The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci will release his debut, self-titled solo album, Big Talk today via Epitaph Records. Produced by Joe Chicarelli (The Strokes, My Morning Jacket), and mixed by Alan Moulder (U2, Foo Fighters), Big Talk sees Vannucci step out from behind the drum kit of one of the biggest bands of the past ten years to show us what he’s got.
As a songwriter with The Killers, whose writing is frequently approached collaboratively, it will come as no shock to find that Vannucci has a way with a genius song of his own. Vannucci is a true multi-instrumentalist and superb vocalist who has created an album that pays homage to some of his greatest influences. With Big Talk, Vannucci stays true to his roots while carving his own musical path.
When The Killers came off the road last February after almost nine years of back-to-back albums and touring, Vannucci saw the opportunity to get out there with his own thing, to bring his own ideas, his own voice front-and-center for the first time. “I needed to do this,” he says. “And now, having done it, it feels like the right thing to do. It all feels very natural.”
Vannucci recruited an old friend and former bandmate, Taylor Milne to help in the studio and who will play lead guitar when Big Talk performs live. “Taylor really attacks things at a different angle,” he says, highlighting the guitarist’s unique style of playing. “All these really cool leads that you’ll hear on the songs are Taylor. We work on things together, but it’s his take, so sometimes it’s very different. It sounds fresh to me.”
Vannucci will take Big Talk to the stage this summer along with Milne and a full band. Ronnie Vannucci is Big Talk, which is the name of his band, the name of his album, and in a way, both what his record is about and also not what his record is about. Whatever Big Talk is or is not, there is no doubt that it will be the rock soundtrack to the summer.
www.bigtalkmusic.com
Check out the album on iTunes