Josh Homme discussed firing Queens of the Stone Age bandmates in a new The Times interview.
He has fired at least two bandmates from Queens of the Stone Age: Nick Oliveri and Joey Castillo. He describes Oliveri as his “best friend”, but sacked the bassist after various altercations — some allegedly sparked by unconfirmed rumours of domestic violence towards Oliveri’s then girlfriend — and the men had what Oliveri has called “fighting words”.
“Sometimes you have to destroy something to preserve something,” Homme says. “When it comes to people exiting bands it’s usually a consensus. With Queens, for example, you probably got fired yourself and I was just the guy that told you. But at least I drove over to your house and looked you in the eye. In another situation you’d be lucky to get a text. There have been moments when people have attempted to give me a hard time about that but I just say, ‘Could you fire your best friend?’”
Homme discussed how polka influenced him in a new Wall Street Journal article.
His sound owes something to a less sexy part of his roots: the polka lessons he took when starting to learn the guitar at age 9 because that’s what the local music teacher favored.
“It’s the best investment I ever made. When people hear about [the polka period] they say, ‘Oh my God, it’s everywhere!’ Homme says, pointing to the spiky oompah, oompah that powered his band’s biggest hit single, 2002’s “No One Knows.” Watch Queens Of The Stone Age – “No One Knows.”
“I feel like I’ve been writing the same riff for years, trying to get it right. It’s not because it’s all I can do; it’s because I know there’s this perfect version out there and it’s worth pursuing.” The squirming fuzz-guitar line on new single “The Evil Has Landed” dates back 15 years, he says, but he and his bandmates only recently nailed it down. “It was tied with monofilament lines to my brain, just dragging on the ocean floor…if a riff is really good, I’ll remember it.” Queens of the Stone Age – “The Evil Has Landed”
