McLean's "American Pie," but on his current tour that is exactly what he is doing.

"I like to make references to other music," said the bass player, whose band, Terroristen, plays Birch Hill tonight.  "I heard Ian Hunter sing 'American Pie,' and I loved it. It's just a little thing I do. Music is like playing tricks on people. It's like, 'You didn't expect to hear that, did you?' " "American Pie" is the unlikely live introduction to the Duran Duran classic "Planet Earth." Taylor will play that -- and several Duran Duran songs (he has been performing "Rio," and recently added the huge hit
"The Reflex" into the set) -- tonight.

Although Taylor left the Birmingham band during the three-year recording period of the group's last record, "Medazzaland," he has no problem acknowledging his past. After all, Duran Duran was one of the first superstar acts on MTV, and the band's lush, '80s new-wave pop set the standard for the decade. The band even set trends in fashion, and each member's image (Taylor, especially) adorned many a teen-age girl's wall. "I have a fabulous bag to choose from," Taylor said. "I've got a great
history to draw from, and we'll be pulling songs from those CDs."

Taylor chose some "versatile instrumentalists" to help breathe some new life into the tunes selected for this tour. His band -- guitarist Gerry Laffy, keyboardist Michael Railton, drummer Larry Aberman and saxophonist John Amato -- was assembled out of friendship, according to Taylor.
 
Taylor met most of the musicians in Los Angeles, where he now resides. He has known Laffy, who primarily is a jazz guitarist, since the early '80s; the two met during the filming of the "Planet Earth" video. "We remained friends, and when I decided I wanted to put a band together, he was the first person I thought of," Taylor said. "I don't play jazz, but to quote the great Bette Midler, 'I have standards, but they are quite low.' The question is, can I share a bus with this guy for six months? For me, it's more about personal relationships. There are a lot of guitar players out there who can play my music." Taylor, whose angular good looks still rival top fashion models', has a lot on his plate these days. In addition to touring with Terroristen, the bass player is planning on releasing a new full length record next year.

"I want to put it out before I go back on tour," he said. Taylor has put out solo material before. In addition to two solo records, 1995's "Feelings are Good And Other Lies" and the 1997 EP "Autodidact," Taylor has been known to moonlight in groups including
Power Station (with Robert Palmer) and the punk-rock supergroup Neurotic Outsiders. One night in New York City, Neurotic Outsiders were joined by rockers Billy Idol and Slash on stage. That moment, according to Taylor, rivaled some of the bigger Duran Duran performances.
 
Taylor's new untitled record will mark a return to the funkiness that John Taylor fans expect, yet there will be some techno elements in the mix. Taylor stops short of calling it a techno album, however. "It is quite progressive, I think. It is much more refined than 'Feelings Are Good.' It's what people expect from me, with tricky grooves and textures," he said. "It's hard to explain. It's a mixed bag; it's not like it's all one thing. I can't say that this is my techno album, because there are some things that sound like Tom Petty."

As for Duran Duran, Taylor bowed out before "Medazzaland" hit the stores. He wasn't credited as a band member on the record, but shared songwriting credits and performed on a few tracks. Taylor felt pressed to move on. "We were working on that record for two years," he said. "When it was considered finished, they made some changes and moved me out of the mix. I don't blame them, I would have done the same thing. But that was almost a three-year project. It's not like I left in the middle of a tour. We did like, 10 hours of work a week on that record." "I was a member of Duran Duran for 20 years, and I had just had enough," he continued. "I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to sing very badly, and I wanted to make my own decisions."

Would he ever return to Duran Duran if the reunion bug ever bit? "Sure I would. I mean, have you ever decided to go back to school?" he asked. "A reunion tour might be a lot of fun, but it is not on my agenda today."

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