How music teacher Tim Jones got to play with The Killers at Adelaide concert
THERE’S a good reason music teacher Tim Jones got to play with international superstars The Killers on stage in Adelaide last night — he had a little inside help from an old friend.
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- Read our review of The Killers’ Adelaide concert
- Adelaide’s Tim gets up on stage to drum with The Killers
MUSIC teacher Tim Jones fulfilled his rock star dreams last night as he joined international superstars The Killers on stage in Adelaide — with a little help from an old student.
Mr Jones, who played drums with the band on their song For Reasons Unknown at the Entertainment Centre, has revealed he taught percussion to the group’s drummer and founding member, Ronnie Vannucci Jnr, at the University of Las Vegas about 15 years ago.
Longtime friends, the pair have stayed in touch over the years and caught up earlier this week in Adelaide, hatching a plan to get Mr Jones up on stage to perform with the US group, who routinely invite members of the audience to try their hand at drumming.
“I said to him, ‘Hey Ronnie, you get these people up who get perform For Reasons Unknown with you all over the world, how about we make that happen?’” said Mr Jones, who’s still a professor of music at UNLV.
“He’s like, ‘that’s perfectly fine with me but it’s not my call. Here’s how it works. Here’s the inside scoop. When we get to Smile Like You Mean It, you’ve got to get as close to the stage as possible and you’ve got to get (frontman) Brandon’s (Flowers) attention. You’ve got to him to notice you. He’ll always look into the audience and make a decision.”
Armed with that information, Mr Jones, brought a sign which read “drums on reasons?” - referencing the band’s song — and at the right moment, headed to the front of the stage.
“I was jumping up and down, and screaming probably more than a 45-year old should be ... but anyway we were able to make it happen,” said Mr Jones, who was born and raised in Adelaide.
“He (Brandon) chose me and Ronnie handed me the sticks and says, ‘Just follow me’. He ended up playing guitar on the song and I just followed his cues.”
For a glorious four minutes, Mr Jones was given the chance to play with one of the most popular rock bands in the world — and he didn’t miss a beat, and the 10,000-strong crowd gave him a mighty roar at the end of the song.
“It was absolutely amazing. That’s not a setting I’m used to, it was such a thrill and a blast to be up there with all of them, but especially Ronnie,” said Mr Jones, who later went backstage to catch up with Vannucci Jnr.
In town for ten days to visit his ill mother Helen, Mr Jones said it was extra special given the sad circumstances.
“She’s very ill at the moment and has 24-hour care so it was important I came back at this time. So actually it was a real lift to have that experience, and also for my sisters and nieces and cousins who were all there watching. It made their day,” he said.
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