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The Killers: Destiny Is Calling Me
In this candid biography/photo book of the rock group that has sold over two million copies of its debut album Hot Fuss , noted journalist Jarret Keene reveals the secret meanings of songs by The Killers ("The Ballad of Michael Valentine," "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine"). Also exposed is how the band dodged slings and arrows (a Las Vegas newspaper once dismissed The Killers as a “Duran Duran cover band”) to become the latest breakthrough rock band—and perhaps the next great rock band of the twenty-first century. Nearly 100 never-before-published photos of The Killers (crowned Best New Band on the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards) are included, from their original lineup to their most recent stadium gigs. The author shares his unique insight into the band’s psychology—the hidden power struggles, the friendships cemented and broken—and sheds light on what makes The Killers stand out in the world of rock music today. In addition to having been close friends and bandmates with members of the now multi-platinum-selling The Killers, author Jarret Keene covered the rapid rise of the group during his three-year stint as arts and entertainment editor for Las Vegas CityLife . From The Killers’ humble beginnings as the house band for a local transsexual dive bar to their eventual friendship with Jay Z, Keene saw and heard it all. Keene is also the author of the poetry collection Monster Fashion and the alternative travel guide The Underground Guide to Las Vegas . He lives in Las Vegas.
176 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 3, 2024
Found this short book at a used book store in Chicago and decided to get it and read it in preparation for seeing the Killers in Vegas in August (my first Killers show). I learned quite a bit, especially about their rise to fame with “Hot Fuss,” the album that is being commemorated this year (20 years!).
December 15, 2024
The unauthorised story of the early days of The Killers from Las Vegas to Hot Fuss.
Originally published in 2006, Keene is a Las Vegas reporter who not only wrote about The Killers before they hit the big time, but actually played in a band with Ronnie Vannucci, jnr. This, then, is his take on the formation of the band (not a great deal of detail), how they set about conquering the local music scene (a bit more detail) and then what happened afterwards (virtually no detail at all). The promised “never before seen” photographs aren’t bad, but most aren’t in focus and seem to come from two or three gigs, so there’s quite a bit of repetition. Speaking of which, it appears that over the 125 pages of text (and there’s a LOT of white space), Keene wasn’t edited too thoroughly - it’s mentioned at least three times that Ted Sablay is a musical genius who can quickly pick up any instrument straight away. I’m a Killers fan, I love the band and I’ve read the excellent “Days & Ages” bio by Mark Beaumont, but I struggled to understand what this book was trying to do. For Killers completists, it might make an interesting read, but if you want to know more about the band, go for the Beaumont book.
Originally published in 2006, Keene is a Las Vegas reporter who not only wrote about The Killers before they hit the big time, but actually played in a band with Ronnie Vannucci, jnr. This, then, is his take on the formation of the band (not a great deal of detail), how they set about conquering the local music scene (a bit more detail) and then what happened afterwards (virtually no detail at all). The promised “never before seen” photographs aren’t bad, but most aren’t in focus and seem to come from two or three gigs, so there’s quite a bit of repetition. Speaking of which, it appears that over the 125 pages of text (and there’s a LOT of white space), Keene wasn’t edited too thoroughly - it’s mentioned at least three times that Ted Sablay is a musical genius who can quickly pick up any instrument straight away. I’m a Killers fan, I love the band and I’ve read the excellent “Days & Ages” bio by Mark Beaumont, but I struggled to understand what this book was trying to do. For Killers completists, it might make an interesting read, but if you want to know more about the band, go for the Beaumont book.
December 7, 2009
The writing was atrocious. The pictures were the only redeeming part of this book.
April 28, 2018
In a normal situation, I wouldn’t read an unauthorised book about my band, particularly if they were my favourites. Nor would I read one that’s over ten years old – I’d presume that I already knew everything from that era. But I love The Killers and I love cheap books, so combining these two was a painless choice.
The Killers: Destiny is Calling Me is an interesting read, although it is very short. There are a lot of white gaps in the pages which mean you will race through the book pretty quickly. I read this over the course of one evening and I wouldn’t consider myself to be a speedy reader, particularly when there are a lot of pictures to examine. This is the feature that keeps this book going – lots of pictures and some that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Some aren’t professional shots (early days of the band) so the quality isn’t great and all are black and white. If blonde Dave is your jam or you ever wondered what Michael Valentine looks like (yes, he is real), this book is worth a read. Just don’t expect to come out of it an expert on the band/Super Victim.
I did find some interesting facts about The Killers that I didn’t know. Ted Sablay (who is the lead guitarist on the current Wonderful Wonderful tour) is mentioned several times as being a musical genius to can turn his hand to any instrument. There’s also some information on pre-Killers bands for Ronnie and Dave’s alias, Tavian Go.
I think this book would have been great as more of a picture book plus facts on the band. While a discography of a band with one album and several CD singles is nice, it’s a bit scattered and incomplete with only US releases plus ‘imports’. Now even back in 2004/5, there were ways to check out overseas CDs. There are no mentions of Australian releases, some of which had completely different track listings. The book kind of feels like it was hastily put together on the back on Hot Fuss’s release without a huge amount of research or background – what the author knew from friends and associates rather than a heap of research. It is interesting, but it’s not the definitive resource for all things Killers.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The Killers: Destiny is Calling Me is an interesting read, although it is very short. There are a lot of white gaps in the pages which mean you will race through the book pretty quickly. I read this over the course of one evening and I wouldn’t consider myself to be a speedy reader, particularly when there are a lot of pictures to examine. This is the feature that keeps this book going – lots of pictures and some that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Some aren’t professional shots (early days of the band) so the quality isn’t great and all are black and white. If blonde Dave is your jam or you ever wondered what Michael Valentine looks like (yes, he is real), this book is worth a read. Just don’t expect to come out of it an expert on the band/Super Victim.
I did find some interesting facts about The Killers that I didn’t know. Ted Sablay (who is the lead guitarist on the current Wonderful Wonderful tour) is mentioned several times as being a musical genius to can turn his hand to any instrument. There’s also some information on pre-Killers bands for Ronnie and Dave’s alias, Tavian Go.
I think this book would have been great as more of a picture book plus facts on the band. While a discography of a band with one album and several CD singles is nice, it’s a bit scattered and incomplete with only US releases plus ‘imports’. Now even back in 2004/5, there were ways to check out overseas CDs. There are no mentions of Australian releases, some of which had completely different track listings. The book kind of feels like it was hastily put together on the back on Hot Fuss’s release without a huge amount of research or background – what the author knew from friends and associates rather than a heap of research. It is interesting, but it’s not the definitive resource for all things Killers.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Read
January 1, 2025Read this in the last week of 2024 and finished it quicker than I expected, and I didn’t reach my optimistic reading goal of last year, so going to count it towards 2025.
Starting to write reviews again.
This was a fun and fast read. Pictures helped make it very engaging — and they are cool pictures to see from the band’s rise as well. Very cool anecdotes on the dynamics of Vegas music scene, its venues, shows and the characters in it, which I feel are applicable to music scenes in general. Definitely written at a specific moment in time, and almost feels prescient with the meteoric rise the band continued to have in the decade-plus after the book’s release.
It really struck me how when I was actually interested in reading about the topic I selected, I could breeze through this book and wanted to pick it up in my spare time. Maybe I should do this more often instead of gunning for books I feel like I “have” to read. That’s easier with movies…more time taken away with books it seems (to me at least).
Starting to write reviews again.
This was a fun and fast read. Pictures helped make it very engaging — and they are cool pictures to see from the band’s rise as well. Very cool anecdotes on the dynamics of Vegas music scene, its venues, shows and the characters in it, which I feel are applicable to music scenes in general. Definitely written at a specific moment in time, and almost feels prescient with the meteoric rise the band continued to have in the decade-plus after the book’s release.
It really struck me how when I was actually interested in reading about the topic I selected, I could breeze through this book and wanted to pick it up in my spare time. Maybe I should do this more often instead of gunning for books I feel like I “have” to read. That’s easier with movies…more time taken away with books it seems (to me at least).
September 16, 2018
The pictures were good, the writing not so much
August 15, 2019
Really just a long-ish fluff piece about the band’s early days & beginnings, but still fun. Worth it for the baby!Brandon pictures alone.
April 4, 2023
Very basic. I wish there was more personal stuff. Wish Brandon would write a book!
April 20, 2009
So, the pictures were totally amazing and worth it, but the writing...eh. I could leave it. They should've just made a scrapbook. I will say that Dave in his blond hair faze = love...how can you not just giggle with delight? And Tavian Go may be the name of my next dog...
October 29, 2008
Killers fans unite! This is one of the best stories of a rising band I have ever read. And I have read it several times. If you like The Killers, it's guaranteed you'll love this book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews