FEATURE:
Homme Mystérieux
IN THIS PHOTO: Josh Homme
What Now for the Queens of the Stone Age Leader?
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I wanted to break away from the 2020-related pieces…
PHOTO CREDIT: Andreas Neumann
and return to a musician I have covered a number of times. As head of the amazing Queens of the Stone Age, I am always interested in what Josh Homme is up to and whether he is okay. Homme himself as not been free from controversy as a member of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss. During a Q.O.T.S.A. gig in 2017, he kicked photographer Chelsea Lauren in the face. It is also reported Homme took a shot at Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins when the drummer sent him a song about his son. Entitled Son of Mine, Hawkins was taken aback by some harsh words from Homme. The legendary frontman has not been free of troubles for many years. That may sound glib, but we almost lost him back in 2010. When speaking with NME in 2011, he talked about an operation he had that went horribly wrong:
“I had an operation and died and survived on the table,” he said. “I had surgery on my leg and there were complications and I died on the table. I was in bed for three months”.
Homme was in a state of depression whilst recovering and, although Queens of the Stone Age brought out …Like Clockwork in 2013, it was a hard road to recuperation. The band have since released another album – 2017’s Villains -, and I wonder whether we will see another album from the Californian band. Although it has only been three years (less, even) since that album, recent events make me wonder whether the band are scaling things back and, indeed, whether we will get more music from them in the future.
Homme himself has not been idle in terms of recording since 2017. Last year, with a crew of artists including Jake Shears and Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr, we were treated to Desert Sessions Volumes 11 & 12. The album gained some positive reviews, and I think we might get more albums from the rotating collective. A few personal developments in Homme’s life have left some questions and mysteries in the air. One heartbreaking piece of news is that Homme and his wife, Brody Dalle, have ended their marriage. Consequence of Sound have provided more details:
“Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and The Distillers’ Brody Dalle are ending their marriage after 12 years. According to TMZ, Dalle filed for legal separation on Friday (November 15th).
Homme and Dalle married in 2007. They have three children together.
As Homme recounted in 2018 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he first met Dalle backstage at a Kyuss show in 1997. “She came up to me backstage and asked if I was in Kyuss. We talked for an hour and a half and I never forgot her,” he remembered.
“I didn’t like her ex [Tim Armstrong from Rancid], so I lied and said I had made out with her in the hope that he would find out,” Homme added. “I didn’t see her again until seven years later.”
In his interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Homme described Dalle as “my punk-rock dream girl,” adding, “I always thought if I could go out with a chick with a mohawk who also read philosophy, I’d be winning. Brody is the real deal. She does everything the boys can do and a whole slew of things no boy ever could.”
Beyond their personal relationship, Homme and Dalle also collaborated in the studio on several occasions. She contributed vocals to QOTSA’s song “You Got a Killer Scene There, Man” and also played on several Eagles of Death Metal tracks alongside Homme and his collaborator Jesse Hughes”.
There are various reports out there as to why they have split, but it is clearly a tough time for both. Normally, I would not usually cover subjects like a musician’s marriage ending, but I have been thinking about where Rock will head this year and whether bands like Queens of the Stone Age will play a role. They are, to me, one of the last remaining properly good Rock bands; those that can pen a catchy tune and bring plenty of undiluted swagger and punch to the party! Whilst there are no signs and suggestions Queens of the Stone Age are calling it quits, one cannot help but be concerned hearing how their lead, Homme, is going through sh*T. Of course, one does not know the circumstances behind his separation from Dalle, but it has had a big impact on him.
As Alternative Nation reports Homme has taken to Instagram:
“Queens of the Stone Age singer Josh Homme appears to have quietly joined Instagram in the last month, with a new account launched that while it isn’t verified, it is followed by his best friend Jesse Hughes and Queens of the Stone Age, so if it’s an impersonator, it’s a damn good one, as Hughes has even commented on posts. Josh Homme’s wife Brody Dalle recently filed for legal separation, and Homme appears to be taking the news very hard.
The Homme Instagram account wrote, “When there was only one set of footprints on the beach, it’s because I was learning to walk alone. #jhobabyduck #queensofthestoneage #qotsa #bobrossjoyofpainting #alone #homealone #homealone2lostinnewyork.”
It later posted, “To the only woman. I love you Brody Dalle. @nerdjuice79 @truelove @TLA.”
Homme recently did charity work for a children’s hospital, with a video of Homme with a child shared, “Thanks to the children’s museum of palm desert for allowing the sweet stuff to do the sweet stuff. #thesweetstufffoundation #qotsa #queensodtheatoneage #nerdjuice #desertkids”.
Having gone through a near-death experience back in 2010, I and many people sort of hoped Homme would start this decade with a lot more happiness and hope than he did the last. The dislocation and depression will pass but, as many Queens of the Stone Age fans think a new album this year would be just the ticket, we might have to wait a bit longer for any news on that front.
IN THIS PHOTO: Homme performing in 2017/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
In regards his separation, another article caught my eye. Again, Alternative Nation reported. When it comes to mystery and cryptic-ness, Homme has got many people wondering about his state of mind:
“Queens of the Stone Age singer Josh Homme posted a cryptic famous poem that many fans thought referenced his state of mind after his separation from wife Brody Dalle.
“IF- If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”.
I did not want this feature to be all about his separation and relationship troubles but, as we have started a new decade, I have been thinking about Homme and Queens of the Stone Age. They are one of my favourite bands and, whilst Homme is no saint, he is one of the most electric leads and a terrific songwriter. I was lucky enough to catch the band at London’s 02 during their Villains tour. On stage, the man is part-mystic, part-rebel, alternately quoting quasi-philosophical messages and commanding the crowd get excited and tear the roof off. I have been following the band since 2000’s Rated R and been blown away by their stamina and brilliance. That album is twenty on 6th June, and it is amazing Queens of the Stone Age are still turning in sublime music – they are a lot stronger and more interesting than a lot of newer Rock bands. Homme is forty-six now, so one can understand why he might want to slow things down a bit. He has explained he will be cutting back on the world tours in the future:
“Queens Of The Stone Age‘s Josh Homme has said that the rock giants are likely to scale back on massive world tours in future.
After concluding touring for 2017’s ‘Villains’, Homme says he was left feeling burnt out by the globe-trotting jaunt.
“After the last Queens tour, I needed to take a break,” Homme told the Los Angeles Times. “I don’t think that style of putting out 10 more songs and touring for two years, I could ever do again like that.”
Discussing future plans for the band, he said: “In terms of notoriety, I really have no interest in getting any bigger. And if it were a little smaller, I’d probably be fine with that because there’s nothing down that road — unless it allows me to pull musicians from a farther world to do this”.
This will be a time of rest and reflection for Josh Homme, and I do hope this year brings him a lot of happiness and calm. As I have said, Homme has been involved in some controversy in the past – that goes beyond the attitude and edge you’d expect from a Rock lead -, but he has provided the world with so much tremendous music. A recent Instagram post has raised concerns, but I think he just needs time to get his head around his marriage troubles. As a massive Queens of the Stone Age and an admirer of Josh Homme, I hope The Ginger Elvis and his Queens cohorts will be…
BACK in full swing soon enough.