WE MADE THE THREE HOUR DRIVE TO COLUMBIA, MO FOR THIS CONCERT. I DIDN'T PLAN ON GETTING A INTERVIEW WITH QOTSA. SINCE WE DIDN'T HAVE ONE SET UP IN ADVANCE. SO WE WERE IN THIS REKORD STORE AND I SEE JOSH HOMME. AND ASK HIM IF HE WANTS TO DO A INTERVIEW LATER AND HE SAID SURE. "SONGS FOR THE DEAF" HAS GOTTEN TONS OF AIR PLAY ON THE RADIO AND MTV. CHECK OUT THE ALBUM IF YOU HAVEN'T YET. YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED. ++ UPDATE, I READ THAT BASSIST NICK OLIVERI AND MARK LANEGAN HAVE BEEN KICKED OUT OF THE BAND BECAUSE OF RUMORED DRUG PROBLEMS. SO WHO KNOWS WHAT PATH THE NEXT ALBUM WILL TAKE.++

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - September 19, 2002
Josh Homme = J
FB2 = Jeff Watts, also live photos
FB = Mike Watts

FB 2: We actually saw Kyuss and the Dwarves at the Outhouse in '91. The famed show.
J: That was the night the skin heads on acid were shooting AK-47' s into the corn filed. While I was taking a leak. Yeah I go out to take a piss and I'm pissin on corn. All of a sudden I hear cack, cack , cow. I just hit the deck cause I'm from the desert. Where when you hear guns at parties you just hit the deck. I turn around and there's these skin heads like "dude I'm seein trails". I' m like what the fuck then I realize the bottom half of my leg is in the piss. So that's my story there.
FB2: So how was it being on David Letterman?
J: We just watched it for the first time. It was good, it was good actually. It felt very comfortable. Usually it's four hours of prep for three minutes of stuff.
FB: You guys have been on other shows too right? You've been on Conan O'Brien, Farm Club.
J: We did Conan O' Brein, and a couple of shows in Europe. It's a strange thing.
FB: I think its neat seeing bands on TV that you wouldn't expect to see.
J: I think that's definitely us.
FB: It's totally different compared to a live show.
J: Like I said it's four hours of prep for three minutes of rock. By the time it was over I was like "that's it, all right bye everybody".
FB2: Is "Songs for the Deaf" going to come out on vinyl?
J: Yeah I'm sort of speaking with Interscope about that. They want to put it out in England, but I want to put it out on Rekord Rekords. We're discussing that still. {OUT NOW ON IPECAC}
FB2: I have the "Rated X" import vinyl.
J: See that's why I don't want them to put it out in England because it will be an Import here.
FB2: Yeah It's like $20 to buy it over here.
J: If it's on Rekords Rekords it will be every where, and they used flimsy covers and censored. There was supposed to be penetration and dicks and pussies every where cause it's rated X, but they can't do that in England. So without asking if it was ok. They just got the people that print the covers to changed the
photographs.
FB: Another thing the bigger labels are kind of notorious for is releasing a lot of B
sides overseas. So people have to buy import singles.
J: It's not so you would have to do it over here. It's that the market over there demands it. They are specialty things so they can have some thing different. In America singles for bands like ours aren't a big deal. Like there's not maxi cd singles here. So it's more like out of coincidence that there's more over there.
FB2: Tells a little more about Rekords Rekords you're label. Is there supposed to be another MONDO GENERATOR record coming out on there?
J: It's gonna probably come out on Ipecac records. Cause Rekords Rekords is just me. So if I put it out I would probably be fucking up my friends. His record should see a little bit wider span. Since Rekords Rekords is tiny. If you don't know about it already. {MONDO GENERATOR - "A DRUG PROBLEM THAT NEVER EXISTED" OUT NOW ON IPECAC}
FB2: Any plans to re press any of the early DESERT SESSIONS on 10"?
J: The early ones no just because it's a hassle with the old Mans Ruin art work and stuff like that. I do have the 10" on the web site some of them, but not the early ones. I have like 5&6, and 3&4. It's 1&2 that's the tuff one to get.
FB: How many were pressed when they came out?
J: I think like 3000 and I have about 1000 left of each.
FB: With you're involvement in so many side projects like DESERT SESSION. When do you ever have any time off?
J: I don't, I don't I'll get old and look like Hutch, like that.
FB2: So are you guys happy with Interscope?
J: Yeah there all right. They've been working on this record quite a bit, and they know to let us make our own records. Stay away and that's good you know. It's there business they want to sell records. It's like major label, evil. Now what are you gonna do. Don't be on one then. Labels like Road Runner are much more ruthless. Road Runner is like the worst label in the world.
FB: I see no problem with being on any label you want to be on. As long as you can get your albums out.
J: Yeah it's if the music's good not who put it out.
FB: I know part of reason labels are putting dvd's with albums is so people won't just download them. Did the label approach you about the dvd or is that something you wanted to do any way?
J: I told them if you have an enhanced cd, a cd with music and it's enhanced it renders it un burnable. Because it's to much information for the cd burner. That way we could stop people from burning them. Because I really don't want people to burn our cd's. We let people tape our live shows and film everything and trade music. But don't steal, I worked really hard on this record and put a lot of time into it. For someone to go "Hey thanks". I just not right. I don't go into some ones work and steal paper from the copy machine. But what they (Interscope) did is, say wow really you can't burn it. Then they made it in to a dvd. Which makes it still burnable. I was like "Hello, hello is this thing on" so they kind of missed the fuckin', some one kinda drooped the ball there.
FB: I don't think the enhanced cd really hasn't taken off. Where as the dvd aspect has. You guys put alot more effort into actually making yours. Then I've seen a lot of bands do on a full length release separately. As far as a video.
J: This is the first tour in a while we haven't had some guy documenting stuff. When were on tour will search for a classic moment you want some one there to capture it. It doesn't happen very often, you know. It's another way for us to have artistic control. If we do it our selves were in control. If we don't Interscope will do it with out us. There not cool per say like they put out records. Not like wow Interscope's bad ass let's go to his house.
FB: How much emphasis do you put on the design and art work? How's it tied into the overall themes of the album?
J: That's a better question for Hutch actually. He does all the artwork.
FB: I personally thinks there a big correlation between the artwork and how it ties into the songs on a album.
Hutch: I don't know if we put that much thought in it. As far as exact songs. I hope people take all the bits and info and come up with there own take. I wanna make something you can see. Something you can pick up and see. Make you turn around. That's why it's bold art work.
J: Like design oriented stuff and there's a little more detailed stuff. On the car there more to look at. So it's a little bit of both. I think our thing with album covers is they should be kind of striking. Rated R is just blue and white like Baaa. This one almost like the answer to it visually.
Hutch: Leaving something to the imagination.
FB2: What I took from the art work is you put more emphasis on the music than the design of the cover.
J: Yeah, the covers bold it's almost negative. That's why the sperm Q is positive.
FB: Let's talk about some the songs that have made the transition from both the side project stuff to QOTSA album. Is that because those are songs you thought has more life into them or songs you really like and want more people to hear them.
J: There's other songs I wish I could put, bring forward too. But you can only do a couple. Cool really cool things come out of the Dessert Session. That are surprising I feel like songs are like little kid. More people should know you, get out of the house. So songs like "Hanging Tree" and stuff. People should hear a song that's dark and eerier in a five four time, that doesn't really exist. To my knowledge and so I wrote a few words. The music and melody was all written by Alain Johannes. people should hear this guys freakiness. So they need to come
forward.
FB: I think a another good aspect to that is people hear that song then seek out the earlier stuff. I just branches out to all different types of thing that you guys have done.
J: I think that's good too. I mean Dessert Sessions doesn't need to get bigger then it is. I fit does that's fine. If it shrinks that kind of sucks. It's just a cool change for people to get that don't know each other to remember why they started playing music. Go out in the middle of know where and make shit up. Like no managers no movie theaters or shows, or any where to eat for that matter.
FB2: I actually heard the first Dessert Sessions before I heard QOTSA.
J: Yeah, actually it came out first. It came out before, the first one came out in like '96. Back in the day '96.
FB: Do you have any plan on re-issuing the first album? I know some other label was going to do it but never heard anything back.
J: I'm getting that record back. I wanna get it out on a wider scale. I don' think a lot of people know it and we still play like five songs a night from it. So I want people to hear it. You can't really get it any where and that's stupid. It's like why is that.
FB: Are you going to keep the original art work or update it?
J: I haven't though about it yet. I haven't thought about it. I kinda like it in it's simple form. But maybe it might be cool to do something. It have to be something that makes sense with . Maybe we can take it out of spanish, but I kind of like that. The credits in spanish.
FB2: Was the recording process my different than on your first album? Compared
to your latter albums. It seems like you kind of re worked songs more.
J: Rework? How do you mean?
FB2: As far as the amount of time spent on each song.
J: Well the first album was done in eighteen days. I want to go back to doing records like that. Because that's how I do Dessert Session and that's how I do . The newest record took three months and that's too long. That will never happen again. Like people taking a year on a record. They hate the record when their done because they've heard em so much they don't know what the fuck their listening to. Like a month is perfect. You get to trip on it a little bit. But you don't freak out like some weird Brian Wilson.
FB: This next question I get a lot of negative reaction to...
J: God damn it.
FB: Any other possible live stuff coming out other than the dvd? I personally am a fan of live albums. Even though a lot of bands don't like them.
J: We've been talking about doing a live album. Actually because I think that were a live band and I think that stuff's cool. There's song that get altered and changed. So I think hearing those other versions will be really cool. We allow people to tape every night. So there are live albums so to speak. There some great sounding bootleg stuff.
Hutch: People have really good about getting back to me to.
J: Instead of sneaking in some mini cassette recorder, they put up two stereo mics and are right by the sound board. Some people bring in two video cameras and get angels. They send 'em to us and were gonna start. some people sell them for twenty bucks and stuff like that. Were gonna start doing our own bootlegs and
selling them for under ten bucks. Good quality, good shows. The queens bootlegs. The only problem is we have to find some one to hand burn everything. Extremely home made. It's illegal for us to break the law so we won't break the law and were fighting for peace.

FB2: How is the hidden track on the new album hidden when it's listed on the back?
J: Exactly. It supposed to deter from another track that is actually hidden.
FB: A lot of bands are constantly working on new stuff even though they just put a album out. Are you one of those bands?
J: We have a lot of riffs laying around, so in order to not get sick of them were not totally putting them together. That's good to sort of ferment and bubble and ooze for later. Were not in a rush to finish them but if we had to finish fifteen songs right now we could record it in no time. I think we want to do a album fast after this one. Like tour this thing for the next year. Then be done, fourteen months fifteen months have another record out.
FB2: So why aren't you playing Kansas on this tour?
J: I never play Kansas City.
FB2: Lawrence?
J: Lawrence would be good. I never play Kansas City, but I love playing Lawrence. People from Kansas City can come to Lawrence it's not that far. Like you said we all drove far. "I'm not going forty miles" How come we don't play your living room. I've had trouble in Kansas City and I don't want to go back there.
FB: How do you guys feel about the start of your care to where your at now. All the good things that have happened to you. You've got to tour all over the world.
J: It's fucking awesome. Were lucky bastards.
FB: If it all ended tomorrow you would be happy with what you have accomplished?
J: I can play at my house to. I don't want that, don't do that.
FB: Any favorite songs to play live? Any your sick of?
J: I'm not really sick of any of them. To Be honest with you. We have ones that we've always played every tour except for the last two tours. Like "You Can't Quit Me" from the first record, and I love playing "MULE" it's just fun. I like playing a lot of the new stuff. It's kind of schizophrenic, there enough diversity that I never get sick of it.
FB: What are your thoughts on the new album? To me right off the bat it's a lot harder, more quickly paced.
J: I think it's our best record. The most diverse record. It goes hard like that then it goes all right hold on. Something like "Song for the Dead" does a lot of things at once. It's hard up front then it pulls back and grooves then it goes back in.
FB: Who came up with the idea for the radio station deal between songs?
J: It's just something we were all talking about. There's enough different songs that it sounds like a bunch of different bands. We've got three singer and stuff, if you listen to those songs with out that it kind of jumps around in a weird way. That just tied it all together kinda cool. There also a bunch of dark shit made it easier to lighten it up. Because it's about summer fun.
FB: Any plan t do more tracks with Mark Lanegan?
J: Yeah, always Marks in the band so. We don't look at Mark like a guest that's staying in my parents basement or something. He's got his own place on queens avenue. It's dirty and fucked up but it's his place.