By Dimitri NasrallahThough you wouldn't know it from their discography, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has been through a lot in the past year. He's been through surgery twice, and on one of those occasions complications got so bad he was bedridden for nearly three months. Apart from a series of reissues, his main band has been relatively quiet since 2007's Era Vulgaris. In that time, he's released a record apiece with Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures. He's also expecting a second child, he's given up smoking, and he's even started exercising. This all gave the impression that Homme had made some pretty crucial decisions in his life after 17 years on non-stop recording and touring. I caught up with Homme for a decidedly more personal conversation than what you usually expect to get from a rock star. Catching him in rehearsals for an upcoming Australian tour for their debut's reissue, I found a man who was surprisingly open and willing to talk about his life at this critical juncture in his career, and what exactly he hopes to accomplish now that he feels revitalized.
I want to start before music, because you've had a few health issues along the way, from what I've been reading. What happened to your knees?
Well, just heredity, I guess. My grandpa had his knees replaced, and I don't have any hobbies so I thought I'd have some knee surgery.
How did it get so life-threatening?
No, had trouble re-oxygenating me. And getting the tube in my throat and it went even more south from there. They couldn't wake me up, and I could've choked to death.
And then the next thing you know you're in the hospital for three months. That's some pretty major damage to be in there for that long.
I was in the hospital for 12 or 13 days, and then I was in bed at home for the next few months, which was awful. And then, last week I just had wrist surgery. I'm into surgeries lately.
What happened to your wrist?
I had breast augmentation on my left wrist. It started hurting just a while back and there was no way around it, I had to fix a tendon.
I suppose I'm asking all this because last year I spent some time in a hospital and I know that when you're just kind of lying there in that bed, and waiting for stuff to get better, you just end up thinking about what you've done and where you'll go. Was it a significant time for you in that way?
Yeah, as you said, you kind of head-scratch a little in a hospital and say, "What have I done to get here?" If you've never been injured before, when it happens that first time, you sorta go, "Okay, how do I not repeat this?" It becomes a real priority. I gotta say, I left there saying, "Why do I play music and what am I doing? Why am I still doing this? I make another record and go on tour? What, do I just do that forever?" And, sort of lost the plot for music for a second.
Those feelings weren't there before the hospital?
Everyone goes through their ups and downs, and has different emotions about what it is they do. But all of a sudden it was overwhelming. It was like, I need something else, or I need to find the plot for music, or I'll have trouble doing it anymore. At the end of the day we have these obligations because I was re-releasing the first record. The obligations of going to Australia and doing some other stuff. And we started trying to play the first record note perfect. And honestly that started to re-inspire me — it just took me back for a second, where I had a chance to remember where I was when I first started doing this. I'm a bit of a fatalist, so I took it as a sign. I started getting sort of inspired and excited about playing music again, and even if it was just to repeat the headspace I was in, which was all about repetition anyways for me. 'Cause the first record is about — it's almost an examination of trying to be a robot, you know?
Between the Kyuss, QOTSA stuff, and all the other projects that came along the way, you've had a pretty long run of. Is this the first time that sinking of creativity happened to come along?
Yeah, it's the first time. So I'm basically used to having 20 songs ahead of whatever record we're going to do. So there's always this surplus of songs and music and inspiration and direction. And then all of a sudden you find yourself lying in a hospital bed, aimless and like what the fuck? And it was confusing and frustrating, and I think I was sort of feeling a little sorry for myself. Which I'm not into, because I generally don't feel bad for myself.
I believe you make your own breaks, and you just work hard, and you shut the fuck up. I think you put your head down when things are getting hard, and you work more. Take the trash out if you feel sorry for yourself. Do some dishes, do your own laundry. I don't think you necessarily have to do artistic work in that moment. What you need to do is work your way through it.
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Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-02-22 17:32:36Great interview. Man I love Josh. These are some of the better questions I've seen in a while.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-02-23 11:59:50I agree! Excellent questions and inspiring answers
Posted by globularcluster On 2011-02-24 12:41:51Great interview. Send this guy out more.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-02-27 12:03:57Yes, great interview. Smart questions.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-03-01 08:33:52This is the best Josh Homme interview with Rock & Folk's one last year.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-03-07 12:04:54Agreed. This is a really good and wide ranging interview. Considered and thought porvoking questions. Give this guy lots of interviews with smart musicians, of course.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-03-08 11:33:33Intelligent questions! Very interesting interview.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-03-22 18:26:29but i still dream about josh joining kyuss...
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-03-23 19:31:12I love the hell out of this man and his work. Even moreso after reading this.
The captcha here is strangely QOTSA-related too: to Prove I'm Not A Robot, I typed MEZCAL.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-06-20 20:32:28it's a robot can read
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-07-13 14:21:13:) Love it
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