The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. visited The Current to do a “10 questions” style interview with host Ayisha Jaffer ahead of the release of the band’s new single, “Your Side of Town.”

Listen to the full interview using the audio player above, and read a transcript below the official audio for the new song.

Interview Transcript

Ayisha Jaffer: Hey, I'm Ayisha Jaffer here at The Current with Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. from the Killers. Thanks for being here.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Thanks for having us.

Ayisha Jaffer: OK, so we're gonna do some things a little differently for this interview: We're gonna do kind of a rapid-fire 10 questions, and I'm not gonna follow up, so it's gonna be a really quick round of questions. So my first question is, you're playing First Avenue tonight, this intimate show, but what is the smallest crowd you've ever played for?

Brandon Flowers: When we first started, it would literally be sometimes just a couple family members that showed up. So six or seven? Probably six or seven.

Ayisha Jaffer: Nice. When you think of Minnesota, what's the first thing you think of?

Brandon Flowers: The Vikings?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: The Tom Waits song, "9th & Hennepin."

Ayisha Jaffer: Oh, good choice! Oh, I love that.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: I'm full of good choices!

Brandon Flowers: Ronnie just one-upped me. Go Vikings. (laughter)

Ayisha Jaffer: Do you guys know who your biggest fan is?

Brandon Flowers: No.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Nope! 

Ayisha Jaffer: You've probably met them anyway.

Brandon Flowers: Maybe?

Ayisha Jaffer: What is the moment in which you knew music was going to be your life?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: How do you not sound pretentious?

Brandon Flowers: I mean, do you remember?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Well, I mean...

Brandon Flowers: I knew I loved [music], and I knew I was drawn to it. There were feelings that I would get from bands that I loved. I realize now that maybe I was having stronger reactions than a typical person that's not as musical or [as] heavily influenced by music would have. So I was having this relationship with it that was pretty intense, I think, as a teenager.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr. You're back on top.

Brandon Flowers: OK! So that happened. And then it wasn't until I until I was around 19 — it's funny, a lot of the bands I grew up listening to were influenced by David Bowie, but I didn't go to that source until I was 19 — and I got Hunky Dory. And for some reason — it's a masterpiece — but for some reason, hearing that made me think, "Oh, this is what I'm going to do." Even though it's a very unattainable level of music for most people, and I don't know that I'll ever get there if I've ever gotten there or whatever, but that [album], for some reason, that was like, "Oh, yeah, this is what I'm going to do."

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah, there is this ledge that you let yourself go on that somebody with a normal brain might not go out to, you know? You make certain sacrifices in your life without even knowing the real sacrifices, just to satisfy this feeling that's in you. That's this, "I gotta do this."

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah, it's like following a calling, really.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah. It's weird. And you're not sure you can really define it, even, you know, I'm 47, [and] I don't really know how to put it into words. But it's a feeling you have even when you're just just a little kid, just a wee boy.

Ayisha Jaffer: All right, what's the best advice you've ever been given?

Brandon Flowers: We did this. Remember right before the COVID lockdown happened, we did an interview where we did our best piece of advice together?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah.

Brandon Flowers: And I couldn't think of anything. So I chose a really bad piece of advice that I didn't adhere to that became positive.

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah, that counts.

Brandon Flowers: You wanna hear it? It was from a heavy hitter at a record label, who I will leave nameless.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Naaaah... come on!

Brandon Flowers: No, I can't. And this person was just telling me that I needed to, or insinuating that I should be a star onstage and off the stage, and he would give examples of people that were making headlines for their behavior, which wasn't always like a stellar, great behavior, you know? But they were making headlines, and then they were doing shows and making more headlines. And I knew it was wrong. You know, I sat there, and I was young, a young kid still, but I knew it didn't feel right. And so I've tried my best to follow my own moral compass. And we're lucky that we've worked out; I'm not so much a star off the stage in that respect. And so I didn't take that advice. And that was good.

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah, that was like a good derailment from it. I love that. How about you, Ronnie?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Advice?

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah, best advice you've ever been given.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Oh, you know, I could remember somebody again, and not dropping any names, but you know, there's one person that says, "Don't don't become a bank to your friends and family." It was another guy that said — or a girl, actually — that said typical things like, "Don't abandon who you are for a momentary thing," you know, and "Stick to [your] guns," type of thing. So, I don't know.

Brandon Flowers: This isn't advice, but it's something that's helped me, it's just more like a thought, it’s that comparison is the thief of joy. And that helps me sometimes.

Ayisha Jaffer: Oh, I love that.

Brandon Flowers: I need it, like, I need it every day, to wake up and like...

Ayisha Jaffer: Makes you human! Yeah. You guys have probably been asked this thousands of times, but you have more music now, so I want to ask again, what is the song you're most proud of?

Brandon Flowers: It's one of those that changes, you know? And so it's tough to answer trying to think of it right now. We've we've been off for a little bit right now.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah, we're in home mode.

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: I'm so proud of what we did with Imploding the Mirage, which is the tour we're supporting right now, we're sort of coming off of that, because I think we sort of got to a place we haven't explored before, we did the whole record differently. We used art as a sort of a compass. And we were going through some stuff within our band, too. So we were playing with a lot of different musicians, and it was sort of a bittersweet record to make but one that I'm most proud of, probably, because it I think we went to an uncomfortable place, but were able to put out an end product, or the end result of that was satisfying. And musically and lyrically, especially I have an umbillicus, I'm tied to that whole thing, it's not just one song, but there are a lot of great, great moments in there.

Brandon Flowers: For me, I guess personally, there are songs that I'm tied to that we all collaborated on and that were those magical moments that we're lucky enough to be a part of. But I think just looking back at the most recent stuff, lyrically, I'm proud of things on this last record we made called Pressure Machine. And there are things on it that I don't feel like I can take credit for; there's like this wisdom that exists on this record that I feel separate from; I feel like it's like beyond my... There's advice on the record that nobody ever gave me. Or that it just feels like I was able to tap into and pull from the consciousness, and those kinds of things are so so kind of fickle; it's not easy to to hold on to, but there were a couple of moments like that. There's one on "The Getting By," that's a song that, that that I think that I'm really proud of.

Ayisha Jaffer: And so, well, now, people are going to be getting their best advice in their life maybe from that record?

Brandon Flowers: "The Getting By," man. "The Getting By."

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: "The Getting By" is a good one.

Brandon Flowers: Yeah, the choruses is on "The Getting By" just have this advice, and it's I just don't even ... yeah, I needed it.

Ayisha Jaffer: So if you could name an alter ego to your band, what would the name be?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Oh, an alternate ego, we could give it a name?

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Give it a cool name?

Ayisha Jaffer: Give it a cool name.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Oh. That's easy. It's Ronnie Vegas and the Hubcaps. Next question.

Brandon Flowers: He's got that written down somewhere! (laughter)

Ayisha Jaffer: You were like, you had that in your back pocket! (laughter)

And so, what is, like, I've always wondered this: What is the wildest thing that has showed up in your green room that wasn't on your rider?

Brandon Flowers: Paul McCartney.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Paul McCartney, yes. It's between Paul McCartney and a giant avocado they have in South America.  I can't remember which was more...

Ayisha Jaffer: How big?

Brandon Flowers: It was a large avocado. I think we were as mesmerized with the avocado as we were with Paul  McCartney.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr. Yeah.

Brandon Flowers: It was a large avocado.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: In our hearts, they're sort of neck and neck.

Brandon Flowers: We were taking pictures of both of them!

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah! (laughter)

Ayisha Jaffer: That's fantastic, and I think a meme is gonna come out of that one!

So aside from music, is there any, like, hidden talent that you have that you haven't shared before?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: No.

Ayisha Jaffer: Like something, some crazy sound or something like you're really good at "Tequila" or something, I don't know.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: I have a private YouTube channel with all my hidden talents. Try and find it, ladies and germs.

Ayisha Jaffer: And then my last question for you is, gut reaction, favorite song right now?

Brandon Flowers: In the world?

Ayisha Jaffer: In the world.

Brandon Flowers: Oh my gosh. Oh, well, I'll tell you right now: Because we're in Minneapolis, we decided to do something special, and we learned "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" by Prince, and it's just perfect pop perfection, and I would say it's my favorite song in the world right now.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Damn!

Brandon Flowers: It's a good one.

Ayisha Jaffer: So you have a new EP coming out. Tell me about this.

Brandon Flowers: Yeah, it started as an idea that we could make a more electro-leaning record while we're on the road, because there's so much that you can do now with producers and you don't have to be in the same room, and you can shoot ideas across the ether. And then it just sort of fizzled away and became an EP. But we released “Boy” a year ago.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Because “Boy” was sort of the North Star for this whole idea. It always sort of stood by itself in this little corner, and we knew it was great. We love to play it, and I think we just thought maybe there would be a scenario where we can make a whole record that is of this same thread. And we started going down that road and we were like, "Ah, let's make it an EP."

Brandon Flowers: It was written right when the world shut down. So it's an older song, and we just we've been playing it live, and it's becoming a staple in the set, and we look forward to people sinking their teeth in. We enlisted Shawn Everett and Stuart Price, we had never put them together, and it's a great yin and yang: Stuart, he comes from, I think, the dance world, but he wears cardigans, and he's a unique guy. And then you have Shawn, who is like a mad scientist and has dreadlocks and wears leggings. And I love the yin and yang of those two together, and we did some stuff we're really proud of.

Ayisha Jaffer: That's amazing. What is the EP called? And when is it coming out? 

Brandon Flowers: “EP.” We decided just to call it “EP.” 

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: We had a creative streak and decided to call it “EP.”

Brandon Flowers: Big reveal! August 25.

Ayisha Jaffer: August 25. So, is this going to work — are you are you still — because I know you did talk about like having an eighth album ... is it working towards the next record?

Brandon Flowers: We're figuring it out. You know, we're in a transitional phase in the band. We're coming up on 20 years next year since the release of the first record. And we're trying to see who we are and who we want to be. And, you know, we've been so busy. And we need a little time, I think, to figure that out, and then we'll make the next record.

Ayisha Jaffer: And I actually want to talk about that. So bands always, like, ebb and flow. And you guys, you know, sometimes lineup changes happen, things like that, but you kind of have been the core four for about 20 years or more: you two, Mark and Dave. And you're reunited now, so what is like that special sauce that's kind of kept you together, kept you strong?

Brandon Flowers: Compromise and finding arrangements that can make it work, really. If you're not able to bend a little bit, then I think that's that's why a lot of bands break up. And we don't have the perfect situation, but what we have is this situation where those guys kind of — there's this, you know, we call it “the revolving door,” and they can kind of come and go and make it work.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah, we've seen — even growing up, all of our favorite bands have had, like, personnel changes — and we've seen how that plays out. It's also aggravating, you know, to go through that kind of almost paperwork of like, trying, you know what I mean? Let's figure out a way to keep everybody happy as adults, you know, and go on your life as it as it sort of moves us and we move it, you know? We decided to do the session—

Brandon Flowers: What's that town called? 

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Aptos, near — basically, the hills of Santa Cruz, California. I needed to be close to home at the time; my wife was going to give birth any minute, so we just decided to rent this studio that hadn't been touched since 1977, literally. Like, there was not a computer in the studio, so we had to buy a computer and we basically hooked it up to his system. And we just started, you know, carving some songs. It was, it was actually really a lot of fun.

Ayisha Jaffer: What's the studio name? Do you remember?

Brandon Flowers: I don't know, but it's run by this guy, Ken, and his wife's name is Barbie.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: It's true.

Ayisha Jaffer: That's true?

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Yeah.

Ayisha Jaffer: Oh, man!

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Musical truth.

Brandon Flowers: It was a crazy time.

Ayisha Jaffer: But you said it's not—

Brandon Flowers: It was a crazy few days.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: It was!

Brandon Flowers: Because we're in this band where by all accounts, you know, we're successful. And we were — it was their house. So they went to stay in a trailer outside. The green room was their living room. And the...

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Bathroom!

Brandon Flowers: Yeah, their bathroom was our bathroom. And so the guy wanted, if you wanted to watch the 49ers, he was just in there watching the 49ers; his wife was in the trailer outside. And I was like, "What are we doing?" We had some good moments. So anyway, this song came out of it. It’s got a little bit of a spirit of Sisters of Mercy.

Ayisha Jaffer: Oh nice!

Brandon Flowers: And so it was a nice little surprise. It's called "We Did it in the Name of Love."

Ayisha Jaffer: Amazing.

Brandon Flowers: It's not as romantic as it would sound.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: If you saw the place we recorded it in, it seemed really romance generated.

Ayisha Jaffer: How did you end up in this studio though? Just curious. Just, as you describe it, it's so amusing.

Brandon Flowers: I think it was the place that we could find that Ronnie could get to because he needed to be able to get home in a hurry.

Ayisha Jaffer: And congratulations to you as well.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Oh, no, it's still in. We still haven't had the baby. It's still there.

Ayisha Jaffer: Right.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: But thank you. It's like an elephant gestation period.

Ayisha Jaffer: OK, well, do you guys have anything else you want to share with our listeners before I let you go? 

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Just that we we love and appreciate each and every one of you. And that's real.

Ayisha Jaffer: Thanks so much again for hanging out with me.

Brandon Flowers: Thanks.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: Thanks for having us. Nice to see you again.

Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah!

External Link

The Killers - official site