Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme and Dean Fertita sat down with NME in London to open up what went into how friendship, connection, loss and hard times shaped 'In Times New Roman', a "romance" with Dave Grohl, the escapism of David Bowie, a backstage run-in with Elton John, the chances of another Iggy Pop collaboration, and why life can't always be "puppies and rainbows and ponies that swim".
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00:00 Was there like a kind of Anchorman news team battle backstage with like Elton's people
00:05 and your people and Elton had a Trident.
00:09 He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek and said, "Enjoy playing to all three people."
00:14 Which I thought was amazing.
00:16 And I've laughed and thought, but then when we first walked out, I was like, "Oh my God,
00:20 there's, I mean, there was a lot of people."
00:22 But normally there would probably be a lot more.
00:25 It was an interesting thing to walk out to at first.
00:27 It was like, "Wow, that was some accurate shit right there."
00:31 It's a good prediction.
00:32 Hi, I'm Andrew Trenbill.
00:33 You're watching NME.
00:34 We're here today with Joshua Hummey from Queens of the Stone Age.
00:43 Hello.
00:44 How's it going, man?
00:45 Yeah, quite well, thank you.
00:46 You?
00:47 Yeah, I mean, all the better for being here.
00:50 This place is pretty insane, right?
00:52 Yes.
00:53 This is one I'm really glad I'm not a decorator.
00:56 I don't even know how you start to think of this much stuff.
00:58 I mean, London must be like a home away from home for you.
01:02 We were mistaken for an English band very early on because we were here so much.
01:06 Yeah, I think it's just, you know, there are some cities that are just an oasis and obviously
01:14 it's easy to want to be in London as, I guess, as a tourist.
01:19 It's wonderful to take a few licks and move on.
01:23 What do you tend to get up to when you're not playing shows or have the pleasure of
01:27 talking to journalists?
01:29 That's a good question.
01:30 It really just depends on if I'm here with my littles or if I'm here with somebody else.
01:35 I kind of like sightseeing a little bit.
01:40 I do.
01:41 Last time I was here, I went to the London Dungeon, which has changed dramatically.
01:46 So I went there when I was 19 and now I'm 50, so there's a big change there.
01:51 It used to just be kids.
01:53 It used to just be torture apparatus, which I thought was amazing.
01:57 What could be more family than the grave warning of putting a cage on someone's chest with
02:03 a rat in it and lighting the top of the cage on fire?
02:07 That tells you, "Listen to what I say."
02:12 Is that your favorite implement you saw?
02:14 Did you ever...
02:15 No, it wasn't my favorite implement, but it was so insane.
02:18 To put a cage on your abdomen with a rat and then there's another little bowl on top and
02:27 you light a fire on the rat.
02:29 That's insane.
02:30 You guys are fresh from playing The O2 in London the other night, which was a really
02:36 amazing show.
02:37 I think it was one of the best times I've seen you guys.
02:40 I think what kind of marked it as a bit different was it really felt like the sense of joy and
02:44 gratitude was a bit more palpable this time, emanating from the stage.
02:47 I just wondered if that was a fair comment, if you felt...
02:50 I think that everyone has had a crazy five years and I too have had a crazy five years.
02:59 A lot of the guys in the band have as well.
03:02 I think we just sort of appreciate playing The O2, really.
03:10 I guess I'm searching for a good time.
03:12 I always have been a good time girl.
03:17 I want it so bad.
03:19 I want a good time.
03:20 I want to...
03:21 If I'm going to be far away from...
03:24 On tour, you leave everyone you actually love to go be with strangers.
03:31 I think my desire is that if I'm going to be with strangers, I want it to feel like
03:36 we're exploding with joy.
03:40 Otherwise what's the fucking point?
03:43 When you feel it coming back, I'm just in a different headspace.
03:48 I can feel it coming back.
03:49 I think sometimes before I was caught up in my own head, which isn't a bad thing.
03:55 This is different.
03:56 There's the old adage of we're here for a good time, not a long time.
04:00 And I would suppose that everything you've experienced in the last five years would kind
04:05 of...
04:06 That hits a lot harder now, right?
04:08 I just know that that's true.
04:12 I know for a fact that not for a long time, for a good time is what we're here for.
04:17 So naturally you had a bit harder than most just beyond COVID and lockdown.
04:21 That's been said about health issues, family issues, losing so many of your loved ones
04:26 and friends and such.
04:28 But coming out of that, what...
04:29 I know everyone wants to talk about that.
04:33 It's funny because I really don't want to talk about that.
04:36 Because I...
04:42 Every record has a story attached to it or again, what's its point?
04:47 I understand that's the story.
04:50 And I know good and goddamn well that I was trying to right my way out of my troubles.
04:57 But I do think that's what it's for.
04:59 It's funny though.
05:02 I think perhaps in the future I should, no matter what's happening, just sing about puppies
05:09 and rainbows and ponies that swim.
05:12 Because then that's what everyone would believe that that was about.
05:18 But I just don't know how far that goes in terms of...
05:24 I need it to be about my real life when it comes to the words.
05:29 And it needs to be real or what's the point?
05:32 That's what I mean.
05:33 What you talked about is using writing as a way to get out of it.
05:39 Did that compulsion change your relationship to the band and music and having it as a different
05:45 vehicle to what it might normally have been?
05:47 Yeah.
05:48 I think early on you're trying to catch up to your inspiration.
05:54 There's three, four records you're just racing to keep up with your own ideas.
06:00 And I always had this philosophy, if you can't outsmart them, outweird them.
06:05 And so I think in moments when I was feeling vulnerable or unsure or afraid, I just got
06:15 more bizarre in those moments.
06:18 And felt good to see the look on someone's face twist and shake their head and say, "What
06:25 are you on about?"
06:28 And now I don't have time for that.
06:31 I'm trying to keep up with the hills and valleys of regular life.
06:38 I hope that dealing with the more intense portions of life, it certainly means more
06:51 to me and I hope it means more to other people too.
06:53 So I think the days of childish pursuits are long gone.
07:00 It was quite difficult enough post-COVID for a lot of people to get back out there and
07:03 put themselves out there.
07:04 You were putting a lot more of yourself out there in the songs and getting back on stage.
07:10 And I think the first time that happened was at the Taylor gig where you did "Let's Dance"
07:16 with Nile Rodgers.
07:17 Yeah.
07:18 That must have been one hell of a baptism of fire.
07:21 That felt really good because I think I've always placed a real high value on escapism
07:33 as a really top commodity.
07:36 You will go through something difficult and if you haven't, it's close.
07:40 So there's something about ice cream parlors and video game arcades and conspiring by the
07:48 fireplace with your friends in the dark.
07:51 Fucking.
07:54 These things are what it's all about.
07:59 I want moments.
08:01 I don't care who you vote for.
08:04 It doesn't mean anything to me.
08:07 The notion that someone would be like, "You're free to pick one of these two boxes."
08:11 Sounds like a classic manipulation anyways.
08:14 I'm more interested in how someone feels, what we're going to do, and romanticizing
08:19 how we're going to escape.
08:23 I think there's just something inherently sexy about the day we make our great escape.
08:29 And then doing that Bowie song, which is the ultimate form of escapism.
08:33 Absolutely.
08:34 As it pertains to that gig, being able to sing "Let's Dance" with Niall Rogers at
08:42 Wembley for my friend.
08:44 Because Taylor would have loved that gig so much.
08:47 I think it was such a wonderful thing that perhaps only Dave could do, is a send off
08:53 like that.
08:54 And again, these are just what he'd done.
08:57 This is a good way to say I love you.
09:01 I think in the years past, I haven't always known how to say that I love you to the people
09:06 I care about.
09:07 So obviously you and Dave went through quite similar ordeals and put out records that both
09:11 kind of he was writing his way out of it too.
09:12 Did you guys kind of discuss the process in the making of your record of the Fuse album?
09:18 Yeah, I mean, Dave has been one of the longest romances I've ever had that's worked.
09:27 And he's such a good guy.
09:30 I also love his dark side.
09:34 I love mixing our watercolors together like that, and just in conversation.
09:41 We go to this place that I won't name.
09:45 We go there for brefkes and just eat waffles and talk about times as you do.
09:51 I see that Dean is here.
09:52 And then, as if by magic, Queen's of the Stone Age Dean Fertitta joins us.
09:56 Hey.
09:57 How you doing, Dean?
09:58 I'm great, how are you?
09:59 I'm pretty good.
10:00 Fertitta.
10:01 Sorry.
10:02 I was enjoying it.
10:05 Never thought of that as a musical last name before.
10:07 It sounded all like an amazing spread all of a sudden.
10:11 Fertitta.
10:12 Or like a medication.
10:14 See, in the States we have all these adverts that are all for medication, and then they
10:20 list an enormous amount of side effects.
10:22 Oftentimes the side effect is death.
10:24 Yeah, so it's probably banned over here.
10:27 Yeah, Fertitta.
10:28 And there's like a quick little hook.
10:30 Yeah.
10:31 Yeah.
10:32 So, Fertitta could be fatal.
10:34 What would be the main need for Fertitta, the drug?
10:37 You tell me.
10:39 Oh, that's a great question.
10:41 It's a cholesterol medicine.
10:42 Well, Dean, how's this-
10:45 It makes your cholesterol very high.
10:47 Yeah.
10:48 Like, are you worried about not ever getting high cholesterol?
10:51 Well, now's your chance.
10:52 Are you too healthy?
10:53 Yeah.
10:54 Butter capsules.
10:55 That's a great saying by some wise person that's like, "Healthy people will feel stupid
11:02 laying in hospitals dying of nothing one day."
11:04 Yeah.
11:05 We were just discussing, well, it was quite fittingly it's the end of the year.
11:12 You guys have been at it quite hard this year.
11:15 One of the best albums of the year.
11:16 You just pulled off an amazing tour.
11:18 How are you feeling about being part of Queens of Stone Age at this time?
11:22 Do you feel differently about the band and your relationship to the music now?
11:28 I think it's more focused.
11:31 In the last few years, I think you could look at, for me, I was very aware of things that
11:38 were constants in my life because there was so much change and uncertainty with things
11:45 that it's almost like the shiny thing that you see at the bottom of the ocean.
11:50 You're walking by and you're like, "That's either going to be important to me or somebody,"
11:55 and you dive in and go get that thing.
11:57 It's like a lost ring that you found.
12:03 Oh, I like that.
12:06 That's nice.
12:07 That's...
12:08 Fertiza.
12:09 But yeah, it's just like all the things that were constants really came to the forefront
12:15 for me.
12:16 This one, being in this band and the friendships and everything has made doing this tour and
12:22 this record more important to me than I think any previous project I've done.
12:32 And I do think all of us are playing the best we ever have.
12:35 I don't know what the reason is for that, but I think maybe there's a comfort level
12:42 with everybody and we understand, I think, our relationship to each other and what it
12:49 means in the context of the band.
12:52 We have been pondering why we feel we're playing better.
12:57 It's certainly not from lack of trying or anything before.
13:00 It's sort of pondering why is it that we feel like we're further along than we've ever been
13:06 in terms of just being able to do together as a group.
13:12 Sometimes if it's going well, you try to figure it out to see if you can get the essence of
13:16 what that is and hold onto it.
13:19 Unless we have nothing else to fucking do, sitting driving around, we're like, "How do
13:24 we come to understand what's happening here?"
13:27 Perhaps it's better to just leave it alone and accept it and enjoy it.
13:33 One of the first times a lot of people would have seen you on your return would have been
13:37 at Glastonbury.
13:38 And I was wondering if that kind of magic of everything between you, was that amplified
13:43 by the magic of Glastonbury?
13:45 Did you feel it?
13:47 Glastonbury is always an interesting experience and especially the last few times for us because
13:52 they always ask us to do the hard job.
13:58 I suppose other than driving the sewage truck, playing against Eldon is one of the tougher
14:04 jobs and playing against Beyonce is a tougher job too.
14:07 What would you rather do?
14:09 Drive the sewage truck?
14:10 Yeah.
14:11 No, no.
14:12 No.
14:13 Yeah, I don't know how to answer that.
14:15 Those both tough gigs that were really fun.
14:18 Tough because you don't know if you walk out and anyone's going to be there.
14:25 And yeah, but I mean quickly all that stuff fades away and you just have a good time.
14:31 It is Glastonbury at the end of the day.
14:32 People are there to all participate in driving the sewage truck.
14:40 They're all there to participate and having a great time.
14:42 The escapism is just really what we're after.
14:46 And so I think you always feel proud to wiggle the flag.
14:51 I don't think that sounds right actually.
14:52 Wiggle the flag.
14:53 Permission to wiggle.
14:54 Permission granted.
14:55 That's the name of the next album.
14:57 Permission to wiggle.
14:58 Permission to wiggle.
14:59 Fuck, I can't believe we gave that away.
15:01 Yeah, but I think being the reason people wiggle is just a good thing.
15:09 It's a good feeling.
15:10 And obviously you guys had the relationship with Elton.
15:12 You've worked together before.
15:15 Was there like a kind of Anchorman news team battle backstage with Elton's people and your
15:20 people and Elton had a trident?
15:24 He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek and said, "Enjoy playing to all three people,"
15:29 which I thought was amazing.
15:31 And I've laughed and thought, but then when we first walked out, I was like, "Oh my God."
15:35 I mean, there was a lot of people, but normally there would probably be a lot more.
15:40 It was an interesting thing to walk out to at first.
15:42 It was like, "Oh wow, that was some accurate shit right there.
15:46 That was a good prediction."
15:48 And then speaking of the challenge, oh, this may or may not be a challenge.
15:50 I saw you guys play Download back in 2013, maybe 2014 or something.
15:56 Sounds right.
15:57 And you guys are coming back to Headline next year, which I don't know, a lot of bands kind
16:02 of shit themselves at Download because it's Donington, it's the home of rock and they
16:07 want blood.
16:08 I'm just wondering, do you guys feel differently about this slot?
16:12 Are you going to do anything different to kind of rise to the challenge or is it just
16:14 going to be-
16:15 Or is it just going to be the same old, same old?
16:17 Oh, I'm not just going to wiggle a bit harder, I don't know.
16:21 Yeah, I mean, I think you always have to give it your all and changing it every night is
16:29 what we're about.
16:31 So it's always going to be something different.
16:33 And I don't think there's any reason to trip out.
16:38 That's the best part, I think, why shows have been so good.
16:42 There's a relaxation to the approach that will decide five minutes before we're going
16:48 on to play something that we haven't played in 20 years.
16:51 And we seem to pull it off.
16:53 If you see someone with a sign and the sign says this goddamn tune or that goddamn tune,
16:58 then you just do that.
16:59 It feels nice to just be able to react in the moment.
17:05 We come bearing the gifts, you know?
17:10 And so it's like you want to give everything away.
17:15 So I don't think there's any worry necessarily.
17:18 It's nice to be able to play Donington, but it's just as nice to play Bournemouth last
17:22 night too.
17:23 And I don't mean to cheapen either.
17:25 It's both as good as it can get.
17:28 I mean, you know, there are problems.
17:33 These aren't real problems.
17:35 I think another thing that's been really wonderful in talking about the changes and constants
17:40 is after being away for so long, we didn't know what we were coming back to.
17:46 And to see that we haven't lost anyone, it feels like our people are still with us.
17:54 That's been a really, really inspiring thing and makes us really enjoy playing.
18:01 Were you thinking much about reception and public perception and what you're coming back
18:05 to?
18:06 Or was it just like, "Let's fucking go"?
18:07 Well, honestly, the five years was so intense.
18:12 I forgot to remember that it was going to be perceived in some way.
18:19 I think completing the record was just difficult enough where it was more a sigh of relief
18:26 when it was done than anything else.
18:31 It wasn't until it had been out for a few months that it was like, "Oh, people are going
18:38 to receive it."
18:39 I have no idea what that means.
18:42 I tend to stay away from the enemies and whoever else is of the world because it's not really
18:47 my job to focus on how it's received.
18:52 What's next?
18:53 Is it going to be another six years for another Queen's record or are you itching to get back
18:55 in?
18:56 I think we should be making some...
18:58 One thing that the mantra of the last five years is, "It won't be long now."
19:06 I think that needs to pertain to making things too.
19:09 So I certainly think we should make more faster, better.
19:15 Weirder.
19:16 I was told that you said that nice little acoustic cut at the end of "Straight Jacket"
19:22 thing is kind of like a nod and a wink, some breadcrumbs, a little Easter egg about something
19:28 that might come.
19:29 Is that you're going to head in that direction?
19:31 I think that it's wonderful to be able to look backwards and see that all these connect
19:39 like puzzle pieces.
19:42 The last three records certainly, they're all just connected.
19:46 You're trying to build a bridge so you can fucking get over it.
19:53 So it's important that these things connect.
19:55 It's important that they point to a direction from your past and towards the future.
20:00 I love that chance to...
20:06 We make music to hear the 50th time.
20:10 There's lots of just little trinkets and baubles and things to hear and see.
20:17 So I just like doing that.
20:19 I like it when it's like a puzzle.
20:21 And because you were both part of the project, I have to ask, post-pop depression part two,
20:26 could it happen or did that have its own place in time?
20:30 Well, I mean, I would do that in a second.
20:33 Oh my God, yeah.
20:35 If there was ever the opportunity to do it, it would be amazing.
20:38 No plans?
20:41 No plans.
20:42 I mean, you can't force something into being.
20:46 You just have to be ready to accept it when it arrives, no matter what that is.
20:49 I just want to do that Royal Apple Hall show again.
20:53 That was the coolest thing I've ever been allowed to be part of.
20:57 But to try to chase that down again is a big mistake.
21:02 Acceptance is the key.
21:03 I accept that that happened and I accept that it can never happen again.
21:05 You know what I mean?
21:06 So, you guys are going to go home.
21:08 Is there going to be a kind of Queens of the Stone Age office Christmas party?
21:13 Yeah, we all sit on a copier and then we have that faxed to all our friends.
21:17 Queens of the Stone Age, Merry Christmas.
21:19 Thank you for your time.
21:20 Thank you.
21:21 Cheers guys.
21:22 Thank you so much.
21:23 Thank you.
21:23 Thank you.
21:24 Thank you.
21:24 Thank you.
21:25 Thank you.
21:25 Thank you.
21:26 Thank you.
21:26 (upbeat music)
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