Brandon Flowers
| Brandon Flowers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brandon Richard Flowers |
| Born | June 21 1981 |
| Origin | 
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Post-punk revival, Alternative Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboard, vocals, bass |
| Years active | 2001-present |
| Associated acts |
The Killers |
Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is the vocalist and keyboardist in the American band, The Killers.
Early life
Flowers, the youngest of six children, was born on June 21, 1981 in Henderson, Nevada (outside Las Vegas) to parents of partial Scottish and
Lithuanian ancestry[1]. They lived in Henderson until he was a preteen and then moved to Nephi, Utah. Brandon lived
in Nephi until his junior year in high school, when he moved back to Las Vegas. He then took a job as a bellhop at the Gold Coast
Hotel. His mother was a homemaker. His parents raised Brandon and the rest of the family as
active members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. He attributes his fashion sense to his doting sisters.[2] His parents made him take piano lessons, but the person responsible for
Flowers's musical education was his older brother Shane (12 years older), who showed him The
Smiths videos and
Career
Flowers, after dropping out of college, was a bellhop for a while at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. [4] In 2001, He was abandoned by the first band that he was in, a synth pop band 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, realizing that he wanted to make the transition from a keyboard band to a true rock band, began searching for a guitarist. He responded to an ad that Dave Keuning had placed in the paper that listed, among other things, Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis as influences.[5] The two hit it off immediately and began rehearsing. They were joined by a bassist Mark Stoermer, and later drummer Ronnie Vannucci, and they became the Killers.[4]
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, his parents have always supported his decision to become a rock singer, and were often the only people in the audience at The Killers' first performances in the band's early days.[citation needed]
Although primarily a vocalist and keyboardist, Flowers plays bass guitar live in concerts for the song "For Reasons Unknown".
Controversies
Flowers is known for initiating feuds between The Killers and other bands, such as The Bravery, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco, most notably suggesting that emo music was "dangerous."[citation needed] In July of 2006, however, he apologized to the bands in an interview to AOL Music, saying "I'd like to take it all back. These people are just doing what they want to do, just like I am...I'm actually a nice person and I love people. I just am opinionated, and sometimes jealous. It's not something I'm proud of." Frontman Sam Endicott (of The Bravery) and bassist Pete Wentz (of Fall Out Boy) reportedly received, and accepted, telephone apologies prior to the article's publication. With regard to the criticisms leveled at Panic! at the Disco, Flowers said "I don't even know what their music's like, or if I would even like it...That made me feel even worse, to think they could have been fans of ours and I hurt their feelings. That's just stupid."[6][7] Flowers has also criticized Green Day for what he sees as their calculated anti-Americanism. Specifically, Flowers found a video of Green Day performing the song 'American Idiot' in the UK distasteful. The taping of the concert, featured on Bullet in a Bible, shows thousands of Europeans singing along to 'American Idiot.' He said, "I just thought it was really cheap. To go to a place like England or Germany and sing that song - those kids aren't taking it the same way that he meant it."
Rufus Wainwright, a Canadian singer-songwriter 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 has yet to contact him and reply to the song.
Personal life
On August 5, 2005, Flowers married longtime girlfriend Tana Munblowsky in a private ceremony in Hawaii [8] The two dated for approximately four years before they wed. On July 14, 2007, the Flowers welcomed their first child, a boy named Ammon Richard Flowers. [9]
Occasionally, the media have speculated that Flowers is homosexual or bisexual. The lyrics to "Andy, You're a Star" and the hit-single "Somebody Told Me" (both written by Flowers) feature sexual ambiguity.[2] In response to such speculation, Flowers said in a Genre 2005 interview that "Andy, You're a Star" was "free for people to interpret as their own." This comment was somewhat more reticent than an earlier statement made in a 2004 QLas Vegas interview, where he claimed it was about a crush that he had had on a male athlete while attending high school.[10] When asked about the crush, he responded that he is "very aware of [his] sexuality" and that he does like women.[11] Flowers has also stated that some confusion over his sexual identity is "not a bad thing,"[2] but did say "I'm not gay."[12]
Although an active Mormon himself, in the past Flowers has smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol to cope with his fear of flying, behavior prohibited by the LDS church's beliefs (see LDS health standard). However, he has said that he belongs to a "very tolerant gathering."[13] In an August 2005 interview with Rolling Stone, Flowers mentioned trying to cut back, and as of November 22, 2006, Flowers gave up smoking by using a chamomile concoction prescribed by a German doctor (Flowers says it's good for his voice).[citation needed]
Selected events
Flowers won NME magazine awards in 2005 for "Best Dressed", "Sexiest Man." [14]
References
- ^ Interview Interview
- ^ a b c Timmermans, Arjan (2005). "Arranging Flowers" Genre Magazine
- ^ Flowers' Ouija death threat[1]
- ^ a b Kalil, Mike (2005). "IN DEPTH: killers rising" ReviewJournal.com (accessed September 26, 2006)
- ^ Artist Direct staff writer (2006). bio ArtistDirect.com (accessed October 3, 2006)
- ^ http://www.aolmusicnewsblog.com/2006/07/25/killers-bury-the-hatchet-with-panic-fall-out-boy?ncid=AOLMUS00050000000034
- ^ http://www.buzznet.com/tags/brandon%20flowers/journals/57640
- ^ No byline (2005). "Killers Singer Brandon Flowers Marries Longtime Girlfriend" VH1.com (accessed Oct. 14, 2006)
- ^ Wigney, James(July 29, 2007). "More from The Killers" Retrieved July 28, 2007.
- ^ QVegas Magazine August 2004
- ^ Heather Adler, October 12-2006, Killers frontman Brandon Flowers tells Dose.ca he does like girls, doesn't like Rolling Stone
- ^ (2004) "Lethal Weapon" Q Magazine (accessed January 1, 2006)
- ^ Arjan (2005)"Interview with Brandon Flowers" ArjanWrites.com (accessed April 12, 2006)
- ^ (2005). "Shockwave NME Awards - The Winners NME.com (accessed April 12, 2006)
http://www.nme.com/news/the-killers/29731
External links
- The Killers official site, from Island Records
- The Killers official site (U.K.), from the Vertigo label
- "The Music That Changed My Life: Brandon Flowers", Interview by Kyle Anderson, from Spin magazine
- "Former BYU's student's brother is lead singer of the Killers", interview by Erin Pierce and Dan Monson about Flowers visiting his brother at college, from The Daily Universe
- Songs of Praise, Craig McLean talks to the Killers' singer about resisting temptation, from The Observer
| The Killers |
|---|
| Brandon Flowers | Dave Keuning | Mark Stoermer | Ronnie Vannucci Jr. |
| Discography |
| Albums: Hot Fuss | Sam's Town |
| Compilations: Sawdust |
| Singles: "Somebody Told Me" | "Mr. Brightside" | "All These Things That I've Done" | "Smile Like You Mean It" | "When You Were Young" | "Bones" | "A Great Big Sled" | "Read My Mind" | "For Reasons Unknown" | "Shadowplay" | "Tranquilize" | "Don't Shoot Me Santa" |
| Related articles |
| Marrakesh Records (Lizard King Records) | Island Records | Las Vegas | "Crystal" |
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