| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Instrument: | Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Ted Sablay | |
| Birth Date: | 1976 4, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, US |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Associated Acts: | The Killers, Big Talk |
| Occupation: | Musician, guitarist |
| Years Active: | 1994–present |
Theodore Sablay (born April 18, 1976) is an American musician, musical director and songwriter. He has been a touring guitarist and keyboardist for The Killers[1] since 2006 and musical director for the band's live concerts since 2022.[2]
Sablay was born in 1976 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the son of Maureen and Nonito Sablay, a doctor.[3] His father also played piano and while his mother loved pop music. Sablay studied classical piano for four years as a child and switched to guitar at age 12. As an teenager, Sablay became interested in live music after seeing concerts by INXS, Steve Winwood, David Bowie and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and decided to become a performer after seeing U2 and Paul McCartney. Educated at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Sablay played in various local bands while in college during the 1990s, including Attaboy Skip with Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci and Neon Trees bassist Branden Campbell and Expert On October with Vannucci and fellow Killers touring guitarist Taylor Milne. Sablay graduated from UNLV with a dual B.A. in Anthropology and Asian Studies and master's degree in accounting.
Sablay played piano on "Romeo and Juliet" on the band's compilation album Sawdust, engineered sessions for the Killers' 2008 album Day & Age, worked as a music consultant on Flamingo, the 2010 solo album by Killers singer Brandon Flowers, and played lead guitar on "Dustland," the 2021 Killers collaboration with Bruce Springsteen.[4]
Sablay contributed bass to Vannucci's side project Big Talk[5] and Flowers' second solo album, The Desired Effect. In 2017, Sablay was picked to fill in for Dave Keuning on lead guitar during live dates supporting the Killers' album, Wonderful Wonderful.[6] In 2022, Sablay became The Killers music director, supervising musical arrangements for live concerts. He currently switches between lead and rhythm guitar during Killers concerts.
In 2021, while remaining a touring musician for the Killers, Sablay began his solo career, releasing the singles "Just Out of Reach" and "Fall Out of Love."[7] [8] In 2022, Sablay released his first solo album, You'll Be Back Here Soon, amassing over 500,000 Spotify streams as of October 2022.[9] [10]
Las Vegas Weekly wrote that the album is “an impressive debut that warrants immediate, repeated plays” and the song "I Only Care About You" as one of its favorite local songs of the year.[11] [12] FV Music Blog described Sablay as "an outstanding talent," while Divide and Conquer Magazine gave the "You'll Be Back Here Soon" 4.2 out of 5 stars, describing the album as being "everything a rock record should be: well-constructed songs, accessible melodies, shifting textures and tones.".[13] [14]
In 2023, Sablay began touring throughout the United States, opening a number of dates for The Killers, The Wallflowers and Chris Isaak.[15] [16]
According to an official FAQ, Sablay's influences include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, U2, The Smiths, Johnny Marr, Oasis, Noel Gallagher, The Kinks, Tom Petty, The Wallflowers, Sade, Paul Simon, Tom Waits, Talking Heads, David Byrne, Mark Knopfler, The War On Drugs and Supergrass.