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He may not be as cute as Brandon Flowers but who is eh? Besides if we rated musicians on looks as opposed to skills, would we have bothered with Iggy Pop or The Pixies? I think not. So judge The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci, on the merits of his upcoming debut solo album Big Talk instead. It’s released on Little Oil/Epitaph Records on 11 July 2011, and will be preceded by single Getaways on 10 May. And dare we say, it will be killer….
Ronnie’s Big Talk album was recorded at The Killers’ Battle Born studios in Las Vegas between November 2010 and January 2011 with help from producer Joe Chicarelli (The Strokes, My Morning Jacket), and mixed at London’s Assault & Battery with Alan Moulder (U2, The Killers, Foo Fighters).
Big Talk sees Ronnie step out from behind the drum kit and flex muscle as songwriter with The Killers. When The Killers came off the road last February after nine years of back-to-back albums and touring, the idea was for everyone to take time off. As is now documented, Brandon got bored and released his solo album Flamingo late last summer, then after three weeks off, Ronnie too grew restless, and saw the opportunity to get out there with his own thing. “I needed to do this,” he says. “It’s such a departure from what I’m used to, but now, having done it, it feels like the right thing to do. It all feels very natural. I can’t sit on a couch very long!”
Ronnie has recruited old friend, Taylor Milne, to help him with some of the songs. They’ve known each other since 1998, and were previously in a band together, Expert On October. When Ronnie realised he needed a wingman for Big Talk, Taylor was the obvious contender. “Taylor really attacks things from a different angle,” he says, highlighting the guitarist’s unique style and musicianship. “All these really cool leads that you’ll hear on the songs are Taylor. We work on it together, but it’s his take, so it’s very different. It sounds fresh to me.”
For the release of Big Talk, Ronnie began his own start-up label Little Oil in collaboration with Californian punk indie Epitaph. Ronnie will take Big Talk to the stage this summer along with Taylor and a full band. Way to go Ronnie!