Ronnie Vannucci | |
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Ronnie Vannucci
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Background information | |
Birth name | Ronald Vannucci Jr. |
Born | February 15, 1976 |
Origin | Las Vegas, Nevada |
Genres | Alternative rock, Post-punk revival, New wave, Heartland rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Drums, percussion |
Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | Island, Epitaph |
Associated acts | The Killers, Big Talk, Mt. Desolation |
Website |
www.thekillersmusic.com www.bigtalkmusic.com |
Ronald "Ronnie" Vannucci Jr. (born February 15, 1976) is the drummer for the American rock band The Killers. Vannucci is also involved in a side project called Big Talk.
Ronald Vannucci Jr. was born in Las Vegas to an American couple with Italian, French and German ancestry. Vannucci began drumming at the age of six. He was a part of his junior high school's jazz ensemble and later attended both Clark and Western High Schools. Vannucci played in various local bands. His first band was Purple Dirt.
Vannucci drummed for several local bands including Ska-Punk band Attaboy Skip who enjoyed regional success in the mid 1990s and featured Brandon Campbell; Free Food, a cover band who played at prisons and homeless shelters in the Las Vegas area; and Expert On October, a band that also included Ted Sablay and Taylor Milne.
Vannucci studied Classical percussion at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) whilst also was working as a photographer at Chapel of the Flowers, a wedding chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard. He was performing with a local group, Romance Fantasy, when he met Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning who had recently begun performing as The Killers. He joined The Killers in August 2002. The band would practice at Vannucci's garage and Ronnie would also sneak the band into the Alta Ham Fine Arts Building at UNLV at night to practice. He later finalized his B.A. at UNLV on May 14, 2011 while The Killers were on hiatus. The Killers have released four consecutive No. 1 albums in the United Kingdom, sold over 22 million records worldwide, and been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and seven BRIT Awards.