The band with a 'Killer' instinct

Except for the titles, there’s absolutely no relation between Ernest Hemingway’s great short story The Killer and the Las Vegas-based rock group The Killers, although both can knock you out of your senses with a smooth punch.

Composed of Brandon Flowers (vocals and keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass) and Ronnie Vannucci (drums), The Killers are behind such teenage hit favorites as Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me, Spaceman, Human and A White Demon Love Song, the quartet’s latest single which is a part of the original soundtrack of New Moon The Twilight Saga (still currently playing to big crowds in theaters nationwide).

On Jan. 31 next year, The Killers will have a gig at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds (starting at 6 p.m.), produced by Worldwide Womb and Saga Events.

The Killers performed in a concert called The Killers — Live From The Royal Albert Hall, said to be a spectacular experience now available in one neat package released locally by MCA Music, Inc.

Conversations did an exclusive phone interview with Brandon three days ago. He’s the same guy who was reported to have been dropped out off a synth-pop band called Blush Response for a reason that you’ll find out as you read along.

Brandon was extremely nice to talk to, punctuating his sentences with easy laughter.

Hello, Brandon. You are calling from L.A., right?

“From Las Vegas.”

Oh, it’s 10:30 Tuesday morning in Manila and it’s approximately 7:30 Monday evening where you are.

“It’s several hours ahead where you are. We will be missing a day when we go there, I understand.”

Yes, you will. By the way, why did you call your group The Killers? The name sounds so threatening.

(Laughs) “You know, there are lots of great killers in our time. We have Jerry Lee Lewis who was called ‘the killer,’ one of the founders of rock ‘n roll. They also call the New York Dolls ‘the lipstick killers’ — you know, the founders of punk-rock. There’s a band called New Order. They had a video in 2001 for one of their songs. In it there’s a picture of a band called The Killers, so that sealed the deal.”

Of course, you “kill” people with the sound of music and not with any deadly instrument.

“Yes, we do. Killing without blood. There’s a great Bob Marley line that says, ‘One good thing about music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain’. That line kind of fits to what we do.”

Three of your popular songs are Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me and Human. Could you tell me a brief background of each song?

“Mr. Brightside was the first song that I wrote as a guitar player. We wrote it in an apartment that was dirty and ugly...and I just had a heartbreak. It was a recipe for that song that connected with a lot of people. We’re very proud of that song.

“Somebody Told Me...well, a lot of it was written in that same dirty and ugly apartment.” (Laughs) “We had a drummer and a bass player at that time, so it was a little bit more powerful, there’s an edge to it. I was learning how to use my keyboard and you will hear that in that song.

“Human? Nobody listened to it in the beginning. I was very young when I wrote that song. I’m glad that people eventually liked it.”

What’s the heartbreak that you just mentioned? How did you recover from it?

“Well, you know, they say that time heals all wounds. And time did heal mine. As soon as I found a new girlfriend, I forgot that one.”

I learned from your biodata that you were dumped by Blush Response, the first band you were with, when you refused to move with the other members to L.A. No regrets?

“Yeah, it was a sad incident, it was strange to be not with Blush Response, but I’m happy with how things turned out.”

Where did the idea to form The Killers come from? How were the members brought together?

“You know, David and I met through the newspaper. He put out an ad. David said that I was the only person to reply to the ad who wasn’t a complete freak. Armed with my keyboard, I met David and we started going through song ideas straight away. David had the lyrics to Mr. Brightside and I wrote the chorus. Ronnie and Mark were with another band in Las Vegas and we would play gigs together. And that’s how David and I met them.” (Laughs and laughs) “Basically we stole them from their band. Then the four of us formed the ultimate line-up that we are now.”

From the same biodata, I learned that you four guys don’t have much background in music and yet you make such beautiful music together.

“I took piano lessons when I was a kid. I earned my keep by working as a bellhop at the Gold Coast Hotel. Ronnie is a very learned drummer; he used to be a photographer at the Little Chapel of Flowers and a student of classical percussion at UNLV. Mark was making ends meet as a medical courier (of blood, urine and other odd body parts) but he did study music, too. David garnered valuable training for his all-the-ladies-love-an-axeman dilemmas while enjoying trysts with lady-shoppers while he was working at Banana Republic. You see, we’ve all had a bit of training. The music is in me. It’s an exciting feeling, actually, especially with the realization that there are so many songs out there for me to tackle. That excites me.”

Bands are usually formed by long-time friends who are in harmony not only musically but personally. How did you create a harmonious relationship not only as far as music was concerned but also, more so, personal relationship?

“You hear how the four of us are in harmony musically. You know, we are around each other more than most people are around their families. So we better get along...For the most part, I think we are learning to tolerate each other.”

Do David, Mark, Ronnie and you have the same taste in music?

“Our foundation is in British rock ‘n’ roll. And so, from there it grows into all kinds of places, that’s where we come together.”

Which bands have a great impact on you — you know, that have largely influenced you?

“There’s The Beatles, The Who and U2. Those are the bands that really united us. And then from there, we went to The Corrs, Bruce Springsteen and many others.”

Could you briefly describe yourselves?

“David is sensational, Mark is very quiet so we call him the gentle giant (he’s 6’5” tall) and Ronnie is unstoppable.

And you?

“And I’m very handsome.” (Laughs some more)

Aside from the three songs mentioned earlier, what kind of “killer” songs are you going to perform during your concert in Manila?

“It’s our first time to be in Manila. We are going to play the cream of the crop. We’re very excited about our Manila concert. We will be in our best behavior. We’re bringing a little bit of Las Vegas to the Philippines.”

What have you heard or read about the Philippines?

“That it’s very hot out there. I learned that in school when I was 13. The teacher asked us to follow the weather of one city and make a chart about it and I chose Manila. And that’s how I knew how hot Manila is.”

You’re right. The weather is hot and the people are warm.

“Yeah.”

And the girls are beautiful!

“All right!” (And he laughs again).

(Note: Prices to The Killers MOA concert on Jan. 31, 2010, are P3,950 for Gold, P1,550 for Silver and P550 for Bronze. Special limited premium and VIP tickets are also available. Call Worldwide Womb at 568-6908, 384-0239 and 897-2472; Saga Events at 727-7765 and 729-3931; Ticketnet at 911-5555; and Ticketworld at 891-9999.)

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