The Killers

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The Killers

The Killers are a Grammy nominated and American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. It was formed in 2002 and is made up of Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, vocals), Ronnie Vannucci Jr., (drums, percussion). The Killers released their debut album, Hot Fuss, in 2004. Their second album, Sam's Town, was released in the United Kingdom on October 2 2006 and in North America on October 3 2006.

History

Before they became a band, all four had various jobs. Flowers, who had dropped out of college, was a bellhop for a while at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Dave Keuning, who was originally from Pella, Iowa, dropped out of Kirkwood Community College, then the University of Iowa, and finally moved to Las Vegas in January of 2000. He worked there at a Banana Republic store, stating that it was a terrible job and he finally quit when a new manager was appointed and he wouldn't allow Dave to listen to music in the backroom. Mark Stoermer worked as a medical courier, delivering various medical supplies while studying philosophy at UNLV. Ronnie Vannucci was a student of classical percussion at UNLV to become a teacher and worked as a photographer at the Little Chapel of the Flowers and as a pedicab driver at the Desert Passage mall inside the Aladdin Hotel.[1]

In 2001, 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. Shortly thereafter, Flowers attended an Oasis concert, and, realizing that he wanted to make the transition from a keyboard band, began searching for a guitarist. He responded to an ad that Keuning had placed in the paper that listed, among other things, Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis as influences.[2] The two hit it off immediately and began rehearsing. They were joined by a bassist (Keuning's roommate) and a drummer.[1]

Both bassist and drummer quickly moved on to other things, and the drummer would later sue the band, claiming that he wrote "Mr. Brightside."[3] After their departure, Vannucci and Stoermer (who were both in other bands at the time) were approached by Flowers and Keuning with an offer to join "The Killers," a name which comes from the bass drum of a fictional band in a New Order video for their song "Crystal."

After watching a few of their early shows, Vannucci acknowledged that the group was very green and would need a lot of work to become a polished act. Additionally, their fanbase was scarce and they hadn't yet worked out their image. However, Vannucci would eventually join the band.[1]

Stoermer was the last to join. He filled the remaining post at least partly because he and Flowers had quickly become friends. They played their first gig as the new band at a club in Vegas called The Junkyard. After Vannucci sold his house the band found themselves without a garage to rehearse in and took to sneaking into UNLV's music rooms, where Vannucci was attending college, in order to practice.[1]

Mainstream success

The Killers, before they went international, played at a small club in Denver, Colorado. With the band's lineup complete, and their repertoire of songs expanding, the band began to attract attention from talent bookers, local agents, major label scouts—and a UK representative for Warner Bros. The Killers started to play for churches all around Colorado. In 2001 the The Killers played for a well-known pastor, John Haaga, to help raise funds for their band. Though the Warner Bros rep passed on the band, he took the demo back with him, showing it to a friend who worked at UK indie label Lizard King. The Killers would sign by the end of the summer, and moved to England.[1]

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. UK magazine NME was an early champion of the band - reviewing early UK shows. 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 three chart position with their re-release of "Somebody Told Me."

The Killers' second album, "Sam's Town," was released on October 2nd 2006 in the UK, and October 3rd 2006 in the USA under Island Universal. Brandon Flowers quoted that Sam's Town will be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years," though the album has received a mixed response from critics and fans. The first single from Sam's Town "When You Were Young" debuted on radio stations in late July 2006. In late August 2006, it was offered as a downloadable track before the album's debut. The single then entered the chart on downloads alone at #5 and the following week on its official release went to #2 in the UK. It was unable to knock the Scissor Sisters off of the top spot. Their new single, "Bones," is the latest video from the band directed by Tim Burton.

The Killers recently wrapped up with the production of their new music video for "Read My Mind" in Tokyo.[4]

In promotion of Sam's Town, the band returned as the musical guest for the 32nd season premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 30, 2006. They performed "When You Were Young" and "Bones." [5] The album sold over 700,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a No. 2 debut on the United World chart.

Additionally, the music of The Killers was featured on the 2006 Season of "RockStar Supernova" a reality TV show featuring Tommy Lee and Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction) which gave them wider audience exposure.

Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences (indeed the band are often described as the "Best British band to have come out of America") and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave music. Flowers has also said in interviews that the larger than life sound of many of the band's songs is due to the influence of living in Las Vegas, a city where everything is about flash and who can top whom. Despite their appreciation for the wave of post-punk bands that sprung up during the 80s, the band members are also avowed fans of New Order, David Bowie, Morrissey,[6] Queen [citation needed],U2, and The Beatles.

Notable appearances

They made a guest appearance on the FOX television series The O.C., playing at The Bait Shop (a fictional all ages club). On January 15, 2005 and September 30, 2006, they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. In the past, they have appeared as musical guests on: Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In Britain, they have appeared on Top of the Pops, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Later with Jools Holland. On May 12, 2005 and October 10, 2005, they performed throughout MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed. They performed for an episode of Austin City Limits that aired on November 5, 2005.

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 had enough songs to fill a headline slot. However, they attracted one of the biggest crowds at the festival. They also performed at the T in the Park festival in Balado, Scotland on July 9, 2005, during which, following The Killers' own set, Flowers performed "Crystal" with New Order. They then jetted off to Vienna with U2, in order to support them on the European leg of their Vertigo Tour.

The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005. They performed "All These Things That I've Done." To their surprise, 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.[7] Coldplay and U2 followed suit, and at their separate concerts played in Las Vegas, with The Killers in the crowd, they incorporated that famous line into the songs "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" and "Beautiful Day," respectively.[8]

After seeing footage for director Richard Kelly's upcoming film Southland Tales, the band agreed to allow Kelly to use "All These Things I've Done" for the movie's soundtrack. The song was also used in the final scene and closing credits of the 2005 movie, The Matador, as well as the opening scene of the pilot episode of the CBS show, "Jericho."

The Killers have signed on to play the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand in 2007, playing six dates from January 19 to February 4. They are billed alongside Tool, Muse, My Chemical Romance, and Jet.

Controversy

Since going platinum, the band (and principally Flowers) has managed to incite a few rivalries - most notably with The Bravery and Fall Out Boy, who are both labelmates (Island Records). Flowers has said that these bands, especially The Bravery, are riding on the coattails of the success of The Killers.[9] Additionally, in an article of NME, Flowers claimed Fall Out Boy was hogging the A&R man both bands share, setting off Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz. However, after Wentz made a couple of rants on his blog in September of 2005, he offered a virtual cease-fire.[10] Brandon has since apologized to The Bravery, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco, saying "I'd like to take it all back - these people are just doing what they want to do, just like I am," and that he was "not proud of" his occasional jealousy. [11]

Also in NME, Keuning went on record as saying "All those bands, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, they [are] only influenced by each other and Blink 182. How can that be a good thing?"[12] Panic! at the Disco recently made an appearance on the November 14th episode of Total Request Live, and made it appear that they don't seem to hold a grudge against the Killers, saying that they "love the new album."

Brandon Flowers, in interviews with several music magazines, claimed that the song "Where Is She?" was based on Jodi Jones, a Scottish girl whose boyfriend, Luke Mitchell, was found guilty of her murder. Many, especially in Scotland, saw this as an insult to her memory, and Flowers (speaking for the band) gave a formal apology, telling the Sunday Herald, "I came across kind of badly. I'd hate to cause offense or further hurt because of it... there's no way on earth I could ever possibly pretend to know what it must actually feel like to suffer such a thing, and I wouldn't presume to appropriate any other individual's feelings for a song." [13]

In February 2006 The Killers' former manager, Braden Merrick, filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract when he was fired in May of 2005. Merrick's contract was to have run through 2007 and the two sides had been negotiating a settlement before the lawsuit was filed. [14]

Flowers has recently gone on record claiming that Green Day's politically driven concept album American Idiot displays "calculated Anti-Americanism." He explained that he has problems with the album content itself and also the fact that the band's recent live DVD, Bullet in a Bible, was filmed overseas. The taping of the concert, featured on Bullet in a Bible, shows thousands of Europeans singing along to "American Idiot." He said, "I just thought it was really cheap. To go to a place like England or Germany and sing that song - those kids aren't taking it the same way that he meant it. And he [Billie Joe Armstrong] knew it." Stating that he feels Green Day's DVD is a bit of a stunt, he went on to say that he feels The Killers' most recent release, Sam's Town, is a much more accurate representation of American culture. [15]

Discography

Main article: The Killers discography

Albums

Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. Pop 100 U.S. Modern Rock UK Singles Chart UK Download Chart Australian Singles Chart
2004 "Somebody Told Me" 51 - 3 3 19 17 Hot Fuss
"Mr. Brightside" 1 1 1 1 1 1 Hot Fuss
2005 "Smile Like You Mean It" - - 15 11 37 47 Hot Fuss
"All These Things That I've Done" 74 58 10 18 - 42 Hot Fuss
2006 "When You Were Young" 1 14 18 1
(2 weeks) 		2 2 10 Sam's Town
"Bones" - - 21 15 28 25 Sam's Town
"A Great Big Sled" (Download Only) 54 42 - - 11 - iTunes Single
2007 "Read My Mind" 1 - - 10 62 - - Sam's Town
  • 1 Currently active on charts. These are the highest chart positions to date.

Awards and nominations

  • Nominated: Best Rock Album (2005) for "Hot Fuss"
  • Nominated: Best Rock Song (2005) for "Somebody Told Me"
  • Nominated: Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (2005) for "Somebody Told Me"
  • Nominated: Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (2006) for "Mr. Brightside"
  • Nominated: Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (2006) for "All These Things That I've Done"
  • Nominated: Best Rock Song (2007) for "When You Were Young"
  • Nominated: Best Short Form Music Video (2007) for "When You Were Young"
Note: The remix of the song "Mr Brightside" was also nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical (2006) Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke.
  • Nominated: Breakthrough, Favorite New Artist (2005)
  • Nominated: Group of the Year (2005)
  • Nominated: Digital song of the year for "Mr. Brightside" (2005)
  • Nominated: Modern rock artist of the year (2005)
  • Nominated: Best Group Video (2005) for "Mr. Brightside"
  • Nominated: Best Rock Video (2005) for "Mr. Brightside"
  • Won: Best New Artist (2005)
Note: Laura Fox was also nominated in 2005 for Best Art Direction for the video "Mr. Brightside."
  • Won: Best Rock Group (2006)
  • Won: Best International Album (2007) for Sam's Town
  • Won: Best International Group (2007)
  • Nominated: International Album (2006) for Hot Fuss
  • Nominated: International Breakthrough Artist (2006)
  • Miscellaneous:
  • Won: NME Magazine's Best International Band (2005)
  • Nominated: Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, Record Production/Single or Track (2005) for "Mr. Brightside"
  • Won: World Music Awards, World's Best Selling New Group (2005)

Trivia

  • The Killers have recorded a cover version of Joy Divisions "Shadowplay." This song will be part of a soundtrack to be released for the movie entitled "Control," a movie about the late Ian Curtis.[16]
  • Actor Eric Roberts (brother of Julia Roberts) plays the so-called "pimp" in the American version of the video for Mr. Brightside, directed by Sophie Muller. [17]
  • The UK Music video for "All These Things That I've Done" contains footage from The Killers gig at London-sited Astoria venue on Thursday, 8 July 2004, and the band strolling down Brick Lane in London's East End.[citation needed]
  • The band members do a pre-show ritual, affectionately called "The Cuddle." Brandon Flowers was quoted as saying "We all join together in a circle before we go onstage...Even our feet touch, which is something I just kind of noticed. It's kind of like a soccer coach talking to the kids." [18]
  • Although it is believed that the name of the band was going to be "The Genius Sex Poets," this was denied by Flowers during an interview on Canadian music channel Much Music. Instead the name was later featured on the bass drum in the American version of the music video for Mr. Brightside.[citation needed]
  • In People magazine for November 27, 2006, the Killers were named "Sexiest Band."
  • The Killers were forced to cancel their concerts at The Point in Dublin, Ireland on 30 November and at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on 6 December 2006, when lead vocalist Brandon Flowers lost his voice from a severe flu. The Killers were also unable to perform on the Billboard Music Awards on 4 December, 2006 and ended up presenting the award for "Artist of the Year". As of 9 December, they appear to be performing again; The Killers played thirteen songs at Not So Silent Night on 8 December.
  • In an interview by MTV, The Killers says that "Read My Mind" is their favourite song. [19]
  • Lead singer Brandon Flowers says he drinks Red Bull before a concert because it makes him feel nervous, and he likes nervous energy before going on stage.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Kalil, Mike (2005). "IN DEPTH: killers rising" ReviewJournal.com (accessed September 26, 2006)
  2. ^ Artist Direct staff writer (2006). bio ArtistDirect.com (accessed October 3, 2006)
  3. ^ "Mr. Bright-sued!" BBC.co.uk (accessed November 13 2006)
  4. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1549273/20070104/killers_the.jhtml
  5. ^ TV.com contributors (2006). Dane Cook/The Killers TV.com (accessed October 3, 2006)
  6. ^ Pierce, Erin et al (2006). "Former BYU's student's brother is lead singer of the Killers" NetNews.com (accessed May 2, 2006)
  7. ^ NME staff writer (2005). "The Killers Flattered by Robbie Live 8 Tribute" NME.com (accessed May 2, 2006)
  8. ^ http://www.men-arena.com/about/?page_id=1210
  9. ^ Montgomery, James (2005). "The Vanilla Thrilla! - The Killers Vs. The Bravery" MTV.com (accessed May 2, 2006)
  10. ^ Montgomery, James (2005). "Fall Out Boy/ Killers Beef Gives Birth To A Song", MTV.com, May 2, 2006)
  11. ^ http://www.aolmusicnewsblog.com/2006/07/25/killers-bury-the-hatchet-with-panic-fall-out-boy?ncid=AOLMUS00050000000034
  12. ^ "The Killers vs Emo - band hit out", NME.com, (accessed September 26, 2006)
  13. ^ M, Fraser (2005). "Mr Contrite-side" BBC.co.uk (accessed May 2, 2006)
  14. ^ AP (2006). "Former manager sues The Killers, alleging breach of contract" USA Today
  15. ^ NME staff writer (2006). "The Killers 'offended' by Green Day" NME.com (accessed October 16, 2006)
  16. ^ "Ian Curtis Movie Soundtrack Takes Shape with David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music" Spacelab Music News (accessed February 19 2007)
  17. ^ "Mariah, Killers Anointed Eric Roberts As Unexpected VMAs King" MTV.com (accessed February 19 2007)
  18. ^ "What Doesn't Brandon Flowers Hate? Bono, Beards, and Cuddling" MTV.com (accessed October 17 2006)
  19. ^ "Killers Hop On Bikes In Tokyo For 'Read My Mind' Video" MTV.com (accessed February 19 2007)

References

External links

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