Dave Keuning

Dave Keuning
Dave Keuning
Background information
Birth name	David Brent Keuning
Born	March 28, 1976 (1976-03-28) (age 35)
Origin	Pella, Iowa, United States
Genres	Indie rock, Alternative rock, Post-punk revival
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, singer
Instruments	Lead guitar, bass, vocals
Years active	2002–present
Associated acts	The Killers
Website	www.thekillersmusic.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Custom Gibson ES-335 Fender Starcaster Ibanez Destroyer

David Brent Keuning better known as Dave Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is a founding member of the American alternative rock band The Killers. He is the band's lead guitarist and backup vocalist.

Personal life

Keuning was born and brought up in Pella, Iowa. Dave Keuning started to play guitar just before entering Pella Community High School where he played in the jazz band under the direction of Dick Redman, he was also the lead guitarist in a Christian rock band named Pickle. He went to Community College in Iowa and dropped out of his music major there before moving to Las Vegas in 2000 to find work.^[1][2] He found work at the Banana Republic store in The Venetian Hotel and Casino on The Strip.

Dave has one son, Kyler Keuning who was born in 2005. Dave currently spends his time between his homes in San Diego and Las Vegas.

The Killers

The band began when Keuning placed an ad in the Las Vegas Weekly which read: "Seeking musicians for all original band. Influences: Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Bowie, Radiohead."^[3] Shortly, Brandon Flowers answered the ad and the two began practicing and writing together only to be joined by the other two band members. Their first demos included the hit "Mr. Brightside" which Keuning wrote the guitar to before meeting Brandon Flowers.^[4]

He has previously and does currently help write the Killers hit songs (including "Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me", "On Top", "When You Were Young", "Read My Mind", "All The Pretty Faces", "Human", "A Dustland Fairytale", "Goodnight, Travel Well", "Losing Touch", and more).

Keuning was featured in Guitarist magazine in May 2009^[5] and Guitar World in February 2009^[6] and Guitar Player in January 2008 and February 2010.^[2]

In October 2010 his guitar riff in "Mr. Brightside" was voted at number 9 in Total Guitar's 50 greatest riffs of the 21st Century so far.^[7]

During The Killers early days, Dave sported short bleached blond hair and performed under the moniker "Tavian Go".^[8]

He will release a solo album in 2012.

Equipment

Guitars ^[9]

• Gibson ES-335
• Fender Starcaster
• Ibanez Destroyer
• Gibson Flying V
• Gibson Les Paul Custom
• Fender Stratocaster
• Gibson J45
• Ibanez AE Classical Guitar

Guitars are tuned to standard and down 1/2 step. Drop-D tuning for both versions of the song Sam's Town and the recorded version of Tranquilize.

Sound Equipment

• Furman AR15 Voltage Regulator
• Axess Electronics FX1+ expansion board, midi foot controllers w/ axess CFX4 control function switchers and custom made Axess Electronics Deville footswitch interfaces
• Lectrosonics Wireless Units
• Zaolla Artist and Zaolla Silverline series cables as cables and cable snakes
• (2) duplicate FX racks are wired up w/Mogami Cable
• Pedals, in Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher Loops: Keeley Mod Ibanez TS9 (phat mod and baked mod)(x2), Boss DD6 Digital Delay, MXR Phase 100 (x2), Electro Harmonix Keeley Mod Big Muff Pi, Ibanez AD99 Keeley Mod Delay, Ibanez AC99 Keeley Mod Chorus, Digitech Whammy, TRex RoommSpate Reverb, and Buff Puff Boost. And for the acoustic: Fishman Aura Classical Pedal, Fishman Aura Dreadnought Pedal

Picks: Dunlop Nylon – 0.60mm, 0.73mm, 1.00mm

Gear

• Fender Deville 2x12" (x2)
• Hiwatt DG103 Head and Hiwatt 4x12" Speaker Cabinet

NOTE: Hiwatt currently are one of Keuning's sponsors.^[10]

Playing style

Dave Keuning is quoted as saying, “To this day, Angus Young is my favorite guitarist,” ...“He plays the guitar to the max, you know? But it’s funny: that’s just not me. My fingers just don’t move like that. Consequently, my mind doesn’t think like that when I’m playing with the Killers. I probably think more like the Edge; I think of sounds and moods more than I think of figures and patterns. And it seems to work for the Killers, so, you know, why mess with it?”^[6]

He is noted as a guitarist for playing anthemic and soaring solos in addition to sweetened and often percussive style playing frequently compared to contemporaries The Edge and Johnny Marr.^[6] Dave is also noted for his "unusual voicings" and "digit-distending, string-skipping" finger work on the guitar in similar fashion of Andy Summers of The Police.^[2]

Influences

Dave Keuning cites influences such as The Edge of U2, The Who, and Paul McCartney. He also lists as influences The Smiths, The Cure, U2, and New Order.^[6]

References

1. ^ [1] Biographicon: Dave Keuning
2. ^ ^{a b c} "The Killers' Dave Keuning" Guitar Player Magazine Feb 2010 Iss.
3. ^ Longobardy, Joshua. "When he was young" Las Vegas Weekly. Feb 15, 2007.Third Page, First Paragraph.
4. ^ [2] The Killers Bio VH1.com
5. ^ Crompton, Jamie. "Dave Keuning Interview: Serial Killer" Guitarist May 2009 Iss.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Bosso, Joe. "The Killers: All Killer No Filler" Guitar World Magazine. March 26, 2009.
7. ^ http://www.gigwise.com/news/58746/Muse-Dominate-Best-Guitar-Riff-Poll
8. ^ Keene, Jarret "The Killers kill Tramps" Las Vegas Citylife: Fear & Lounging Sept 3, 2003.
9. ^ http://www.thekillersfansite.com/article%20pics/guitarist%20magazine%20may2009/ggd3.jpg
10. ^ [3] Hiwatt Website: Artists

External links

• The Killers official site, from Island Records
• The Killers official site (U.K.), from the Vertigo label
• Dave Keuning Fansite
• Dave Keuning Facebook Fan Group
• Interview:Serial Killer from Guitarist Magazine May 2009 Iss.
• Interview: All Killer No Filler from Guitar World Magazine February 2009 Iss.
• Interview at Glastonbury Fest by NME
• Interview at Coke Live Festival by Onet.pl

Persondata
Name	Keuning, Dave
Alternative names	Keuning, David Brent
Short description	Musician, songwriter
Date of birth	1976-03-28
Place of birth	Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Date of death
Place of death