Dave Keuning

Dave Keuning

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

Biography

Keuning is originally from Pella, Iowa and is the most recent Las Vegas resident among the band. He graduated from Pella Community High School. As a teenager, Keuning blasted Aerosmith and AC/DC and eventually he discovered U2. He listened constantly to the albums, The Unforgettable Fire 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 dropped out.

One of the main reasons Dave moved to Las Vegas in 2000 is because living in the Midwest 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, where he was taking advantage of his employee discount.

Dave was looking to join a band by placing an ad in the weekly newspapers by presenting himself as a guitarist with the stage name, "Tavian Go". 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 couple verses to the future hit Mr. Brightside as the two composed this song and a few others after meeting each other for the first time. The two later recruited musical student Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and medical courier Mark Stoermer as the permanent Killers was finally formed.

Trivia

• Up until 6th grade, Keuning walked in Pella's annual Tulip Time parade.
• Dave's favorite band is the atmospheric Icelandic experimental group, Sigur Rós.
• The salary at the Banana Republic was so low that Dave had to sneak into the Stratosphere Hotel-Casino and pose as a guest in order to wash his clothes.
• In 2005, Dave and his girlfriend had a son together.
• During their tour in summer 2005, Dave was accidentally left behind by his bandmates at a gas station in Glastonbury.

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