#6: The Mormon Springboard

Why are so many rockstars LDS?

Google a few rock stars next to the word “Mormon” and you’ll turn up a connection more often than you might expect. Over the years, I’ve even developed some initial screening criteria.

Were they…

• Born in the 1980s?

• Classified “alternative” on iTunes?

• Considered the “frontman”, based on their leadership, vocals, or songwriting?

• Raised in Nevada, Arizona, or California?

• One of three or more siblings?

You could add Utah and Idaho to the list of places, but at that point, you might as well include Zarahemla. Of course, there’s a connection.

Admittedly this is only a rough guide, but give it a try. While testing out some of these indicators, I learned that Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong (California, one of six kids) and Alice Cooper (Arizona) have ties to the faith.

The Mormon Springboard

This Tumblr meme brings across the most immediate thing fans think of with respect to rock music and the Church—disillusioned former members jumping ship.

As seen on Tumblr

But while it’s easy to pick up on visible signs of disaffiliation—from drinking and partying to outright denunciation—LDS theology and culture exert a deeper influence that too often goes unseen. When I look at this meme, I see a springboard for artistic creativity.

Consider…

Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco

One of Panic!’s first shows was, ironically, at Urie’s parents’ church, which employed a strict dress code. So he and his bandmates showed up in suits. “After that, we were like, ‘Hey, we should dress up like this all the time,'” he recalled.

Urie’s experiences with the Mormon church have continued to serve as an inspiration for his true passion: music. With songs like “This Is Gospel,” he’s paid homage to his religious roots. “There is so much instilled in me from growing up Mormon,” he said.

Source

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons

I definitely think that in my youth Mormonism, my loss of faith in religion, spiritual crisis, dealing with mental health issues, those are all the crux of everything I do with art… It was really all about those core concepts, and it was a cathartic thing for me. Even if the band had never gone anywhere, I would have written all these songs, because I need to.

Win Butler of Arcade Fire

Butler went to the best schools, including the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, where he played varsity basketball. He later studied creative writing and religious studies: "It was scriptural interpretation, mainly, reading the Bible in different translations. It was interesting but I couldn't cut it in Aramaic." His mother was a Mormon, and Butler was raised in the faith.

"I had a somewhat religious upbringing," he says. "Not strict, but it was there and I'm kind of thankful for that. If you grow up just watching MTV, that's its own form of religion and it's not even based on happiness or communal responsibility. I mean, try to construct a worldview out of that."

Though none of these men are active in the faith, it’s clear that their ties to Mormonism still manifest in ways we don’t always appreciate.

A Fire Still Burning

One artist stands out as an especially strong testament to the influence of a Mormon upbringing: Killers frontman Brandon Flowers.

The initiated will recognize it everywhere, from his cover art…

Imploding the Mirage (2021)

Music videos…

“Only The Young” (left)/Joseph Smith’s First Vision (right)

And in many of the lyrics,

"Lightning Fields"… sound familiar? Peep this: "If You Could Hie to Kolob"

But if all of this seems especially overt and earnest, it wasn’t always that way. In my next post we’ll take a look at how Brandon’s music gradually evolved from glam rock at home in the Vegas club scene to a thorough embrace of his childhood faith.

He still doesn’t look a thing like Jesus… but he’s more LDS than you’ve ever known.

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Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, check out my other writing at Infovores Newsletter. My interview with Katherine, rant about Utah journalism, and esoteric reading of the Book of Mormon may be of particular interest. You can also follow @ageofinfovores to keep up with me.