“Don’t tell me how to make a record. I was in Nirvana. I was in the greatest rock and roll band of the ’90s. We changed the course of rock music. … Give me a carton of Marlboros. Fuck you, man, I was in Nirvana, you asshole. I’m on RCA, dammit. Don’t you know who I am? I’m a millionaire.”
–Dave Grohl of Nirvana (and Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone Age, and Them Crooked Vultures, and Mondo Generator, and Sound City Players, and Backbeat Band, and Scream).
Archive for Queens of the Stone Age
Happy Birthday, Dave Grohl!
Posted in Comedy with tags Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Mondo Generator, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Scream, Sound City Players, Them Crooked Vultures on 01/14/2026 by Kurt OrzeckFrom the Vault: Inside the Label – Ipecac Recordings
Posted in Features, Inside The Label with tags Desert Sessions, Faith No More, Greg Werckman, Ipecac Recordings, Josh Homme, Mike Patton, Queens of the Stone Age, Trevor Dunn on 09/18/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
You know a label is cool when it doesn’t even bother keeping track of how many records it sells. And while such slackerish business practices would seem to spell doom for any label, Ipecac Recordings is puking in the face of its naysayers as the company founded by Mike Patton and Greg Werckman blows out 10 candles this year.
“We don’t really count record sales that well,” Werckman sheepishly admitted to IndiePit in a recent chat. “For Mike and I … we’ve only been around 10 years, but man, we’ve done these records. And the records we’re proudest of are definitely not always the ones that sell the most. It’s just cool to work with so many talented people.”
Lest ye doubt the merit of Werckman’s word, try on for size the Melvins, Isis, Peeping Tom and Queens of the Stone Age – just a small nibble of the big cookie that is the Ipecac Recordings oeuvre.
“We have a foundation of artists who have been around for a while and have a built-in fanbase,” Werckman says of the aforementioned acts. “It would’ve been pretty hard for us to fail completely. … We have a base of Mike Patton’s projects since Faith No More – that’s a pretty strong fanbase. And then, right off the bat, we had the Melvins, who have a good, strong fanbase. The one band we’ve been able to grow and establish a fanbase with is Isis. And then Josh Homme, a good friend of ours from Queens of the Stone Age” who is a constant co-conspirator.
Continue readingPet Sounds #60: Nick Oliveri of QOTSA, Kyuss, Dwarves Finds Peace With His Cats
Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags Dwarves, Kyuss, Mondo Generator, Nick Oliveri, QOTSA, Queens of the Stone Age on 09/03/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
“Frisky” is a mild way to describe, Nick Oliveri, one of the most prominent rock bassists of the past 30 years. “Feral” or “untamed” would be much more accurate. The eminently talented Oliveri, who was the bottom-heavy-playing backbone of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, and now Dwarves and his own Mondo Generator project, would likely react to even the wildest stories of John Bonham, Ozzy Osbourne and Mötley Crüe with a shrug – and his trademark laugh and smile.
Indeed, there is a tender side to the 53-year-old, Palm Desert-based musician who sometimes goes by the aliases Rex Everything, Pierre Pressure, the Great French Manipulator, Rock & Roll Komodo Dragon and Nikolai Svetlana. Don’t take our word for it: Hear about his deep affinity for felines and check out these photos he sent us for proof.
The Bad Penny recently caught up with Oliveri via video to talk not about the times he played gigs in his birthday suit, his still-intact friendships with QOTSA’s Josh Homme and Kyuss vocalist John Garcia, or how he won over Dwarves’ Blag Dahlia by smashing a vase, but rather about his love for cats.
Continue readingExclusive: Nick Oliveri Reminisces About QOTSA, Kyuss Amid Reunion Rumors
Posted in Exclusives, Interviews with tags John Garcia, Josh Homme, Kyuss, QOTSA, Queens of the Stone Age on 06/26/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
It appears that Kyuss, the early stoner-rock band co-founded by guitarist/vocalist Josh Homme (also of Queens of the Stone Age), may be finally ready to reassemble his earlier project. Somewhere in the Palm Desert region, surely. Sitting in a circle, of course. That way, the group can maximally aerate the moon by channeling unholy reservoirs of toxins into the tractor bea- …
… Huh? What’s that now? Well, huh to you too, big man. Huh to you too.
Read much more from my FLOOD feature on the eternal desert rock hounds. Meanwhile, in related news, The Bad Penny recently caught up with Oliveri, to chat about: You guessed it, all things Oliveri. That includes reminiscing on his days with Kyuss. Stay tuned for that big mug of slow joe coming from somewhere in … eh, let’s play it safe and keep it at “future” for now.
15 Best QOTSA Parody Ideas for ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic to Create
Posted in Comedy, Doppelgängers, Lists with tags Bily Ocean, Owen Wilson, Queens of the Stone Age, Weird Al Yankovic on 06/15/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Sure, they may be one of the biggest rock bands in the world, but let’s get real: Have Queens of the Stone Age truly “made it”?
Some would argue no for the simple reason that, some 30 years into their career, “Weird” Al Yankovic still hasn’t made a parody of even one QOTSA song. It’s a critical rite of passage in pop music, and until it happens, a musical act really hasn’t achieved irrefutable commercial success.
In an effort to help QOTSA finally break that glass ceiling, and to inspire Al to write some quality new parodies, here are The Bad Penny‘s Top 15 choicest ideas for QOTSA parody songs:
Original: “Regular John”
Parody: “Regular John Tesh“
Original: “Go With the Flow”
Parody: “Go With the Flomax“
Original: “Better Living Through Chemistry”
Parody: “Better Living Through Home Ec“
Original: “I Think I Lost My Headache”
Parody: “I Think I Lost My Keys“
Original: “Avon”
Parody: “The Avon Lady”
Original: “I Sat by the Ocean”
Parody: “I Sat by Billy Ocean (On a Plane)”
Original: “You Can’t Quit Me, Baby”
Parody: “You Can’t Quit Me, Baby Ruth“
Original: “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret”
Parody: “The Lost Art of Wearing Secret Antiperspirant“
Original: “The Way You Used to Do”
Parody: “The Way You Used to Do the Mountain Dew“
Original: “Sick, Sick, Sick”
Parody: “Mick, Mick, Mick” (tribute song to Rocky Balboa’s deceased trainer/ manager)
Original: “My God Is the Sun”
Parody: “My God Is the Hamburger Bun”
Original: “Long Slow Goodbye”
Parody: “Long Slow Fart“
Original: “Keep Your Eyes Peeled”
Parody: “Keep Your Oranges Peeled“
Original: “How to Handle a Rope”
Parody: “How to Handle a Rope-a-Dope“
Original: “No One Knows”
Parody: “Owen’s Nose” (referring to actor Owen Wilson’s unusual facial appendage)
• Fun fact: QOTSA frontman Josh Homme told me he especially enjoyed this one.)
Go here for more QOTSA coverage.
From The Vault: QOTSA End Year On A High Note; Josh Homme Reunites With Kyuss Singer In L.A.
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags John Garcia, Josh Homme, Kyuss, QOTSA, Queens of the Stone Age on 08/13/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
As has been widely reported but woefully under-discussed in the national conversation about the future of news in the U.S. and around the world, Paramount recently vaporized the online archives of MTV News, which it owns. The vault included thousands upon thousands of news stories, artist interviews and other historically critical pieces of reporting created by me and my former colleagues at the culturally iconic organization.
Paramount’s surprise and shocking move marked the latest in a seemingly unending series of body blows against journalists and exemplified efforts by corporate America to eliminate the trade of journalism, which is already withering on the vine, altogether. (Read the best take on the matter by founder and all-around great guy Michael Alex on Variety‘s website.)
Continue readingIn ‘Times’ of Struggle: Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme on New LP
Posted in Interviews with tags Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age on 06/16/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
Amid the release of the band’s eighth studio album, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme discusses change, acceptance, and the sonic brutality of their latest offering in my wide-ranging interview with him for FLOOD.
Unearth Sets ‘Wretched’ Tour Dates; Phipps Says He Wants to Outdo Ozzy
Posted in Interviews with tags Queens of the Stone Age, Unearth on 03/16/2023 by Kurt OrzeckHere’s a sneak peek of my interview with Unearth frontman Trevor Phipps, which will appear in the next print edition of New Noise magazine:
Getting To Know Mark Lanegan
Posted in Interviews with tags Afghan Whigs, Greg Dulli, Johnny Cash, Josh Homme, June Carter Cash, Kurt Cobain, Mark Lanegan, Nick Oliveri, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, the Screaming Trees, Twilight Singers on 02/22/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
Mark Lanegan wears all 40 years of his life on his face. His skin, once puffed in that Tom Waits sort of way, is now ironed out into a smooth sheet. His thin amber eyes pierce his surroundings with a devastating gravity. Even his thick maroon mane, which spikes out beneath a nondescript black hat, seems to be spun by the hands of time, hammered by hard living.
Best Albums Of 2017: War On Drugs, Queens Of The Stone Age
Posted in Lists, Sound Off with tags Cannibal Corpse, cloud nothings, Mastodon, Ne Obliviscaris, Oneohtrix Point Never, Pallbearer, Power Trip, Queens of the Stone Age, War On Drugs, Woe on 06/10/2018 by Kurt Orzeck
1. War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding (Atlantic)
2. Queens of the Stone Age – Villains (Matador) Continue reading
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