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I try to make it so that songs leave me with that feeling. Like when you leave a first date with somebody and you get those butterflies. Those are the feelings I'm trying to chase with music. -Josh Homme |
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Even with all of the rock bands in the world, we're short of actual rock stars. I'm talking about Pete Townshend trashing his guitar, Led Zeppelin and their infamous mud shark incident, Iggy Pop literally walking over an audience. As someone known as a rather colorful rock 'n' roll personality, what do you think it takes to be a rock star?
 Josh Homme by Matthew Field |
I thought for so many years that "rock star" was such a bad phrase for me. Buying into the DIY punk rock spirit, you realize, "Wait a minute, this is just as fucked up as anything else." What's important to me is what my grandpappy always used to say to me, which was, "If you're going to be different, you're going to get hit by rocks. So you should learn to like rocks." To me, that is the thing that needs to be a mantra. People, especially in this day and age, their opinion comes lightning fast before they've even had a chance even to think of it. If everyone's opinion stewed around for as long as it took to write a song I think people's opinions would be worth listening to more. But now, more than ever, when it comes to music, people's opinions aren't even worth listening to half the time because they're lighting fast judgments from an arbitrary place, most of the time. So, there isn't an opinion that can effect what I'm trying to do because I know I've thought about what I want to do way more than anyone who is going to have something to say about it.
You just mentioned you don't like the term "rock star" but in the years since you've achieved stardom what are some of the perks you've come into? A lot of people dig being recognized or the groupies or even getting to play in nicer venues. What is you're favorite thing about your rise in notoriety?
If I could be 100-percent honest...
That's what I'm looking for.
I used to shy away from as much of that stuff as possible because of what I call the "They Theory." What will they say? What will they do? The minute you say to yourself, "They will never be happy" and if I met them I'd be like, "Man, those guys are dicks," then you sort of release yourself from all that. Some of the perks are playing beautiful venues. We play these beautiful theaters all over the place. It sounds great and you have a chance to have all this production, and I love trying to make someone's jaw drop. In the past, before I was married, [I was into] groupies. That shit, it was awesome. Anyone who says it isn't is totally lying. This notion that you could hook up with some beautiful girl, that's an amazing thing. It gets strange and old after a while, when you're like "Wow, this is just some weird warm hole," and that's it.
Was there ever a moment when you had a beautiful girl in bed with you and you remember specifically thinking, "Wow, this is getting old?"
 Josh Homme |
Strangely enough, yes. When you're like, "God, it almost doesn't matter anymore," there's something blank about that, where you just draw a blank. Partying is an amazing experience, when you can just waltz into a town and go partying and hang with locals, and not be such a tourist about it. I've always had a problem with being a tourist. I've always wanted to be around experienced locals because I like to see the dirty underbelly of every place. So, to be able to waltz into town and meet people who are very intelligent, experienced lunatics, I always reveled in that and being around people I've admired and getting totally wasted with them. Just without fucking censoring it at all, these are the things that make music chase-able, as far as touring goes. Creating music is already plenty for me, as far as making it. But, to go from town to town you need the visceral contact because it's only one hour or two hours a day [on stage]. You need something like that. Getting recognized and all that stuff, it doesn't mean much to me because we play it. I know I'm just this guy from the desert and I play music, and I love it. It's my religion. At the same time, for someone else, it's his Saturday night and I'm not going to ruin it by saying, "Dude, it's no big deal." Much like where I'm from, it's a weird spot where two different things meet and it's the only spot where they touch and you've sort of got a foot in each.
As a public figure, how has the role changed since you've had a child? Obviously being a performer was a decision you made but you might not want your kid to be in the position where a photographer shoved a camera in his face.
What I do is I stay out of those situations. It was my choice to do this but not hers. The other thing is, I don't talk about it much deeper than what I just said. You've got to invite the vampire into your home before it can come in. The other thing I'd say is that if anything, it's made my relationship with the press a little different. I've always been very Cosa Nostra. My business is my business. What it's done for me, going through things with [former Queens bassist] Nick Oliveri and everything surrounding Lullabies to Paralyze and what we did and chose not to do, it's made me realize I needed to relax, because you can take all this stuff way too seriously. I like it more when I take the music seriously and don't give a shit about the rest. It's tough to not give a shit because you actually have to not give a shit. You can't just be like, "No, I don't give a shit," and then be like, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."
For someone who might not have heard your music or may not have even heard of your group, what would you like them to know about Queens of the Stone Age before they get an album or buy a concert ticket?
I would want someone to know that we never rest. We're always at the frontlines. That doesn't mean you'll like it, but if you do you have the possibility to like it the whole time. We don't get out-tried by somebody else. I can't make guarantees for someone to like it, but we never rest. We never rest and we never stop.
Queens Of The Stone Age - "3's & 7's" (clean version)
JamBase | Los Angeles
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