Ronald Vannucci Jr. (born February 15, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for the rock band

the Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

. Vannucci is also involved in a side project called

Big Talk Big Talk is an American rock band, formed by The Killers' drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr, and longtime friend Taylor Milne in 2011. As of 2015, John Spiker, John Konesky and Brooks Wackerman are also members of the band. The band have released an ep ...

, and became the drummer of

the Rentals The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp. Sharp has been the only consistent member since the group's inception. The band's best selling single is "Friends of P" (1995). The Rentals released two albums, ''Return of t ...

in 2018.

Early life

Ronald Vannucci Jr. was born in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to an American couple with Italian, French, and German ancestry. Vannucci began drumming at the age of six.Micallef, Ken (March 2009).
Killer With A Cause
". ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...

''. Retrieved on April 13, 2010. He was a part of his junior high school's jazz ensemble and later attended both

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

High Schools. Vannucci played in various local bands. His first band was Purple Dirt. Vannucci drummed for several local bands, including ska-punk group Attaboy Skip, who enjoyed regional success in the mid-1990s and featured Branden Campbell (of

Neon Trees Neon Trees is an American rock band from Provo, Utah. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records. Their fi ...

); Free Food, a cover band who played at

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

and

homeless shelters Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously re ...

in the Las Vegas area; and Expert On October, a band that also included

Ted Sablay Theodore 'Ted' Sablay (born April 18, 1976) is an American musician, musical director and songwriter. He has been a touring guitarist and keyboardist for The Killers since 2006 and musical director for the band's live concerts since 2022. Early ...

and Taylor Milne (of

Career

The Killers (2002–present)

Vannucci studied

classical percussion Orchestral percussion refers to the various percussion instruments used in an orchestral setting. It may also refer to the act of playing such instruments in an orchestral style. Many music schools and conservatories offer training for musicians i ...

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

, while also working as a

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

Chapel of the Flowers Chapel of the Flowers (formerly Little Chapel of the Flowers) is a wedding chapel located at 1717 Las Vegas Boulevard South in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Chapel of the Flowers was one of the earliest wedding chapels built on The Strip, but ...

, a wedding chapel on

Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas Boulevard is a major road in Clark County, Nevada, United States, best known for the Las Vegas Strip portion of the road and its casinos. Formerly carrying U.S. Route 91 (US 91), which had been the main highway between Los Angel ...

. He was performing with a local group, Romance Fantasy, when he met

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his w ...

and

Dave Keuning David Brent Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is an American musician, best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the rock band The Killers, which he founded alongside Brandon Flowers in 2001 and with whom he has recorded six studio albums. Ke ...

, who had recently begun performing as

. He joined the Killers in August 2002. The band would practice at Vannucci's garage, and he would also sneak the band into the Alta Ham Fine Arts Building at UNLV at night to practice. He later completed his bachelor's degree at UNLV on May 14, 2011, while the Killers were on hiatus. The Killers have released six consecutive No. 1 albums in the United Kingdom, sold over 22 million records worldwide, and have been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and seven BRIT Awards.

Big Talk (2011–present)

Vannucci recorded a side project album during 2010–2011 and titled it

'','' aiming with tongue-in-cheek at the abundance of music being put out by labels before it is being fully prepared.

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

named the eponymous album #24 on its Best Albums of 2011 list. ''

'' was mixed by

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...

and recorded at

Battle Born Studios Battle Born Studios, located in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, is a recording studio owned by rock band The Killers. History Established in the late 1990s as Studio Vegas, the studio was taken over by The Killers in 2008. The studio was opened ...

with

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

as producer.

Matt Sharp Matthew Kelly Sharp (born September 22, 1969) is an American songwriter and musician. Until 1998, he was the bassist for the alternative rock band Weezer, which he cofounded in 1992. He appears on their first two albums, the ''Weezer (Blue Album ...

(of

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

and

) and long time friend Taylor Milne were enlisted to help record the album. Little Oil / Epitaph Records released the album on July 12, 2011. ''Big Talk'' was preceded by a single, "Getaways", on May 10, 2011. Vannucci was listed at #49 on

NME's Cool List ''NME'' Cool List was an annual listing of popular musicians compiled by the weekly British music magazine ''NME''. The list was created each November by the magazine's writers and journalists, and was based on the 50 musicians that they consi ...

of 2011. In 2015, Big Talk released their sophomore album, ''

Straight In No Kissin' ''Straight In No Kissin is the second studio album by the American rock band Big Talk. The album was released worldwide on July 24, 2015. Track listing All tracks written by John Konesky, Taylor Milne, John Spiker, Ronnie Vannucci Jr and Brooks ...

''.

Other projects

Vannucci has also contributed to

Mt. Desolation Mt. Desolation are an English band formed by Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, members of the rock band Keane (band), Keane, as a side-project. Their Mt. Desolation (album), self-titled debut album was released on 18 October 2010. The live band co ...

, a side project of Keane members

Tim Rice-Oxley Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...

and Jessie Quin, on acoustic guitar and percussion, and has also contributed to fellow Killers member,

Playing style

Vannucci mainly plays with his kit set up using a jazz technique with a high stool and hitched-up snare stand. He attributes this to his 6 ft 1 frame, a former teacher who whipped him, and the examples of great drummers including

Mitch Mitchell John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...

and many jazz performers. Vannucci is known for crashing his hi-hats, skillful sixteenth notes, and a fluid playing style. Drummer Magazine labels them a "few distinctive hallmarks

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

help characterize Ronnie's style". Vannucci and his bandmate, bass guitarist Mark Stoermer, have what they consider a rewarding relationship musically. Of Stoermer, Vannucci has said, "He almost intuitively knows what I am going to play and his parts are so rhythmic it's a joy to dance around him I really enjoy thinking up parts with him. . . it works very well for us." Vannucci was featured on the cover of ''Rhythm Magazine'' in October 2006, (where he was dubbed "pop's dynamic showman") and again in November 2008 and October 2012. He was also featured on ''Drummer Magazine'' in June 2009Hopkin, Owen (June 2009).
All Killer No Filler
". ''Drummer'': 68. London: Oyster House Media Ltd. Retrieved on April 13, 2010. and ''

Modern Drummer Magazine ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...

'' in 2013. He was featured in ''

'' in March 2009 and in ''Drumhead Magazine'', September 2008 and again in October 2008.''Drumhead''. September 2008. New York: PPV Media.

Influences

Vannucci cites influences such as jazz legend Papa

Jo Jones Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, and

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. He also lists as influences

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

, U2,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

and more modern drummers including

Charley Drayton Charles Leslie Drayton (born May 9, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist and producer, known primarily as a drummer. Artists he has recorded or performed with include The Cult, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Mi ...

Steve Jordan Steve, Stephen, or Steven Jordan may refer to: Music * Steve Jordan (guitarist) (1919–1993), American jazz guitarist * Steve Jordan (drummer) (born 1957), American drummer, studio musician * Steve Jordan (accordionist) (born Esteban Jordan) (1939 ...

, and

Ahmir Thompson Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

Equipment

Vannucci currently uses Craviotto drums, DW pedals and hardware,

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder Re ...

heads and

Istanbul Agop Istanbul Agop Cymbals is a cymbal producer based in Turkey. Its products are well respected for their unique sound, which is formed by the method and the alloy used, the formula of which is known only to the owners of the business entity, firm, Ar ...

cymbals. Vannuci previously endorsed and used

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

cymbals. His current set-up is as follows: ;Cymbals * 15" 30th Anniversary Hi-Hats * 22" Traditional Medium Crash * 22" Traditional Dark Crash * 24" Joey Waronker Ride (or a 24" 30th Anniversary Ride) * 22" Traditional Swish Cymbal (with

rivets A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched o ...

) ;Drums * 9x13 Rack Tom * 16x16 Floor Tom * 16x18 Floor Tom * 7x14 Snare * 15x24 Bass Drum

Personal life

Vannucci married Lisa Ann Yoakum on May 2, 2003. They had one pet dog, a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

named Archie. Archie gained notoriety during the recording of

due to Vannucci's frequently tweeted pictures of him in the studio. He also enjoys ranching in his free time. Vannucci and Yoakum divorced in 2016. Vannucci married Olivia Peloubet on October 7, 2017. They live in Pebble Beach, California.

Discography

Big Talk albums

*''

'' (2011) *''

'' (2015)

Other appearances

*" Departure" –

(2010) *"Midnight Ghost" – Mt. Desolation (2010) *"Playing with Fire" –

(2010) *"Untangled Love" –

(2015)

Awards and accolades

University of Nevada Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

College of Fine Arts Alumnus of the Year and Hall of Fame Inductee (2014) *Modern Drummers Reader Poll (2007) – Winner *Modern Drummers Reader Poll (2006) – WinnerModern Drummers Readers Poll
".

Latin Percussion {{for, the company, Latin Percussion Latin percussion is a family of percussion, membranophone, lamellophone and idiophone instruments used in Latin music. Instruments Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican styles Folkloric and Santeria * Trap drums * Abakua ...

(2006). Retrieved on April 13, 2010.

References

External links

The Killers official site
from

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vannucci, Ronnie Jr. 1976 births American rock drummers Living people Musicians from Nevada People from the Las Vegas Valley The Killers members The Rentals members American people of German descent American people of French descent American people of Italian descent American male drummers 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers Mt. Desolation members Big Talk members Western High School (Nevada) alumni