MUSIC
From Issue #20
Cover Story Interview:
Secret Brotherhood of The Killers
by Stefan Norman
“Everything’s Las Vegas,” says the ever cool,
ever suave Brandon Flowers, repeating the
catchphrase and philosophy behind the
Killers’sprint up the charts. There have been bright
lights. There have been gaggles of screaminggirls
hurling theirunmentionables in his general direction,
and still he doesn’t wilt.
Not too long ago, Brandon was but a lowly bellhop.
Nowadays, he’s a bit removed from that life. The always
dapper front man, who, from one night to the next, goes
from pink jackets, denim and bed head to a Charlie
Chaplin look-alike, insists he’s above it all. “That’s part
of rock. I’m immune to it now,” says Brandon. Is it
nonchalance? Patented rocker blasé? Whatever the
case, Brandon says his mind is in the music.
“I just try and portray a song in the best possible way
that I can. Move my body and express it in the best way
that I can. I want to sound modern. I want to make
contemporary music.”
Given the response so far, it might be best to keep that
formula intact. Drawing on influences like Morrissey,
Bowie, and Lennon, the Killers’ mix is attracting quite an
audience. Boasting the hit tracks “Somebody Told Me”
and “Mr. Brightside,” Hot Fuss, their debut album, has
sold more than three million copies so far. And my, but
they’re keeping hip company. The new wavers are
slotted to appear with the likes of U2, the Pixies, and
the White Stripes. In addition, the band recently turned
down a chance to headline the prestigious Glastonbury
Festival in the United Kingdom, hinting they’d prefer to
be more established in that country before considering
themselves deserving of the headliner spot.
“We’ve lived some experiences and we’ve been around
the world. So much has happened,” says Brandon. “It’s
important to keep your feet on the ground.”
It needs to be said that the lyricist’s songs are hardly
aloof. While many songsters might limit themselves to
love and anti-love ballads, Brandon expands the range
with whopping, energetic tunes about fear, jealousy,
paranoia and ambiguous girlfriends.
“Brandon writes all the lyrics. I think he writes about
very real and vulnerable issues, and when people listen
to the lyrics, they can relate to them because he’s
putting himself out there,” explains bed-head drummer
Ronnie Vannucci, peering out from behind his Donna
Karans, while worshipping the afternoon sun. There are
still a few hours before the Killers hit the stage of
Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre. Ronnie, guitarist David
Keuning and bassist Mark Stoermer are debating lunch
menu offerings. Brandon is running about, but ducks in
to remind everyone of sound check time. Already, the
fans are gathering for the evening show.
“He’s kind of naked out there. Not to say Brandon, my
friend, is actually writing biographical stuff or
vulnerable all the time, but there’s a bright side because
it comes from the heart and people can understand,”
explains Ronnie. He says people connect with that
honesty. “People think ‘Hey, I am a jealous guy too. I get
paranoid when my girlfriend is out and about. I get
crazy and I admit it,’ and people can understand that.”
At this point, the Killers have but a single album under
their belt and have yet to establish the historic
presence of a band like U2. But they deliver onstage,
jamming as many as 13 songs into one set.
“I think, at this stage in the game, we are not a band
that are verbose or costume-friendly, but I understand
it’s important to look nice on stage. And if we get time,
there’s another jacket backstage or a shirt drying close
at hand. We’ll probably take that shirt if there’s time,
but that’s not the first thing on our minds,” says Ronnie
while trying to keep a straight face. Like Brandon, he
says the music and the show are the priority. “We keep
it tight because there’s not a lot to be said at the
moment except we appreciate people coming to the
shows and we want to make sure everyone’s having
a good time.”
Like Brandon’s jump from bellhop to fame, Ronnie has
seen a fair bit of change in his own life. Before his tour
of duty with the Killers, he was a photographer at the
Little Chapel of Flowers and a serious student of
classical percussion, working towards a master’s degree.
Were it not for the Killers, he speculates he might have
become a music teacher.
“There came a point in young Ronald’s life where he felt
like he was stagnant and wanted to do more with music
than just rock ‘n’ roll. In 1998 I saw a Tom Waits concert.
It made me want to play the marimba,” says Ronnie.
“The more I looked into it, the more I realized I leaned
towards classical music. The guy who was running the
music department at UNLV (University of Nevada,
Las Vegas) was one of the best marimba players in the
world. So I enrolled and auditioned and practiced every
day and got good and squeezed out a music career.”
Now that their bellhop and photographer days are
behind them, Ronnie says there are new challenges.
For one, the band members have learned how to coexist
and how to deal with any potential conflict.
“If you’re not selfless already, you learn how to be.
You learn how to respect everyone’s space,” he says.
“I think it’s a huge amount of give and take and a huge
amount of respect because you’re essentially up
everybody’s butt 24 hours a day. You need to learn how
to 
be together.”
He says the trick is to use good old rational thought.
“I think we try and go through things as sensibly as
possible. Anything that doesn’t make sense, we look at
and look at again, and try and rationalize it till it
makes sense.”
But maybe there’s more? Something more clandestine?
Ronnie hints at a “brotherhood.”
“There is a secret code to the brotherhood. It’s a good
existence. We’re all four different people. Together
I think we make the perfect man,” jokes Ronnie. “I think
especially with me in the band! I think it fits musically, it
fits personality-wise, and that’s how we keep it together.
It’s like family. It’s about the brotherhood. It sounds
cheesy, but it is about the brotherhood.”
URBAN MYTH SOLVED
Faze: Did an earthquake really propel Ronnie from his seat while recording “Believe Me Natalie”?
Ronnie: It threw me on my ass…We tried out a few songs in the studio and one of the songs was,
“Believe me Natalie.” And we did two tries on that song and the second try, which is the one we
ended up keeping, there was an earthquake while we were recording. There was a guy filming it.
It was just kinda like…(shakes my chair slightly, to my surprise). It was like that. Of course, it
didn’t throw me from my stool, but if you listen closely, you can hear the rumble.
Faze: You guys kept the rumble?
Ronnie: Ya. We kept the rumble in the video and in the recording of the song.
ON THE KILLERS REPEAT PLAYLIST
(Disclaimer from Ronnie: “Not only am I giving them props
because they’re friends of ours, but they’re genuinely good
bands.”)
Tegan & Sara’s So Jealous.
Hot Hot Heat’s Elevator
“Those guys are great,” says Ronnie.
“We did a coupla shows with them, and they turned out to be
good friends pretty quick. And they’re Canadian!”
The Arcade Fire’s Funeral (also Canadian)
NYC band: Hotel Lights’ self-titled album
Brit sensation: British Sea Power’s Open Season.
PHILOSOPHY ON LIFE
Enjoy your youth and educate yourselves. Don’t take your existence at this point
too seriously ‘coz when you hit 18 or get out of college, that’s when the real work
begins. You think it’s hard now? You better climb up and get it together, sister!
Bench image: Photos courtesy of Island/Def Jam Records. Photo by Colin Lane.
Rooftop/storefront/and all headshots: Photos courtesy of Island/Def Jam Records.
Photographer Jelle Wagenaar.
