Dave Keuning

Dave Keuning
Background information
Birth name	David Brent Keuning
Born	March 28 1976 (1976--) (age 31)
Origin	Pella, Iowa
Genre(s)	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Guitar Vocals
Associated acts	The Killers
Notable instrument(s)
Ibanez Explorer Gibson ES-335 Gretsch White Falcon

David Brent Keuning is the guitarist for the American rock band The Killers.

Biography

Keuning was born on March 28, 1976. He is originally from Pella, Iowa and is of Dutch descent. He is the most recent Las Vegas resident among the band.^[1] He graduated from Pella Community High School. While in high school, Keuning worked for Fareway Grocery Inc., a chain of retail grocery stores based in Iowa. As a teenager, Keuning listened to Aerosmith and AC/DC before eventually discovering U2. He listened constantly to the albums, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. He picked up the guitar and joined the Pella Community High School jazz band in Iowa. He also played guitar for a Christian rock band called Pickle from 1993-1997. Dave attended Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa, but eventually quit.

One of the main reasons Dave moved to Las Vegas in 2000 was because he felt that living in Iowa made him feel like he was the last one to hear new and exciting bands. Dave got a job at a shoe store, but was laid off after 9/11. He used the time off to write music, calling it a "blessing in disguise". Eventually he found work at a Banana Republic store in The Venetian Hotel-Casino on the strip.

Dave was looking to join a band by placing an ad in the weekly newspapers. He wanted to start or join a band that was influenced by The Beatles, Beck, Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, and U2. Dave had to take out The Cure as a listed influence because of the strange, heavily gothic people who kept replying. He says, "I like The Cure, but I don't eat bats." The ads ran for months, and Dave was beginning to lose hope. Just before he threw in the towel on finding like-minded musicians, Keuning received a call from his future bandmate Brandon Flowers about Keuning's classified ad looking for bandmates. Keuning had already written a good chunk of the future hit "Mr. Brightside" as the two composed this song and a few others after meeting each other for the first time. Dave and Brandon later recruited musical student Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and medical courier Mark Stoermer as the permanent Killers was finally formed.

Gear

• Fender Starcaster (looks like a Gibson Vegas, Also in the "For Reasons Unknown" video)
• Hiwatt Gilmore 100 head
• Hiwatt 4x12 cabs
• Ibanez Destroyer (looks like a larger Gibson Explorer)
• Red Epiphone G-400 used in the early days
• Gretsch White Falcon (seen in the "Bones" music video)
• Ebony Gibson Les Paul Custom
• Fender Stratocaster candy apple red, most likely an American one
• Gibson SG Supreme in the "Read My Mind" video
• Gibson ES-335 dot ebony
• Fender hot rod deville used in junction with an angled hiwait cabient
• Gibson Flying-V

References

External links

• Dave Keuning fanlisting
• Interview with RockPress.com (9/12/2004)
• Interview with LiveDaily.com (9/15/2004)
• "A killer gig", interview with the Des Moines Register by Kyle Munson
• The Killers bio at VH1

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