The Killers (band)

   

The Killers are an alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, that 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 but moved to Las Vegas in January of 2000, worked at a Banana Republic store—even though he dropped out of Kirkwood Community College and then the University of Iowa; 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.

On December 1 2004 they will appear as guests on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and on December 2 2004, they plan to make a guest appearance on the FOX television series The O.C.. In the past, they have appeared as musical guests on: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Pepsi Smash, The Late Show with David Letterman, and in Britain they have appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and the Later with Jools Holland

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".
  • 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

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Albums

Singles

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
Smashing Pumpkins
New Order
David Bowie
Duran Duran
Pulp
Depeche Mode
The Cars
Blur
Psychedelic Furs
The Pixies
Beck

External links



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