The Killers; dapper tarts ain’t they?
First it was mascara and sparkly lapels. Then we got moustachioed men with dusty bits. So what sartorial punctuation have they alighted upon to accompany their third LP ‘Day And Age? “I wanted to become a neon tiger…” That’s right – a neon bloody tiger. Fucking Americans.
With our hair cut all special and shoes shined right smart, Clash tracked down Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning in their native Las Vegas to get a chat on about all things Killers – including a lack of angst, ambivalence from their fellow Americans and of course that sodding tiger. How did it end up like this? It was only a kiss…
Having said that we were a little less serious when making this album
‘Day And Age’ is finished now and it’s just a case of waiting for the record to be released. How do you find this interim period?
Dave: I’m real excited – I just want to get it out there now. It’s always a tough time between us finishing it and then waiting the month and a half for everyone else to get it.
Brandon: It’s absolutely terrifying. As much as you can say you make music for yourself, it’s not true. Maybe at the beginning it was, but I can’t say that anymore. There are a lot of folk out there I want to get to – a lot of people whose mind I want to change. There are some people I just want to keep; those who believe in us and I don’t want to let down. Music is such a big and important part of your life, you know? You have to take it seriously as it accompanies peoples’ lives. Having said that we were a little less serious when making this album. Less precious. We wanted to be a little more light-hearted.
I remember first hearing ‘Mr. Brightside’ and instantly assuming you were British – the very idea The Killers could have been from Las Vegas seemed ridiculous. Was it a deliberate move on ‘Sam’s Town’ to assert your American background?
Brandon: It was very, very deliberate. I think I wanted to prove to myself that I was actually American. (Laughs) We were going through a very strange time and I really do love this country and don’t like the light which is being shone on it right now… So I guess it was maybe a reaction to all the negativity thrown at America, you know? The music we were listening to also influenced it, but it’s still got a whole lot of English in it. (Laughs)
Dave: When we were recording ‘Hot Fuss’ we didn’t have all these outside factors saying, ‘hey, did you know you sound like this and this?’ It was just what came out of us. Then everyone had to point out we sounded English and I think that had a negative influence. We didn’t talk about it as a band and say, ‘hey, let’s sound more American…’ For those people who didn’t like the second album, it’s their fault for ramming it down our throats how English we sounded!
Was it important for you to be accepted in the UK?
Dave: It’s still important to us now and we’d be really disappointed if the UK didn’t like us. It’s probably our favourite country and we’re doing well there. It just seems that England is more in touch with music on a general level and that makes it more satisfying I suppose. It’s humbling and kind of nice to go to places where we’re not so accepted and play smaller shows. I think one country we’d like to be bigger is in Japan. We can still only sell out 500-2000 venues – we love it there, but it’s an unpredictable country.
Brandon: Yeah, I used to think about Britain a lot. I didn’t understand it and I’m still trying to learn, but I’m getting there now. I spend maybe a month out of every year over there so we’re becoming more acquainted with you guys and that’s great. I think we all feel very comfortable and it’s just so wonderful the reception we get. It would have been a massive let down not to have been liked over there, the British opinion is extremely important to us. As a country you have the best track record with music…of anywhere! (Laughs)
The new record was produced by Madonna’s current muse Stuart Price (Les Rhythmes Digitales / Zoot Woman). How did that come about? Were you aware of him as an artist before hand?
Brandon: He’d done some remixes of songs and we liked what we heard. Funnily enough we did know about Zoot Woman from when we were making ‘Hot Fuss’. Our manager showed us Zoot Woman and brought up this Stuart Price guy, but it didn’t make sense to work together then. I thought the songs were good and I could remember a couple of the choruses, but I didn’t think it was something to pursue, you know? But his name had always been floating around. And then he remixed ‘Mr. Brightside’ as the Thin White Duke and I saw pictures of him as Les Rhythmes Digitales… So this seed was just growing and growing. So eventually we met and got along so well. He’s such a nice guy – I really love him.
They think it’s nonsense – particularly the lyrics.
Dave: We had dinner with him and hit it off. Because we’re the same age he was into pretty much the same bands as we were, so we went over to his house after dinner and that’s when ‘Human’ (the first single from ‘Day And Age’) was born.
Do you write songs with the live show in mind, or do you prefer to get it right in the studio then worry about it later?
Brandon: I can’t help but think about live now – I tend to keep that consideration there throughout. We had some amazing ‘Sam’s Town’ shows. I mean, they were that great I’m scared we won’t be able to top them. So you’ve got to take that into consideration if you want to keep moving in the right direction and moving up.
How does it feel when you release your songs into the wild? They go from being something very private to something everyone can experience. Is it exciting?
Brandon: Yeah it’s exciting but scary too. As cocky as I seem sometimes, I really care what people think and a lot of people don’t seem to understand ‘Human’. They think it’s nonsense – particularly the lyrics. But I was aching over those lyrics for a very long time (laughs) to get them right, so it’s frustrating. Some people aren’t going to get it I suppose – that’s just how it is.
You have a very strong visual image – is this an important part of being in a band? Do you deal with the sartorial side yourself or is it a case of approaching stylists?
Brandon: It’s real important, you know. I do put thought into it and I’ll be honest, I was trying to think of some colour scheme. We keep talking about how colourful this album is and it just seemed a good way to pursue it. But I’ll be honest, every time I settle on an idea it never works out – someone always comes along and makes me rethink. Like with Coldplay coming out with their military thing… I didn’t want to look like that and maybe we would have if they hadn’t first! I think we were going to call it ‘Sci-Fi jungle’.
Are you going to be doing the festivals next year?
Brandon: (Laughs) Well, we’d love to. But I worry we might be outstaying our welcome! I suppose we’ll see what happens.
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The full version of this interview can be found in Issue 32 of Clash Magazine onsale now.
