Queens of the Stone Age: News, History & Updates

Queens of the Stone Age Biography

By JESSE HUGHES from EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, exclusively for Alternative Nation

First Shows

Jesse Hughes: I was at the very first Queens of the Stone Age show, before they even recorded a record. I remember [Josh Homme] was doing shit with Frank Kozik. And Frank Kozik was obsessed with Kyuss, so he was reluctantly, in a way, reforming Kyuss. And he got the music bug again, and he was back in the desert, and we were hanging out. And he goes, ‘I’m going to be playing at El Cafe de Mexico tonight.’ I have a film of it somewhere, dude. And he goes, ‘I want you to come see what it is.’ And I’m like, ‘What is it?’ He goes, ‘It’s everything that you and I love about music.’ And I went, ‘Okay, that’s a pretty tall order. I’m very interested to see what this is.’ And I was immediately mesmerized.

Alfredo Hernandez is one of my favorite fucking drummers on Earth, and he was playing with him. That’s when I first met Dave Catching. The first time I ever met and really spoke to anyone in Masters of Reality, Chris Goss, who is like a god and a legend. But they also played at a place called JB’s Thirsty Bull the week that Kyuss was going to be produced by Chris Goss. I was at the JB’s Thirsty Bull, which is like a hole in the wall club that fits 40 people.

Meaning of Band’s Name

Jesse Hughes: But the thing about Queens of the Stone Age is that I feel like I probably understood what was going on a little bit better than everyone else, because Queens of the Stone Age is not a made up name. It’s an old gay community term, okay? And it means an uncool homosexual, a ‘queen of the stone age.’ Like, ‘Don’t invite him. He’s not even into Bowie. He likes Liberace. He’s a real queen of the stone age.’

So when Joshua heard that, he was like, ‘Yeah, old f*g, I’ll take it.’ That being said, you wrap that name up in some of the toughest, hardest hitting music that sings directly into the hearts of girls, you have an anomaly and an enigma that’s almost something that you would consider to be impossible on paper.

The Many Talents of Josh Homme

Jesse Hughes: Joshua is one of the greatest songwriters that I have ever known of, and I believe this, I don’t just love the man with my whole heart. He’s not just my best friend. I genuinely look up to and admire him for what he is, which is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songwriters that the world has ever known. I think he’s up there with any great you want to stack him against. I think he’ll take the Pepsi Challenge. He’s a giant – literally a physical giant – who can hit chord progressions that no mere human could even imagine. The fret span that he’ll perform with sometimes makes me go, ‘Fuck you, dude, just stop. What a dick. How dare you be that rad.’

And at the same time, being the best friend you could ever have. I never imagined I would go through this life and have a best friend who, as he is, accelerated in his recognition, as his greatness has increased, as his fame and wealth have increased, he’s always been true to who he’s been and true to me as a friend. You can’t say anything about Joshua bad without having me want to fucking kick your ass. Like, I will fucking fight. I take it very personally. The man has gone through so much shit just to be a good family man, just to be a good friend, just to be a good partner, and endured the slings and arrows. I take that shit very personally.

Songs for the Deaf Era

Jesse Hughes: Well, first of all, they didn’t have a DJ in their band, which made them unique. Because every band at the time had a DJ. But I remember going, ‘Nothing sounds like this.’ And when heavy music was going more towards a scream or an Eddie Vedder vibe, he was not. He was singing. He was melodic. And I remember the first thing I said to him was, ‘Wow, your songs have melody.’ And he went, ‘Thank God. If only my dad would approve.’

The True Meaning Behind ‘No One Knows’

Jesse Hughes: I knew it was a hit. And I wondered in my head, ‘Does he know this is a hit?’ And then I realized he did. I know what the song’s about. I know what a lot of these songs are about – what they’re actually about. And they’re heavy, very hard-hitting, deep critiques of people in his personal life that are brutal sometimes – in the manner in which they’re taking down their subject matter. But ‘No One Knows’ is a beautiful way to say, ‘Please keep a secret.’ If you listen to it now again and think in your head, ‘Keep a secret,’ you’ll hear that it’s an instruction manual.

Josh Homme’s Side Bands: Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures

Jesse Hughes: Well, here I’m now about to tell you something that no one knows, but Eagles of Death Metal started before Queens of the Stone Age. And so technically, in actuality, Queens of the Stone Age is the successful side project of Eagles of Death Metal! Because I wasn’t interested in being in a band. And I wanted to get married and have kids, which Josh always told me I was crazy for. And I had no interest in being in a band. And I don’t think he could understand that exactly, so he was already looking for a band name with humor in it, so to speak. And I think Queens of the Stone Age, that comes from Chris Goss basically saying to them in the studio once, when they were Kyuss, ‘Get in here you Queens of the Stone Age, you’re not that cool.’

So, Eagles of Death Metal, when we finally made our record, we were on the Desert Sessions, which was amazing. Desert Sessions: Volume Vour, there’s two Eagles with Death Metal songs. We actually had a DJ and we had a death metal vocalist because we were really talking shit. But once the first album was being written [2004’s Peace Love and Death Metal], and Joshua showed up at my house…this is actually the truth. He showed up at my house because he was worried about me, and he saw my computer had a track that I was recording, and he was interested in what I was doing. He broke into my house with my friend, Mike Ortega, because I wasn’t home yet. So I come to my house, and Josh is in my living room with my friend Mike Ortega, and I’m just about to go, ‘What the fuck are you doing in my house?’ And he hits play, and he goes, ‘Can you do more of these?’ And I went, ‘I’ve got more.’ And he went, ‘Okay, I’ll pick you up in a week.’ And then we drove to LA and made the record.

And he never treated it as a side project. We’ve never looked at it as a side project. We’ve always looked at it as another band that he was in. And the fact that he was so able to follow through with that…because it’s easy to say something, it’s easy to agree with shit that’s true. It’s easy to listen to something that’s reasonable and shake your head. But to actually do it, that’s a difficult thing. That’s a hard thing to do. And it’s something that not most people can do. And the fact that he was able to actually do it speaks volumes to the fact of His greatness. And that’s why so many people want to be near him.

That’s why Dave Grohl wants to be in bands with him. That’s why John Paul Jones wants to be in bands him. Everything flows from the queen. And I like that phrase, by the way, I came up with that one – you just remember that everything does flow from the queen. And he would always say to me, ‘You are going to treat this band like it’s a full band. This band needs to be big. You need to take their reins on this. And I’m going to let you.’ That’s the miracle. The miracle is that he was ever able to allow for me to exist. But that’s the person that he is.

Josh’s Relationship with Dave Grohl

Jesse Hughes: I think it was the best thing that Dave Grohl had going for him when Queens happened. It allowed him to segue into Foo Fighters, of course. But I think the relationship, in my humble opinion, flows from Joshua. I think that in terms of who needs who, Joshua is not the one that’s needy the most. And their relationship is incredible. Joshua to me, is the benchmark.

A True Enigma

Jesse Hughes: Queens of the Stone Age, in my opinion, are a true enigma. And they’re one of the last bands to get through the door of the old world of rock n’ roll, and open up the new. Like, just before the door closed. And I feel like, thankfully, he pulled me in just before the fucking door hit right on my ass.

Jesse Hughes interview conducted exclusively by Greg Prato for Alternative Nation.