Robert Loud has announced on Facebook that he will be joining The Killers as a live member for the Wonderful Wonderful tour, “I’m very excited to say that I’m teaming up with the Killers as a live keys/guitar player. They are a band I have a lot of respect for and I’m honored to be playing some rad songs with some great people.”
Loud will take over Ted Sablay’s role as the band’s live multi-instrumentalist, as Sablay will be taking over for Dave Keuning on lead guitar, who quit touring last month. Jake Blanton has played bass for The Killers since Mark Stoermer quit touring in 2016. Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vanucci Jr. remain on lead vocals/keyboards and drums respectively.
Following in the footsteps of bassist Mark Stoermer, The Killers guitarist Dave Keuning will also not tour with the band, leaving only two original Killers members (lead singer Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vanucci Jr.) as regular live members. Stoermer announced last year he was taking a sabbatical from touring, and would only perform at select shows.
Keuning will not tour due to the the upcoming “crazy tour schedule” and his unwillingness to spend time away from home. He ‘doesn’t know’ what will happen after the tour.
Prior to news of Keuning not touring, Brandon Flowers discussed Mark Stoermer’s decision to not tour on Beats 1 a few days ago.
“You know, the idea of him not touring, I think, and the fact that you can continue to record music together is a good example of how far you’ve come as a band, as individuals, as a family and shows a real sense of maturity. You know, there are other bands out there that would decide that that’s a deal breaker, that camaraderie should extend to the stage and not just in the studio.”
