the truth about Brandon Flowers and Blush Response

There’s a lot of bad information out there concerning Blush Response, the synthpop outfit that Brandon Flowers was a member of before forming The Killers. I’m guilty of mangling a fact or two myself! This article was rewritten twice after band members came forward to set the record straight. Various sources claim Brandon played keyboards, sang backup, and even wrote the three Blush Response songs floating around the internet. Despite what you may have read, those aren’t the only three songs the band recorded. There are actually six. I’ll share all of them with you here, along with the details surrounding their recording.

Who am I and how do I know this?

I’m Brian Hazard of Color Theory, an electronic one-man band. I’m also a mastering engineer who has been producing other peoples’ music since I started recording Color Theory albums in 1993. I mixed and mastered five songs with Billie Schubert and Trevor Gagner of Blush Response from February 2001 to May 2002.

I’ve been contacted several times over the past few years by biographers and magazine editors with questions about the Blush Response/Killers connection. The inquiries are picking up again in the wake of the new Brandon Flowers solo album, Flamingo. I hope that this article sets the record straight.

As I mentioned earlier, this is the third version of the article. All of my information comes from firsthand sources. Out of respect for the band members’ privacy, I’ve stripped out the speculation and editorializing to present the facts as clearly as possible. While many bands would milk a celebrity connection for all it’s worth, the members of Blush Response prefer to leave the past in the past. They’ve long since moved on, and hope others will do the same.

The Victim

Billie Schubert, Trevor Gagner, and Brandon Flowers released their first song under the name Subversion. It was featured on a 2000 compilation from Ninthwave Records called Electricity – An Electronic Pop Sampler. I mastered the CD and provided a Color Theory track as well.

When I master compilations, I devote a lot of effort into getting proper source materials from the bands. That may have been how I first connected with Trevor. Somewhere around this time we planned a recording session at my studio.

Subversion - The Victim

I’m Not a Saint, Your Sinister Heart

The three members of Subversion decided to change their name to Blush Response before they came to me in early 2001 to record “I’m Not a Saint” and “Your Sinister Heart.” Brandon didn’t attend the sessions because he wasn’t able to contribute any money, and Billie and Trevor couldn’t afford to pay for his hotel and meals. Since Brandon wasn’t there to record backing vocals, I filled in for him.

Blush Response - I'm Not a Saint

Blush Response - Your Sinister Heart

Brandon Flowers’ role and departure

Billie, Trevor, and Brandon co-wrote all of the songs together. Brandon didn’t contribute to the recording of “I’m Not a Saint” or “Your Sinister Heart” since we pretty much built the songs up from scratch on my equipment, and tracked the vocals in my studio.

The band only played live twice, both times in Vegas, and both times with Brandon on keyboards and backing vocals. One performance was a private party, and the other a New Year’s Eve show at the Aladdin Hotel.

Contrary to popular belief, Brandon Flowers was never asked to move to Los Angeles. He was kicked out shortly after these songs were mixed and mastered, because he wasn’t able to contribute financially and wasn’t willing to commit to a larger role beyond playing and co-writing. Though the three of them had previously tossed around the idea of moving to LA, Billie and Trevor didn’t move until three or four months after Brandon was out of the band.

Impossible Decisions, Falling, Misery

After meeting Billie and Trevor via an internet posting, Ben Bettinson of All Green Lights spent six months writing and recording music with them, sometimes for 18 hours a day. Ahmer Nizam of Dark Star Orchestra practiced with them for a short time, and played drums on the three songs that Billie and Trevor brought to me for mixing and mastering in May of 2002. Ben was unable to make the drive from Olympia, Washington due to what his wife describes as a “ludicrous mulching obligation.”

Blush Response - Impossible Decisions

Blush Response - Falling

Blush Response - Misery

Upon returning to Olympia, Billie and Trevor called a meeting to tell Ben and Ahmer that they’d decided to move in a different direction, which effectively marked the end of the band. Ben and his then-girlfriend were thinking about moving to Washington, D.C. anyway.

Eight years of silence

I haven’t seen Billie or Trevor since our 2002 sessions, but I’ve spoken with Trevor on the phone a few times. He had some really ambitious plans for another musical project, but as far as I know, it never got off the ground. I also created three musical beds for Billie to sing over for her jettisoned solo project, Love at 20.

When I last spoke with Trevor, he’d recently attended an awards show with The Killers in Vegas at Brandon’s invitation. I asked if they knew Brandon could sing back then, and Trevor told me “he never sang like that for us!”