The Killers band
The Killers are an alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, which formed in 2002.
The band took their name from a New Order video titled "Crystal". It was featured on the bass drum of a made-up band in the video.
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Band members
Brandon Flowers – vocals and keyboards David Keuning – guitar Mark Stoermer – bass Ronnie Vannucci (Jr.) – drums
History
In 2001, Brandon Flowers was abandoned by the first band that he was in, a synth pop band known as Blush Response, after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. After he quit, Flowers responded to an ad in the Las Vegas Weekly by future guitarist David Keuning, about forming a band which was inspired by Oasis and/or The Cure and/or The Beatles. They met and immediately clicked, and set out to find a drummer and a bassist. Many auditions later, they found Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci to fill the posts.
Before they had become a band, all four of them had various jobs: Flowers was a bellhop, for a while, at the Gold Coast Hotel, even though he had dropped out of college; David Keuning, who was originally from Pella, Iowa, worked at a Banana Republic store; Mark Stoermer worked as a medical courier delivering various medical supplies; Ronnie Vannucci was a student of classical percussion at UNLV and worked as a photographer at the Little Chapel of Flowers—where Britney Spears was temporarily married to longtime friend Jason Allen Alexander.
The band became more well-known when they released their album Hot Fuss on June 7, 2004 in the United Kingdom (on London-based indie record label Lizard King Records) and June 15 in the United States on Island Records. They released their Japanese and French versions of the same album in late 2004. Their first single, "Somebody Told Me," was released on that same year. The band also had chart success with their singles "Mr. Brightside", which reached the Top 10 in the UK when released, and "All These Things That I've Done".
Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences and on the music of the 1980s. Brandon Flowers occasionally sings with a faux British accent.
Trivia
Brandon's family moved to a little town known as Nephi, Utah, when he was eight because his parents were tired of living in Las Vegas after forty years Brandon stated in the Spin magazine of October 2004. Either his parents or he or both moved back to Las Vegas during some year.
Brandon Flowers used to be chubby, but he lost some weight over the years.
Dave Keuning's old stage name, which he no longer uses, was "Tavian Go".
Both Mark Stoermer and Brandon Flowers are Mormon.
The Killers seem to have a penchant for attracting natural disasters . The band was shaken by an earthquake during the recording of their song “Believe Me Natalie” at Lizard King, which caused Vannucci to fall from his stool. They encountered fires in Simi Valley, California when they recorded their song “Change Your Mind” for the American version of their album Hot Fuss. And finally, the band thought they were going to die when their private jet hit an air pocket in December 2003 when flying from Texas to the U.K..
Discography
Albums
Singles
- "Mr Brightside EP" (22nd September 2003)
- "Somebody Told Me" (April 2004)
- "Mr. Brightside" (24th May 2004)
- "All These Things That I've Done"(30th August 2004)
- "Smile Like You Mean It" (due for release in late 2004 or early 2005)
- First played by KROQ in October 8th, 2004.
- "Somebody Told Me" (set for re-release in the UK on the 10th January 2005)
Quotes
- "We hope that people get excited about a real band again". – Brandon Flowers
- “He was the only person to reply to my ad who wasn’t a complete freak”. “He came over with his keyboard and we started going through song ideas straight away. I had the verse to “Mr. Brightside” and he went away and wrote the chorus. That was the first song we wrote together and remains the only song that we’ve played at every single Killers show”. – David Keuning commenting on Brandon Flowers
- "I’ve always had this thing about it not really mattering where you’re from, because there’s always been this big cloud over America saying you have to live in LA or you have to live in New York to make it. I always knew it didn’t matter as long as you had the songs". – Brandon Flowers on musical success
Influences
In various interviews with band member(s) of The Killers, they have publicly cited at least one of these groups, or more, as musical influences:
Oasis, Morrissey, The Smiths, The Cure, The Beatles, U2, New Order, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Pulp, Depeche Mode, The Cars, Blur, Psychedelic Furs, The Pixies
External links
- Official Homepage of The Killers (http://www.islandrecords.com/thekillers/site/home.las) (Note: Includes all three music videos)
- Official U.K. Homepage (http://www.thekillers.co.uk)
- MTV Section on The Killers (http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/killers_the/artist.jhtml)
- The Killers' on Launch.com (http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/default.asp?artistID=1103362) (Note: You may need a Yahoo ID in order to see the videos)
- Destiny is Calling Me (informative fan website) (http://www.thekillers.amplifier.at)
- Hot Fuss Gone Gold (only in Spanish) (http://www.universalmusic.es/web/artista_biografia.asp?pag=01&Id=35820&idNot=1567)
- Earliest Article on The Killers? (http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2002/09_26/music_micorscope.html)
- One of the first American fansites (http://tko.metal-idol.net)
- 'The Killers' fansite, (Desperate) (http://mrbrightside.com)
- 'The Killers' Unofficial Forum (http://mrbrightside.com/forum)
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Categories: American musical groups | Alternative musical groups | 2000s music groups