The Killers debut album, Hot Fuss, is the hottest American record of the year
so far. The Killers may be the best band from America right now. We have to
have pride. We can no longer leave it up to the English for our musical palette
because we have the Killers. They combine a love for British music,
showmanship, and killer hooks. The Killers are Brandon Flowers (voice/keyboard), David
Keuning (guitar), Mark Stermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums). This bunch
met in Las Vegas two years ago, after Brandon left his previous band. Last
summer they played shows in England. Now they are a big demand in the UK.
After shows at Coachella, CMJ, and Weenie Roast, people are wondering who these
guys are. They are well dressed and the bass player looks like Jesus Christ.
These guys are what the doctor ordered.
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"Jenny" and "Midnight Show" are songs that make up a murder trilogy. The
Killers are the best band that recreates the feeling and emotion of New Wave,
while saying something absolutely new. They have a knack for having the best
anthems since U2. The song "All These Things That I've Done" has a gospel choir
breakdown in the middle of the song. Brandon Flowers is an amazing songwriter
and frontman. It's amazing to think that he is only 22 years old. The Killers
make the sound of synthesizers something to look forward to. You hear the sound
of keyboards on "Smile Like You Mean It" and you think could you ever dream
of a band more perfect for KROQ modern rock playlists. "Andy You're A Star"
is more like Suede. "Everything Will Be Alright" is more like early Bowie.
This band has come from nowhere and delivered a great album. They will be what we
are talking all year. I spoke to Ronnie Vannucci the day the record was
released. The Killers will be playing in New York City soon.
*****
AL: I just saw you guys play at Weenie Roast 2004 just a few days ago. That
was good. You went on about 5pm.
Ronnie: Oh yeah. That was hotter than hell. We loved it. The sun really shone
on us that day. We are still cutting our teeth with things. It's good that we
can get a good spot on the main stage. We do what we do with every show. It
may sound cheesy but we give it our all. We hope people enjoy it. It is a
battle being in direct sunlight.
AL: Brandon's face was projected on the screen quite often. He looked like he
was sweating a lot.
Ronnie: Yeah. It's pretty hot up there.
AL: You grew up in the suburbs of Las Vegas? How has that influenced the band?
Ronnie: Yeah, if you can call it that. It's a strip in the middle and houses
that surrounds it. I don't know if growing up there has influenced us in any
specific way. Las Vegas has established itself with any music scene. You have
to rely on what is happening in neighboring cities like Los Angeles. That is
where people used to think they needed to go to prove themselves or make
themselves known. I think that it comes down to having good songs. It doesn't matter
where you live.
AL: When did you meet each other?
Ronnie: About two years ago. David and Brandon met through an ad. I met them
at a gig. They had been The Killers a few months before I joined. They didn't
have a solid lineup. I joined and then we found Mark. We decided that we had
to get really serious. We knew we had to practice every day and write songs.
AL: How many shows have you played back then?
Ronnie: We played a few local shows. We have played a shitload of shows in La
Vegas. But our first connection with the outside world was when we went to
England in September 2003. It is all still pretty new to us.
AL: You went over to England first before playing any big tours in the United
States?
Ronnie: Yeah. Our first tour was in England. We had played New York City and
Chicago when we were still unsigned. We did a few things here and there, but
England is where things started for us.
AL: What sort of shows did you play there?
Ronnie: At first we were playing shitty support acts at no name clubs. Then
we got better supporting gigs. People saw us play and thought we were a good
band. Things started to happen very fast.
AL: When did you record the album?
Ronnie: The record is half demos. We made a demo first. That led to a single
for an indie label in England. That led to an EP and an album. We had a lot of
songs recorded already. When we thought about putting the album together we
kept a lot of the original demos because they all had certain spontaneity to
them. Half of the songs we recorded before we ever went to England.
AL: You made a self-released EP when you played that first tour?
Ronnie: Yeah. It was a four song EP of the demos. It was released through
Lizard King who was our label in the UK. When we did the album we remixed the
songs. It was a limited edition. It created enough static to make some waves.
AL: When you worked on the final album, did you work with a producer?
Ronnie: We worked with Jeff Saltzman. We gave him credit. But we constructed
all the songs and mostly did everything ourselves. We had a guy recording for
us. We gave him producing points for recording us.
AL: Did you do live tracks or how did you go about recording the album?
Ronnie: Yeah. No recording was more than three takes. That is what I meant by
the spontaneity of the record. We weren't trying to make a big record. We
just tried to write some good songs and play good and try to make it the best we
could. We were just recording songs over the course of a year when we had
time. The original demos turned out to be so good that we kept them.
AL: Did you do a lot of overdubs and vocal doubling?
Ronnie: No. There wasn't a lot of production involved. It is almost like a
live show or rehearsal. We would like to work in the studio for a few months. We
could see where that takes us. Maybe we will do that with the second record.
AL: How do you write songs in the band?
Ronnie: Each song is different. Some songs will come from all four of us.
Someone will make up a melody or a line. Some songs Brandon brought in. He had
the songs and the changes all written already. It was all there. Some songs had
maybe two of us working on it. Brandon and I worked on "Believe, Me Natalie"
together. Brandon and David had written "Mr. Brightside" before Mark and I
were in the band. We are a band most importantly and we work on all the songs
together eventually. It makes it fun because the creation of every song is so
different.
AL: Brandon writes all the lyrics too?
Ronnie: Yeah.
AL: What does he write about in his songs?
Ronnie: All I know is half of his songs are half-fiction and
half-autobiographical. The songs are about different subjects. If you wanted to know about
anything specific you would have to ask Brandon.
AL: There is a lot of romantic longings in the songs. It's a make out album?
Ronnie: You think so? There is some romantic stuff in there. That description
would belong to us.
AL: I was reading the NME. They compared your band to The Smiths. Are you
Smith obsessive like they say?
Ronnie: We are not obsessed with The Smiths. The Smiths were among the bands
that all four members grew up with. Those were our generation's bands. Those
were some of the first tapes we bought. Those were some of the first things we
discovered for ourselves so it's personal. It's very easy for us to be in a
room and make music because we have a common background.
AL: Some of these articles also mention U2.
Ronnie: Yeah. U2 is a wonderful band. I still really look up to them.
AL: What are some other bands that are definitely influences but people
haven't pointed out before?
Ronnie: We are fans of British music, but we are also fans of American music.
We like the Talking Heads, Blondie, and others. We also like the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs, The Strokes, and Interpol. We like Tom Petty, Tom Waits, and Lou Reed. We
like music in general. We just don't listen to The Cure and The Smiths. That
needs to be known.
AL: Does Brandon Flowers have a shrine to Robert Smith or Morrissey on his
wall at home?
Ronnie: No! Hell no! Actually we did play some shows with Morrissey. We
talked to him and he was positive. That was some good validation of what we were
doing.
AL: What other bands have you played with that you liked?
Ronnie: We just recently did three shows with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. We were really
stoked to be doing shows with those guys. There are some great bands in
England that people should listen to like British Sea Power, The Black Velvets, The
Departure, and Surfer Rosa from Norway. We really enjoyed playing with those
guys. There is a band in London called The Glitterati. They just finished a
tour with David Lee Roth. They are really good.
AL: The song "Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" is on the UK album but not on
the American issue. Why is that?
Ronnie: We decided that England would be more receptive to that song. We
wanted to make the albums a little different.
AL: Have you seen any good movies?
Ronnie: We saw Harry Potter when we were in London. Daniel Radcliffe is
apparently a fan of The Killers.
AL: He is obsessed with The Killers. I read that interview. I was shocked. He
is supposedly the second wealthiest teenager in England. He could buy a bunch
of copies of Hot Fuss and keep it in the charts all year.
Ronnie: Wow! Who knows?
AL: What are you up to this summer?
Ronnie: We don't have a day off until the middle of October. We are playing
all the festivals except Reading and Leeds. We will be at Glastonbury, T in The
Park, V Festival, Fuji Rock, and a few more. I don't know exactly where we
will be for the next three months.
AL: When will you do a proper tour of the great American cities?
Ronnie: It starts in July.
AL: What is your favorite part about being a musician?
Ronnie: Playing live shows is probably the best for me. What is good about
that is it's true for the most part. It's a true representation of who we are
as people and musicians. We are out there naked. We are giving them a show.
That is the best thing about music: going from a hot garage with some songs to a
hot stage with people who enjoy the music.
AL: You are really a great drummer. It's like the second coming of Keith Moon.
Ronnie: Thanks. I haven't destroyed any drum sets yet.
An interview with The Killers By alexander laurence
