Ronnie Vannucci Jr. was born February 15, 1976 in Las Vegas. He studied Classical percussion at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) whilst also was working as a photographer at Chapel of the Flowers, a wedding chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard. He was performing with a local group, Romance Fantasy, when he met Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning who had recently begun performing as The Killers. He joined The Killers in August 2002.