Brandon Flowers

This article is about the musician. For the American football player, see Brandon Flowers (American football).

Brandon Flowers

Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is the American frontman, vocalist, lyricist, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, pianist and keyboardist of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers.

Early life

Flowers, the youngest of six children, was born on June 21, 1981 in Henderson, Nevada (near Las Vegas) to parents of partial Scottish and Lithuanian ancestry. Growing up, his mother was homemaker and his father worked for a grocery store. His father joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when Flowers was five years old. They lived in Henderson until Flowers was eight, when they moved to Nephi, Utah. Flowers lived in Nephi until his junior year in Juab High School, when he moved back to Las Vegas to live with his aunt.

Brandon's brother, Shane, 12 years his senior (born July 4 1969 and sung about in The Killers song "Sam's Town") is said to be most responsible for Flowers' musical development; he showed him Smiths videos and U2's Rattle and Hum movie and even early videos of The Shazzman on Motown. His older brother also introduced him to The Cars, Morrissey, and The Cure. Musically, Flowers is an anglophile and a fan of English bands New Order, The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, and Oasis. He credits the Pet Shop Boys song "Being Boring", especially the lyrics "I never dreamt that I would get to be / The creature that I always meant to be", as a major life influence. He has stated that "It was really weird because other kids were buying Tool and Nirvana and I was buying The Cars and The Psychedelic Furs. I was pretty alienated as a kid."

Career

Brandon Flowers, after dropping out of college, was a bellhop for a short while at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 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 bands, The Cure and Oasis as influences. Keuning later stated that his first impression of Flowers was that he was wearing the same shoes Oasis had. After several short-lived bassists and drummers, Flowers and Keuning were joined by bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci and became the Killers in August 2002. Vannucci later said that, even with songs like "little dwarf versions of what we have now, Brandon wasn't afraid to just get up there and just do it. You need that when you're trying to get something off the ground. As far as the drive goes, Brandon was never half-assed." 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' early performances.

Flowers has been in a number of controversies based on comments he has made to the media. In particular, he made statements that sparked feuds with the bands Fall Out Boy, The Bravery and Panic At the Disco. However, he has since recanted, and told Spin magazine, "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. It's not something I'm proud of." Flowers criticized Green Day for performing the song "American Idiot" in the United Kingdom. The concert, featured in Green Day's live DVD Bullet in a Bible, shows thousands of Europeans singing along to "American Idiot". Flowers 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." His assertion that Sam's Town would be one of the best albums to come out in the preceding 20 years drew ridicule from critics. Flowers has expressed his desire to be less provocative. He told The Advocate magazine, "With people that I've put down, I understand now that they have their own ability and a gift for doing whatever they're doing."

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.

Flowers appeared as an interviewee on the Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop DVD, and subsequently also presented the artists with an Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the 2009 BRIT Awards. He and Lady Gaga then performed with Pet Shop Boys as part of a medley of their hits.

While Flowers is usually confined to singing, or even playing keyboard on most of the Killers' songs, Flowers plays bass in the song For Reasons Unknown, the 4th single from the Sam's Town album.

Personal life

Flowers married his long-time girlfriend, Tana Mundkowsky, in a small, private ceremony on August 2, 2005 in Hawaii. Brandon and his wife have two sons, Ammon, born July 14, 2007 and Gunnar, born July 28, 2009.

Flowers has long held a superstition that his death will be associated with the number 621 from having used a Ouija board when he was 13 years old. In 2005 en route to the Glastonbury Festival with The Killers on his birthday (6/21) Flowers was "convinced this was the end."

Flowers' mother, Jean Flowers, passed away on February 11, 2010, after a two-year battle with brain cancer. She was 64.

Religion

Flowers is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife converted to the faith shortly before their wedding. He has said that religion is "very important" to him. After joining The Killers, Flowers began a drinking and partying lifestyle that was contrary to LDS Church teachings. However, in 2006, he stopped, saying "I think I probably feel less guilt, and I'm also healthier than I've ever been. My wife being pregnant and all that really put things into perspective."

Awards

Flowers won NME magazine awards in 2005 for "Best Dressed" and "Sexiest Man." He also won the award for "Most Stylish Man" at the 2008 GQ awards. In the 2008 awards the Killers won "best band in America" and "best track in America" at the NME Awards. He was interviewed by Q Magazine on behalf of the Killers as one of the "Artists of the Century" (Nov 2009) a second cover photo that year. For the 2010 NME Awards, Flowers has been nominated for the Hottest Male Award.

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
• Indie Rock Fans Website
• SPIN's Brandon Flowers Interview
• Ed Powers (2009-07-10). "Brandon Flowers: Killer Instinct". The Independent.
• Alexis Petridis (2009-07-18). "American idol". The Guardian.
• Dave Burger (2009-09-24). "The Killers prove name isn't exactly apt". The Salt Lake Tribune.