Queens of the Stone Age

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Queens of the Stone Age
Performing live at "Independent Days"
Background information
Also known as	QOTSA
Origin	Palm Desert, California, USA
Genre(s)	Rock
Years active	1997–present
Label(s)	MCA Music, Inc./Interscope
Associated acts	Kyuss Screaming Trees Desert Sessions Eagles of Death Metal
Website	Official website
Members
Josh Homme Troy Van Leeuwen Joey Castillo Alain Johannes
Former members
Mark Lanegan Brendon McNichol Dave Catching* John McBain Dan Druff Nick Oliveri Van "The Kid" Conner Mike Johnson Dave Grohl Gene Trautmann Nick Lucero Alfredo Hernandez Matt Cameron Natasha Shneider

Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) are a rock band^[1] from the Palm Desert, California area in the United States, formed in 1997.

Originally formed under the name Gamma Ray by guitarist Josh Homme to outgrow the stoner metal label that had begun to envelop previous band Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age developed a style of riff-oriented, monotonous, heavy and repetitious music, which Homme described as 'robot rock', saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, and just pound it into your head". Since then, their sound has evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early career (1996-1999) 1.2 Rated R (1999-2001) 1.3 Songs for the Deaf (2001-2004) 1.4 Lullabies to Paralyze (2004-2006) 1.5 The next album (2006-present) 2 Lineup 2.1 Current lineup 2.2 Previous members 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 EPs 3.3 Singles 3.4 DVDs 3.5 Other appearances 4 Musical Equipment 5 Trivia 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early career (1996-1999)

Queens of the Stone Age began with Josh Homme in 1996. Originally called "Gamma Ray", Homme changed the name to "Queens of the Stone Age" in 1997 as German power metal band Gamma Ray were threatening to sue:

When we were making a record in 1992, under the band Kyuss, our producer Chris Goss, he would joke and say "You guys are like the Queens of the Stone Age." The band was originally called Gamma Ray, but we got threatened with a lawsuit because someone else had it. So we were Queens of the Stone Age. -- Oliveri (2000)

On why the band chose the name "Queens of the Stone Age" rather than "Kings of the Stone Age":

Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends, when they wrestle. And also, it was also just a name given to us by Chris Goss. He gave us the name Queens of the Stone Age. Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way, everyone is happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age, is too lopsided. -- Homme (2000)

According to fansite thefade.net [1], the first live appearance was probably November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with a line-up of Josh Homme, Matt Cameron, Van Conner and John McBain.

The band released their self-titled debut, Queens of the Stone Age (1998) on Loose Groove, which was recorded with Josh handling both guitar and bass guitar playing duties, Alfredo Hernandez on the drums, and included several other instrumental and vocal contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Mark Lanegan had been asked by Homme to appear, however, due to other "commitments" he was unable to. Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri and guitarist Dave Catching joined and touring commenced. A recording of a phone message which plays the voice of Oliveri stating his decision to join the band can be heard at the end of the album's final song, "I Was a Teenage Hand Model".

[edit] Rated R (1999-2001)

From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently. By the time their second album was being recorded, Hernandez was no longer in the band.

It really is more of a musical experiment... It keeps moving and reinventing itself. That way we never get painted into a corner. -- Homme (2000)

I'd like to keep it loose, open and free, I just think that if we can expand and contract, then there's nothing we can't do, and even the old songs will never be something like, 'Oh, let's not play that any more.' -- Homme (2000)

2000s Rated R featured a plethora of musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero (who has gone on to record with Paul Avion) and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". The album received positive reviews but found little commercial success, aside from scoring the band notable opening slots with the Foo Fighters, Hole, and at Ozzfest 2000.

[edit] Songs for the Deaf (2001-2004)

Frequent touring for Rated R generated support for the band, and grew with Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl's joining in late 2001/early 2002 to record their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August, and also featured former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan, a floater since Rated R, as well as adding former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line up following the albums release. Although Songs for the Deaf gained major attention, Grohl returned to his other projects. Former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo filled his spot during the European leg of the supporting tour and joined the band full time. Also featured on Deaf was former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin filling in on viola and piano for the final track "Mosquito Song," as well as Ween's Mickey Melchiondo playing guitar on the same song.

Although the ongoing success repeated to lift the band to new heights, it was in 2002 at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany when the band played - according to Homme - "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." ^[2] The band then decided to tattoo themselves with "Freitag 4.15", as it was at that time when they started to play.

Me, Mark [Lanegan], Josh [Homme] and Hutch, our soundman, have the same tattoo, it's from Rock am Ring festival. The time we had to play was 4.15 in the afternoon and it was just a terrible show. It sucked, it was horrible. That's why I tattooed it on my ribs, where it would hurt, so I'd never forget. -- Oliveri interview with Daredevil Magazine (2005) [3]

Deaf's popularity peaked when it reached gold status in 2003 and the singles "No One Knows" and "Go With the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV. Constant touring continued, culminating with a string of headline dates in Australia in January of 2004, after which Oliveri was fired for what was said to be disrespect of the group's fans and excessive partying. But in July 2005, Homme claimed in a radio interview that Oliveri was fired when he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend.

A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.' --Homme interview on BBC Radio 1 (July 6, 2005) [4]

[edit] Lullabies to Paralyze (2004-2006)

Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes, A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, and Castillo, recorded Lullabies to Paralyze (2005), a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song".^[5]

Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks and is appearing with the band on tour as scheduling and his health permit. It was rumored that Homme fired Lanegan; however, this was just a rumor:

Basically, if there was a negative rumor that someone brought up to me I would just encourage it... like when someone was saying: Well, Mark got fired, Lanegan, you know. And I was like: Yeah, Mark is fired, too, yeah. But he was just touring his own solo record, you know. -- Homme (2005) [5]

Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet during Feb 2005, and then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the USA, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart. The release featured the appearance of several guests, most notably ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons.

The band released a live album/DVD set called Over The Years And Through The Woods on 22 November 2005. This album featured a live concert filmed in London, England, and in the bonus features, included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005.

In fall 2005, the group (along with Autolux for the first half of the tour and Death From Above 1979 for the second) supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth. NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest on December 19 and 20 2005 at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye".

Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia also joined the band onstage on December 20. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb", "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop". This was the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997.

[edit] The next album (2006-present)

In March 2006, Goss said in an interview with Modern Guitars Magazine that he and Homme are again teaming up to produce the next album.^[6] In June, in an interview on the Australian radio station Triple J, Jesse Keeler, the former bassist from Death from Above 1979, revealed that he would be playing bass on the album, but said that he would more than likely not be touring with the band due to his desire to spend more time with his girlfriend. Eventually on the DFA board Keeler revealed that due to conflicting schedules he would not be appearing on the new album.^[7]

In July 2006, Homme confirmed that "we're back in the studio, writing", but when asked who's in the band this time around he said "That's not a healthy question. You'll ruin the surprise. We've gotta keep our cool." ^[8]

On November 4, in a Ask The Band video feature on the official website, Josh Homme described the new record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker". ^[9]

Now concentrating on his Mondo Generator project, despite his dismissal from the Queens in October 2006 Oliveri stated:

I feel that Queens is something I can contribute to and (Josh Homme) needs me to do it. -- Nick Oliveri with The Skinny Magazine in October 2006 [10]

[edit] Lineup

[edit] Current lineup

• Joshua Homme - Vocals/Guitar/Bass(1997-)
• Troy Van Leeuwen - Guitar/Lap Steel/Keyboards/Bass(2002-)
• Joey Castillo - Drums(2002-)
• Alain Johannes - Bass/Guitar(2005-)

[edit] Previous members

Vocalist

• Mark Lanegan - Vocals (2000-2005) - (Screaming Trees, Mark Lanegan Band)

Guitarists

• Brendon McNichol - Guitar/Lap Steel/Keyboards/Vocals (2000-2002) - (Masters of Reality)
• Dave Catching - Guitar/Lap Steel/Keyboards/Vocals (1998-2000) - (Eagles of Death Metal, Mondo Generator, earthlings?)
• John McBain - Guitar (1997-1998) (Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy)

Bassists

• Dan Druff - Bass/Guitar (2005)
• Nick Oliveri - Bass/Vocals (1998-2004) - (Kyuss, Mondo Generator, the Dwarves)
• Van "The Kid" Conner - Bass/Vocals (1998/1999) - (Screaming Trees)
• Mike Johnson - Bass (1998) - (Dinosaur Jr, Mark Lanegan Band)

Drummers

• Dave Grohl - Drums (2002) - (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Probot)
• Gene Trautmann - Drums (1999-2002) - (Eagles of Death Metal)
• Nick Lucero - Drums (2000) - (studio drummer on Rated R)
• Alfredo Hernandez - Drums (1998-1999) - (Kyuss, Che)
• Matt Cameron - Drums (1997) - (Soundgarden, Wellwater Conspiracy, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Geddy Lee)

Keyboard player

• Natasha Shneider - Keyboards/Back-up vocals - (2005) - (Eleven)

Other

• Mario Lalli - Guitar/Lap Steel/Keyboards (1999 for 17 days) - substituting Dave Catching who was in Europe from April 10 to 27th

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Studio Albums

• 1998 - Queens of the Stone Age
• 2000 - Rated R UK #54
• 2002 - Songs for the Deaf US #17, UK #4, IRE# 11
• 2005 - Lullabies to Paralyze US #5, UK #4, IRE #2, Global Album Chart #2

Live Albums

• 2005 - Over The Years And Through The Woods

[edit] EPs

• 1996 - If Only Everything (under the name Gamma Ray)
• 1997 - Kyuss/QOTSA Split EP (Kyuss / Queens Of The Stone Age (Gamma Ray Sessions))
• 1998 - The Split CD (Queens of the Stone Age/Beaver)
• 2004 - Stone Age Complications (Rarities, Limited edition)

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions				Album
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK Singles Chart
1998	"If Only"	-	-	-	-	Queens Of The Stone Age
2000	"The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret"	-	#36	#21	#31	Rated R
2000	"Feel Good Hit of the Summer"	-	-	-	-	Rated R
2000	"Monsters In The Parasol"	-	-	-	-	Rated R
2002	"No One Knows"	#51	#1	#5	#15	Songs for the Deaf
2003	"Go with the Flow"	-	#7	#24	#21	Songs for the Deaf
2003	"First It Giveth"	-	-	-	#33	Songs for the Deaf
2005	"Little Sister"	#88	#2	#13	#18	Lullabies to Paralyze
2005	"In My Head"	-	#32	-	#44	Lullabies to Paralyze
2005	"Burn the Witch"	-	#38	#40	-	Lullabies to Paralyze

[edit] DVDs

• 2005 - Over The Years And Through The Woods (Live)

[edit] Other appearances

• 2000 - Heavy Metal 2000 soundtrack - "Infinity"
• 2001 - Alpha Motherfuckers: A Tribute to Turbonegro - "Back To Dungaree High"
• 2002 - XXX soundtrack- "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire"
• 2002 - WWE Tough Enough 2 soundtrack - "Millionaire"
• 2002 - CKY4: The Latest & Greatest - "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire"
• 2003 - Tony Hawk's Underground - "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire"
• 2003 - SSX3 - "No One Knows (UNKLE Remix)"
• 2003 - Wrong Turn soundrack - "You Can't Quit Me Baby" and "If Only"
• 2004 - The Punisher soundtrack - "Never Say Never" (Romeo Void cover)
• 2004 - Need for Speed: Underground 2 - "In My Head"
• 2005 - Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition - "Little Sister"
• 2005 - Saw II soundtrack - "Burn The Witch (UNKLE Variation)"
• 2005 - Guitar Hero - "No One Knows"
• 2005 - Project Gotham Racing 3 - "Little Sister"
• 2005 - Jak X: Combat Racing - "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" and "A Song for the Dead"
• 2005 - Gran Turismo 4 - "Go With The Flow"
• 2005 - SSX On Tour - "Medication"
• 2006 - Singstar Rocks - "Go With The Flow"

[edit] Musical Equipment

Homme's traditional setup has been his Ovation Ultra GP guitars (3 of them in different finishes, although the wine red one was rarely seen) played through his collection of Ampeg Vt-22 combos. The Ovation guitars were part of a limited production run, with less than 1000 made in 1984. Homme is very secretive about his equipment; in an interview he stated that "I've worked hard on this sound I've created".

During the tours up until Lullabies to Paralyze, Homme used the following:

• Gibson Marauder Custom
• Maton MS503
• Maton MS524
• Epiphone Dot Black

For the Lullabies to Paralyze tour and record, he has retired the GPs, and plays almost exclusively semihollow guitars, including:

• Maton BB1200 "Betty Blue" in Black, Blue, Red Wine and a Tobacco with Scroll Tailpiece
• Motor Ave Bel Aire - Black with Silver scratchplate
• Maton MS526 with Bigsby
• Maton MS500 12 String Homme Signature (His first and probably only signature model!)
• Gibson Barney Kessel Signature
• Yamaha SA503 TVL in Black (Troy Van Leeuwen's signature Yamaha guitar)
• Teisco '68 V-2

Troy Van Leeuwen also uses hollowbody guitars including several Yamaha AES1500s, his signature SA503 TVL, other Gibson and Yamaha hollowbodies, a Gibson Les Paul and also a Chandler lap steel guitar.^[11]

A detailed description of the band's equipment prior to Lullabies can be found at thefade.net.

[edit] Trivia

During the Rock in Rio 2001 show, the bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested for going up to the stage naked, only with a bass guitar. In an interview he said: "Whoa people in Carnival here dance naked why I can't do the same?" [2] [3] [4]

[edit] See also

• Kyuss
• The Desert Sessions
• Eagles of Death Metal
• Screaming Trees
• A Perfect Circle
• Eleven
• Palm Desert Scene
• P.J. Harvey
• Foo Fighters

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Queens of the Stone Age

Official sites

• qotsa.com - the official QOTSA site. (Flash required)
• rekordsrekords.com - the band's record label. (Flash required)

Unofficial sites

• thefade.net contains news, tabs, lyrics, FAQ etc.
• qotsa.mskiteonline.com is dedicated to QOTSA and closely related bands.
• qotsa-news.com specializes in QOTSA news.

Queens of the Stone Age
Joshua Homme | Joey Castillo | Troy Van Leeuwen | Alain Johannes
Dave Grohl | Nick Oliveri | Natasha Shneider | Dave Catching | Mark Lanegan | Alfredo Hernandez | Gene Trautmann | Brendon McNichol
Queens of the Stone Age discography
Albums and EPs: Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age | Queens of the Stone Age | Rated R | Songs for the Deaf | Stone Age Complications | Lullabies to Paralyze
Singles: "If Only" | "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" | "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" | "No One Knows" | "Go With the Flow" | "First It Giveth" | "Little Sister" | "In My Head" | "Burn the Witch"
DVDs: Over the Years and Through the Woods
Related articles
Kyuss | The Desert Sessions | Eagles of Death Metal | Mondo Generator | Screaming Trees
Categories
Queens of the Stone Age Albums | Queens of the Stone Age Songs
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