A Portrait of Josh Homme

Written by Samuel Phineas Upham

Queens of the Stone Age is just one of a number of bands that can proudly wear the badge of having Josh Homme perform with them. Homme is Queens’ only reoccurring member, a position he has held since 1997.

At the age of 14, Homme formed a rock band with some school mates. They called themselves Kyuss, and their draw was performing at so called “generator parties,” where people would drive out to remote locations in the desert to plug in and jam on instruments together. Kyuss had a substantial cult following by the time the 90s hit. After inadvertently giving birth to stoner rock, Homme left Kyuss in ’95 for a new band called The Screaming Trees.

There, he met Mark Lanegan. Lanegan became a close friend of Homme and both went on to form The Queens of the Stone Age, or at least the first iteration. Homme was bored of The Screaming Trees and wanted something that better suited his own taste in music. Their first album had a similar cult following to Kyuss, even including some tracks from those recorded sessions.

Rated R, their second album, catapulted the band to something akin to mainstream success.

Homme himself is an interesting character. He fired his band mate Nick Oliveri over allegations that he was abusing his girlfriend. Homme also had a near death experience, which left him incapable of producing music from 2010 to 2012. Homme is currently a record producer, in addition to his duties with Queens. He also plays with other bands Them Crooked Vultures and Eagles of Death Metal. He is currently estimated to have a net worth of $10 million.