5 Questions With Brandon Flowers
Chicago Sun-Times
Mike Thomas
September 9, 2004

Las Vegas-bred rockers the Killers will slay Chicago when they play to a sold-out crowd Saturday at Wrigleyville music mecca Metro.

Helmed by 23-year-old vocalist and keyboardist Brandon Flowers, the nattily attired musicians -- beloved (and, on occasion, derided) as much for their form-flattering fashion as for their upbeat sound - - will bust out tunes from their Island Records release "Hot Fuss."

Flowers spoke by phone with the Sun-Times during a recent tour stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Q. When you guys were here last, opening for Morrissey at the House of Blues, your monitor caught fire onstage.

A. A lot of people say that that doesn't happen very often. I saw a small flame in it and then I saw a little smoke, and so I had them stop the song. And then the whole thing just went up. By the time they got it to the side of the stage, it was a full-on fire.

Q. Was there a headline the next day: The Killers are on fire?

A. [Disappointed tone.] No.

Q. Do people sometimes pay more attention to your look than your sound, since you're a very fashion-conscious band?

A. I'm sure some people do. But whatever you gotta do to get 'em to [listen].

Q. Is the band getting offers from fashion designers to make your clothes?

A. Not yet. It'd be nice to get somebody to help out. I like [Swedish designer] J Lindenberg a lot. Some boutiques carry the stuff. It's good.

Q. You guys have taken flak in America for being an '80s glam- rock throwback, but you've gotten high praise in England. How does that make you feel?

A. Well, we're selling records in America, so I don't know. People just buy what they like, and we write good songs. They're not from the '80s. So it's weird.