In 2001, Flowers was abandoned by the first band that he was in—a synth popband 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 realized that he wanted to make the transition from a keyboard band, and 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 suethe 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 Ordervideo 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 jointhe 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 housethe bandfound 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]
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 Martin Heath, his friend and owner of a UK indie label named Lizard King. The Killers would sign by the end of the summer, and moved to England.[1]
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.
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." [4] 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,[5]Queen[citation needed],U2, and The Beatles.
; "The Killers")
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