The Killers Biography
The following biography
is from
Wikipedia.org
“The
Free Encyclopedia.”
The Killers are an indie rock/new wave band
from Las Vegas, Nevada, who formed in 2002. Brandon Flowers was inspired
to start the band in part after seeing Oasis perform at The Joint at the
Hard Rock Hotel in April 2002. They released their hit record Hot Fuss
in 2004.
Some of their best known songs include:
"Andy You're a Star"
"All These Things That I've Done"
"Somebody Told Me"
"Mr. Brightside"
"Smile Like You Mean It"
The band took their name from a New Order
video titled "Crystal". It was featured on the bass drum of a fictional
band in the video. Ironically, Brandon Flowers went on to take to the
stage at the 2005 T in the Park festival and perform "Crystal" with New
Order.
* * * *
Band
members
Brandon Flowers – Vocals and keyboards
David Brent "Dave" Keuning – Guitar
Mark Stoermer – Bass
Ronald "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 bands such as Oasis, The Cure, New Order, and The Smiths.
They met and immediately clicked, and set out to find a drummer and a
bassist. Many auditions later, they found Ronnie Vannucci and Mark
Stoermer 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
and was a student of Philosophy at UNLV; Ronnie Vannucci was a student
of classical percussion at UNLV and worked as a photographer at the
Little Chapel of Flowers.
UK magazine NME was an early champion of
the band - reviewing early UK shows. 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". The main bulk of their mainstream success came when they
scored a number 3 chart position with their re-release of "Somebody Told
Me".
Much of The Killers' music is based on
British influences and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave
music. Brandon Flowers occasionally sings with a faux British accent.
On December 1, 2004 they appeared as guests
on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and on December 2, 2004, they made a
guest appearance on the FOX television series The O.C.. On January 15,
2005 they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. 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 Later with Jools Holland. Most
recently, on April 14, 2005, they appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay
Leno. On May 12, 2005, they performed throughout MTV Presents: The Next
Generation Xbox Revealed.
The Killers performed at the 2005
Glastonbury festival on the Pyramid Stage, on Friday Night, after they
turned down the Sunday headline spot when Kylie Minogue cancelled after
being diagnosed with breast cancer. They turned down the offer, stating
that they didn't think they were popular enough. However, they still
managed to deliver an excellent performance, and attracted one of the
biggest crowds at the festival. On the 2nd of July, The Killers
performed at Hyde Park's Live 8 concert. They also performed at the T in
the Park festival in Balado, Scotland on July 9th, during which,
following The Killers' own set, Brandon Flowers performed "Crystal" with
New Order - "Crystal" being the music video the band took their name
from. Soon, they are jetting off to Vienna with U2, in order to support
them on the European leg of their current Vertigo tour.
The Killers performed on the London stage
of the famed Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005. They performed their song
All These Things That I've Done. To their surprise and honor, Robbie
Williams (who performed after them) incorporated the song's refrain
"I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance.
Trivia
-
Brandon's family moved to Nephi, Utah
when he was eight because his parents were tired of living in Las
Vegas after forty years, Brandon stated in the October 2004 issue of
Spin magazine . When he was sixteen, he had the chance to return to
Las Vegas which he did and attended Chaparral High School.
-
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 a downdraft in December 2003 when flying from Texas
to the UK.
-
In the new Mr. Brightside video, the
bass drum gives the made-up band's name as "The Genius Sex Poets."
This is rumored to be a name they were thinking of using before they
settled on The Killers.
-
Brandon Flowers has some grudges
against The Bravery's musical success. He claims the band only got
signed because of the success of The Killers.
-
Liam Gallagher encourages competition
between The Killers and The Bravery, as Oasis's own rivalry with
Blur in 1995 sent both bands to the peaks of their careers.
-
Brandon Flowers disagrees with the look
of the "Smile Like You Mean It" video, saying that it doesn't have
any relation to the song and is sentimental.
-
Brandon Flowers performed "Crystal" at
the 2005 T in the Park festival in Scotland with New Order (as well
as The Killers' own set on the Main Stage - New Order were
headliners of the BBC Radio 1 NME Stage). The choice of track
performed may have been influenced by the fact "Crystal" is the
music video from which The Killers took their name.
Discography
Albums
Hot Fuss (June 7, 2004 UK, June 15, 2004
USA) #7 US, #1 UK, #1 Australia
Hot Fuss: Limited Edition (August 16, 2005
US) -- contains 3 previously unreleased songs
* * * *
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killers_%28band%29
Date Article Copied:
August 26, 2005
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