Mark Stoermer

Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician.

He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums.

Stoermer graduated in 1995 from Chaparral High School, where he played trumpet in the jazz ensemble.

His early musical influences included hip hop bands such as Public Enemy and N.W.A and later rock bands such as Nirvana, the Beatles, the Who and Pink Floyd.

Stoermer played lead guitar for a number of local bands including Habit Rouge and the Negative Ponies.

Before the Killers got signed, Stoermer worked as a medical courier.

Stoermer also studied philosophy and music at UNLV.

It was while playing guitar with the Negative Ponies that Stoermer met Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning, who were performing as an early incarnation of the Killers.

He was a fan of the band's unique sound and was often present at the band's gigs.

In September 2002 he was offered the opportunity to become the band's permanent bass player, he accepted and completed the band's lineup along with Ronnie Vannucci Jr.. The band's six albums each reached No. 1 on the United Kingdom Albums Chart and garnered the band seven GRAMMY Award nominations and seven BRIT Award nominations.

Stoermer elaborated further in an interview: "I'm taking a class online right now. The reason why I'm doing that is to take a break, but not exclusively. It's a combination of a lot of things. I've been doing the Killers since 2003 and I think about a thousand shows. I just needed to step away a while from that."

In 2010, Stoermer produced rock band Howling Bells' third studio album, The Loudest Engine.

In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer has released three solo albums, 'Another Life' in 2011, Dark Arts in 2016, and Filthy Apes and Lions in 2017.

The album was recorded at Battle Born Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was released in September 2011.

The debut studio album Another Life was released on November 1, 2011, as a self-release on St. August Records.

Stoermer recorded the album in early 2011 with the help of Glenn Moule and Joel Stein, from Howling Bells, and Jason Hill from Louis XIV.

The album was mixed by Robert Root and mastered by Bob Ludwig.

It was available for free download via markstoermer.com and sold on CD and vinyl on January 24, 2012.

It was also released on iTunes the same day along with two bonus tracks.

Stoermer also joined the Smashing Pumpkins to tour in support of the band's ninth studio album, Monuments to an Elegy (2014), and produced Howling Bells' third studio album The Loudest Engine (2011).

Mark August Stoermer was born in Houston, Texas, to a German Australian father who was a physician and a big-band-style musician and an American mother who was a nurse.

They moved to Las Vegas when Stoermer was three years old.

On September 24, 2014, Stoermer performed "Let It Down" and "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" with Dhani Harrison on Conan during George Harrison week.

In late 2014 and early 2015, Stoermer played bass guitar on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins along with Billy Corgan, Jeff Schroeder and Brad Wilk.

A Smashing Pumpkins fan since his teen years, Stoermer received a call from Corgan – who had become a casual acquaintance after their respective bands played a few shows together in recent years – to join the touring line-up in support of the Smashing Pumpkins' then-new album Monuments to an Elegy.

The strength of the new material convinced Stoermer to accept the offer.

"In addition to the nostalgia aspect, I also had to hear the new music, which I think is great. If the new music wasn't up to par, I wouldn't be doing it. I felt like, yeah, it was one of those things I had to do", he said.

On December 1, 2014, Stoermer performed "Maida Vale" with Smashing Pumpkins on BBC Radio 6.

On December 11, 2014, he performed "Being Beige" with Smashing Pumpkins on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

On April 3, 2015, he performed "Drum + Fife" with the Smashing Pumpkins on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

"They even asked me to join the band as a guitar player, because originally – at least according to Dave – they wanted to build a five-piece, possibly more like the Strokes with a keyboard," said Stoermer in 2016.

"I was first asked to be a second guitar player and I casually mentioned I also play bass. And then one day I got the call from Dave."

On May 24, 2016, the Killers announced that Stoermer was taking a break from touring "to pursue other educational goals and releasing a solo album."

The statement emphasized that Stoermer was still involved in working on the band's fifth album, and that he may still occasionally perform live with them in the future.

Dark Arts was released on August 5, 2016, as a self-release on St. August Records.

The album was written and produced by Stoermer.

David Hopkins was also involved in writing and production.

Stoermer performed with the band at their 2017 Glastonbury Festival appearance, as well as at the Vegas Strong benefit show that December.

Stoermer also appeared with the band as a part of their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in April 2019.

Stoermer was not involved in The Killers' seventh studio album "Pressure Machine", and is no longer actively working with the band.