- The Killers have announced that bassist Mark Stoermer is to take a break from touring with the band, NME reports.
Stoermer will still be involved with recording the band’s new album, but won’t be joining them on tour as he wants to make a solo album and "pursue other educational goals".
It’s thought that Stoermer’s replacement for Killers gigs will be Jake Blanton, an American singer-songwriter who previously replaced Stoermer when the bassist was unable to play a tour of the Far East in 2013. This has not been confirmed, however.
Blanton also played on Brandon Flowers’ solo album ‘Flamingo’ as well as Beck’s 2014 album ‘Song Reader’.
Stoermer released a solo album, ‘Another Life’, in 2011 but was unable to tour it as The Killers were finishing making their most recent album, ‘Battle Born’. After the tour for that album completed, Stoermer toured as bassist with The Smashing Pumpkins in 2014.
The Killers’ statement announcing Stoermer’s break emphasised that the bassist may still appear at select shows. It stated: "Don’t be surprised if you see Mark on stage from time to time. Everyone in the band supports his decision."
The Killers have continued to play intermittent shows since finishing ‘Battle Born’, and resume playing live with a show in Ontario on June 2. They play at Governors Ball festival in New York on June 4.
Brandon Flowers stated in an interview with Loaded last November that the band are likely to work with their regular producers Flood and Alan Moulder on the new album.
Flowers said: "Flood asked me, ‘Which Killers are you going to be this time?’ I told him that maybe there’s a Killers we haven’t been yet. That’s really exciting. What I want is to take the experience of playing over a thousand shows and mix that with the enthusiasm we had making our first album, 'Hot Fuss'."
