Dave Keuning
Dave Keuning
Background information
Birth name	David Brent Keuning
Born	(1976-03-28) March 28, 1976 (age 36)
Origin	Pella, Iowa, United States
Genres	Indie rock, Alternative rock, Post-punk revival
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, singer
Instruments	Lead guitar, bass, vocals
Years active	2002–present
Associated acts	The Killers
Website	www.thekillersmusic.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Custom Gibson ES-335 Fender Starcaster Ibanez Destroyer

David Brent Keuning better known as Dave Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is a founding member of the American alternative rock band The Killers. He is the band's lead guitarist and backup vocalist.

Personal life[link]

Keuning was born and brought up in Pella, Iowa. Dave Keuning started to play guitar just before entering Pella Community High School where he played in the jazz band under the direction of Dick Redman, he was also the lead guitarist in a Christian rock band named Pickle. He went to Community College in Iowa and dropped out of his music major there before moving to Las Vegas in 2000 to find work.^[1][2] He found work at the Banana Republic store in The Venetian Hotel and Casino on The Strip.

Dave has one son, Kyler Keuning who was born in 2005. Dave currently spends his time between his homes in San Diego and Las Vegas.

The Killers[link]

The band began when Keuning placed an ad in the Las Vegas Weekly which read: "Seeking musicians for all original band. Influences: Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Bowie, Radiohead."^[3] Shortly, Brandon Flowers answered the ad and the two began practicing and writing together only to be joined by the other two band members. Their first demos included the hit "Mr. Brightside" which Keuning wrote the guitar to before meeting Brandon Flowers.^[4]

He has previously and does currently help write the Killers hit songs (including "Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me", "On Top", "When You Were Young", "Read My Mind", "All The Pretty Faces", "Human", "A Dustland Fairytale", "Goodnight, Travel Well", "Losing Touch", and more).

Keuning was featured in Guitarist magazine in May 2009^[5] and Guitar World in February 2009^[6] and Guitar Player in January 2008 and February 2010.^[2]

In October 2010 his guitar riff in "Mr. Brightside" was voted at number 9 in Total Guitar's 50 greatest riffs of the 21st Century so far.^[7]

During The Killers early days, Dave sported short bleached blond hair and performed under the moniker "Tavian Go".^[8]

Equipment[link]

Guitars ^[9]

• Gibson ES-335
• Fender Starcaster
• Ibanez Destroyer
• Gibson Flying V
• Gibson Les Paul Custom
• Fender Stratocaster
• Gibson J45
• Ibanez AE Classical Guitar

Guitars are tuned to standard and down 1/2 step. Drop-D tuning for both versions of the song Sam's Town and the recorded version of Tranquilize.

Piano

Sound Equipment

• Furman AR15 Voltage Regulator
• Axess Electronics FX1+ expansion board, midi foot controllers w/ axess CFX4 control function switchers and custom made Axess Electronics Deville footswitch interfaces
• Lectrosonics Wireless Units
• Zaolla Artist and Zaolla Silverline series cables as cables and cable snakes
• (2) duplicate FX racks are wired up w/Mogami Cable
• Pedals, in Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher Loops: Keeley Mod Ibanez TS9 (phat mod and baked mod)(x2), Boss DD6 Digital Delay, MXR Phase 100 (x2), Electro Harmonix Keeley Mod Big Muff Pi, Ibanez AD99 Keeley Mod Delay, Ibanez AC99 Keeley Mod Chorus, Digitech Whammy, TRex RoommSpate Reverb, and Buff Puff Boost. And for the acoustic: Fishman Aura Classical Pedal, Fishman Aura Dreadnought Pedal

Picks: Dunlop Nylon – 0.60mm, 0.73mm, 1.00mm

Gear

• Fender Deville 2x12" (x2)
• Hiwatt DG103 Head and Hiwatt 4x12" Speaker Cabinet

NOTE: Hiwatt currently are one of Keuning's sponsors.^[10]

Playing style[link]

Dave Keuning is quoted as saying, “To this day, Angus Young is my favorite guitarist,” ...“He plays the guitar to the max, you know? But it’s funny: that’s just not me. My fingers just don’t move like that. Consequently, my mind doesn’t think like that when I’m playing with the Killers. I probably think more like the Edge; I think of sounds and moods more than I think of figures and patterns. And it seems to work for the Killers, so, you know, why mess with it?”^[6]

He is noted as a guitarist for playing anthemic and soaring solos in addition to sweetened and often percussive style playing frequently compared to contemporaries The Edge and Johnny Marr.^[6] Dave is also noted for his "unusual voicings" and "digit-distending, string-skipping" finger work on the guitar in similar fashion of Andy Summers of The Police.^[2]

Influences[link]

Dave Keuning cites influences such as The Edge of U2, The Who, and Paul McCartney. He also lists as influences The Smiths, The Cure, U2, and New Order.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Killers official site, from Island Records
• The Killers official site (U.K.), from the Vertigo label
• Dave Keuning Fansite
• Dave Keuning Facebook Fan Group
• Interview:Serial Killer from Guitarist Magazine May 2009 Iss.
• Interview: All Killer No Filler from Guitar World Magazine February 2009 Iss.
• Interview at Glastonbury Fest by NME
• Interview at Coke Live Festival by Onet.pl

Brandon Flowers
Background information
Birth name	Brandon Richard Flowers
Born	(1981-06-21) June 21, 1981 (age 31)
Origin	Henderson, Nevada, United States
Genres	Indie rock, Alternative rock, Heartland rock, Post-punk revival
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, bass, guitar
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Island, Vertigo, Marrakesh
Associated acts	The Killers
Website	brandonflowersmusic.com
Notable instruments
microKORG XL Nord Lead 2 Fender Jazz Bass

Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, best known as the frontman of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. He has also released a solo album titled Flamingo.

Early life[link]

Flowers, the youngest of six children, was born on June 21, 1981, in Henderson, Nevada, to Terry Flowers and Jean Flowers (née Barlow).^[1] His older siblings are his brother Shane and four sisters April, Shelly, Amy and Stephanie.^[1] His family lived in Henderson until Flowers was eight, when they moved to Payson, Utah, for two years before moving to Nephi, Utah, at which time he was in the 6th grade.^[2] Flowers lived in Nephi until his junior year at Juab High School. He moved to Las Vegas to live with his aunt and graduated from Chaparral High School in 1999.^[2][3][4]

Career[link]

The Killers (2001–present)[link]

Brandon Flowers responded to an ad that Dave Keuning had placed in the paper in late 2001 whereupon they became The Killers. After several short-lived bassists and drummers, Flowers and Keuning were joined by bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci and the line up became official in August 2002.^[4]

On July 4, 2010, The Killers were invited to headline the "Salute to the Military" USO Concert at the White House by President Obama. They performed 'God Bless America' and favorites from their catalogue.^[5]

Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright wrote a song about Flowers called "Tulsa" for his fifth album Release the Stars. Wainwright has stated in numerous interviews that it was inspired by their first meeting in a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Wainwright, Flowers was "very flattered and somewhat bashful" about this tribute.^[6]

Flowers has performed with Coldplay, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Pet Shop Boys, Lady Gaga, Fran Healy (of Travis), Andy Summers (of The Police), New Order, Bright Eyes, amongst others. Sir Elton John has listed Flowers as one of his top-five heroes while editing The Independent's World Aids Day special edition.^[7][8]

Flamingo (2010)[link]

Flamingo was released September 6 in the UK and Ireland and September 14 in the US and Canada.^[9] The first single from Flamingo, "Crossfire", was released on June 21 (Flowers' birthday). The video for "Crossfire" was released on July 8 and includes Charlize Theron. As of November 2011, the video has more than 10 million views on YouTube. The album made the Top 10 Albums of 2010 list on UpVenue.com.^[10]

Flamingo charted in the UK on September 12, 2010 at Number 1. It is Flowers' fourth consecutive album to reach No. 1 on the UK charts, including work by The Killers.

SPIN named Brandon Flowers one of "The 15 Best Shows of the Summer" in 2010 for his show at the Shimmer Showroom in Las Vegas.^[11] SPIN also listed him as one of "The 25 Best Fall Tours"/"Must-See Fall Tours".^[12] While on tour Flowers has had special guests including Stuart Price, Andy Summers, and Fran Healy.

Personal life[link]

Flowers married Tana Brooke Mundkowsky on August 2, 2005 on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii.^[13][14] They have three sons, Ammon (named after a Book of Mormon missionary), born July 14, 2007;^[15] Gunnar, born July 28, 2009; and Henry, born March 9, 2011.^[16]

Flowers's mother, Jean Flowers, died on February 11, 2010, after a two-year battle with brain cancer. She was 64.^[17]

Flowers is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[2][3][4] He is featured on the church's website.^[18]

Awards[link]

Flowers won NME Awards in 2005 for "Best Dressed" (also nominated in 2006, 2007, & 2009) and "Sexiest Man" as well as an award for "Most Stylish" in 2011.^[19] He won the award for "Most Stylish Man" at the 2008 GQ awards. He was also listed as one of "The 50 Most Stylish Musicians of the Last 50 Years" by Esquire in 2011.^[20] He was also interviewed by Q Magazine on behalf of The Killers as one of the "Artists of the Century" (November 2009 issue), a second cover photo that year.

In 2012, Flowers was named the #6 Greatest Frontman of All Time by Xfm. ^[21]

He was nominated for Q Awards 'Best Male Artist' in 2010.^[22] He was also nominated for "Best Video" ("Crossfire") at the Shockwaves NME 2011 Awards.^[23]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Tours[link]

• Flamingo Road Tour (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Brandon Flowers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brandon Flowers

• Brandon Flowers Official site, from Island Records
• Brandon Flowers Official facebook page
• Brandon Flowers (Fansite)
• Brandon Flowers.com.br (Fansite)
• Brandon Flowers at the Internet Movie Database