Kyuss/QOTSA/Unida/Hermano/Che/Desert Sessions/Brant Bjork (and any other Kyuss spin-off + Stoner Rock in general) Search & Destroy , Classic Or Dud?

not to mention, there's just something missing (called the low-end).
so, here's to Brant! keep coming...

-- Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (pfunkbo...), December 27th, 2005.

lol, its STONER rock, man!

Anyone heard the new Mondo Generator?

I have. I talk about it fairly extensively on the Rolling Metal Thread.

There was too much arguing on there so I hadn't read everything.

So the new Mondo Generator record is actually pretty good, way better than the last one. It's really funny, because it seems like Oliveri took all the ripping punk stuff from Queens of the Stone Age, while Homme kept all the experimental stoner stuff. I like it better than the new Queens record, but those two really need to reunite.

-- Jeff Treppel, Sunday, August 5, 2007 9:39 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

The new Mondo Generator, on the other hand, grew on me a lot. It's more of a collection of songs than a coherent album, but there's some pretty good songs in there, most notably the title track, which sounds kind of like Monster Magnet, "So High," and the spaghetti Western-sounding "Take Me Away" (which was actually available on an acoustic EP that Oliveri put out, but it was good then and it's good now). Too bad it only sold 300 copies.

-- Jeff Treppel, Monday, August 13, 2007 11:32 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

OK, so not extensively, but that's my assessment.

I think my favorite thing at Oliveri has ever done on his own is that acoustic EP, though. Well, it's half acoustic, half Mondo generator, but there's a great version of the Queens' "Autopilot" on the acoustic half. It also appears that "Take Me Away" was called "All I've Got" on the EP.

but there's a great version of the Queens' "Autopilot" on the acoustic half.

Without a doubt the best song they ever wrote together. Have to have a listen to that EP. And they really need to kiss&make up.

I bought the 1st Mondo Generator cd when I saw Qotsa in 2000 playing the Glasgow Cathouse,it was ok but I didn't like the 2nd album so I never bothered checking out his other stuff.

I really didn't like the last Mondo Generator record. In fact, I passed up a chance to get it for a dollar, so that should tell you. New one has some good tunes on it, though, as I said above. The EP is called Demolition Day/III the EP, for reference.

Ok, I'll look out for it.

Josh Homme is not what you’d call a soft-spoken guy. Locked in a Detroit hotel room, the Queens Of The Stone Age frontman answers the phone by yelling “Johnny Firecloud” over and over again. We’ve never spoken before, yet he greets me like a long lost drinking buddy, the conversational equivalent of a fireworks show. The head Queen refuses to call Detroit by its proper name throughout the interview, instead pronouncing it “Day-twaa” because “I’m trying to help it. The city needs my help.” All of this seems rather natural as we discuss Trent Reznor, Radiohead and Homme’s focused hatred for the record industry.

Antiquiet: Why isn’t the song “Era Vulgaris” on the album?
Josh Homme: A couple reasons. We wanted to give something to our fanclub kids that was good enough to be on the record. I loved watching our record company squirm and go, ‘Our marketing plan!’ when I could’ve gotten Trent (Reznor, who did backing vocals) to be on the album. I also liked that the title track wouldn’t be on the album.

Antiquiet: How was the process of recording with Trent?
Josh Homme: Piece of cake, man, he’s awesome. He and I have a different relationship, apparently, than he has with other people. He’s the sort of dude that does something funny, and doesn’t even act like he did until I start laughing, and then he’ll give me a smirk like ‘haha, you know it, fucker.’

Antiquiet: You two have worked together before, but nobody’s heard it yet.
Josh Homme: I sang something on Year Zero that he didn’t end up using. He wanted me to sing the chorus of this really beautiful song. So our relationship is good ’cause it’s like, you tell me what you need, and I will do that. When it’s not right, you tell me how to do it right and I’ll do it. It was definitely a tit-for-tat situation. I’m definitely gonna work with Trent again. I’d love to have him produce tracks. He’s got a great style.

Antiquiet: Is the Queens sound a conscious or deliberate atmosphere?
Josh Homme: The thing is, that’s from years of doing whatever you want. Everything you do is habit-forming. You will form a habit of one style or another. And it might as well be getting people used to the notion that you’re going to do whatever you want. ‘Cause all the other habits include cow-towing to what somebody else wants. And there’s never a time to do that in music. As I understand it, your obligation is to play your favorite music that noone else plays, so you have to. And my favorite music is hooky, quirky, arty, dark, surprising, heavy, groovy, soft, emotional but not emo. It wears a sweater because it’s cold, not because it’s stylistically there.

Antiquiet: And it doesn’t try to fit into girl pants.
Josh Homme: Yeah, like there’s enough room for your cock and balls in your pants. And it’s in touch with its feelings, but it’s not a fucking pussy, man. Like, I need Lee Marvin, and I need Robert Mitchum. But I don’t need Sylvester Stallone, unless it’s Tango and Cash, ’cause that movie is fucking awesome. Or unless it’s my new steak cologne called Stologne.

Antiquiet: What are your thoughts on Radiohead’s name-your-price approach to selling their new album?
Josh Homme: I think it’s working great for them. I think they’re doing a really cool job of it and a really cool thing. Not everyone is Radiohead. You’re talking about one of the finest working bands in the world. So it’s tough to transpose a situation that works for the finest rock’n'roll band in the world and sort of move it around the cabin. If you were in a band noone knew, that wouldn’t work so well.

Antiquiet: What do you think of the album?
Josh Homme: In Rainbows? I think it’s fucking awesome. The single they released was like, they’re playing fast, right on, let’s fucking do this man. They’re grooving. That song’s got a real ethereal arrangement, it just kind of comes out of a jam and keeps moving, and little things get stacked on top of what we hear before something else gets taken away, you know? It’s very cool. We were in New York when we heard the first single, and we were like shit, they’re haulin’ ass, that’s awesome.

Antiquiet: When more big bands get free of their contracts and start to do it their own way, how do you think the labels are going to react to losing their grip on what’s been their cash cow for so long?
Josh Homme: Fuck the labels man, they suck. The last thing they’re stripping down is their own expense accounts and shit. I mean, Jimmy Iovine of Interscope records takes a private jet or rides first class to tell a band they don’t get tour support. You know what I mean? Fuck that shit, I’m tired of it. And I’m not gonna be quiet because the American label, not Canada, not Europe, but our American label’s fucking us like crazy, so fuck them. Why should I not say anything, what am I afraid of? I’m not afraid of them. One of the things most notable about us is how we work. You could not like the music, you can do anything you want, but we work and there’s no changing that fact. And all I want to do is what we agreed upon. And I’m not even bitter, people say labels are evil, no. They’re just lame. I can’t download my music from the Interscope website, because they gave that power away to iTunes.

Antiquiet: Sounds pretty backwards.
Josh Homme: Sounds like a bunch of fucking idots to me. Sounds like you don’t know your business at all. If we were selling shoes, it wouldn’t be like ‘you evil shoe selling fucks.’ It would be like, ‘how come you’re trying to sell shoes to cows?’ You know? I THINK OF INTERSCOPE AND ALL THESE LABELS AS THE BIGGEST FUCKING IDIOTS ON THE PLANET. And print that in capitals, because they can’t do anything to me. That’s the difference. The reason is because finally, for once, the fact that this is just their job and this is my life does a flip flop on them because they can’t stop me from being me and from playing, but they can lose their jobs and have to fucking work at Shakey’s pizza like they should’ve all along. I’m really sad for the days of the glorified groupie with the fucking hundred thousand dollar expense accounts. They’d drop bunches of bands before they would ever cut their expense accounts. And the fact of the matter is that everyone should play music because it’s such a beautiful gift. It’s my religion. But maybe not everyone should play it in front of me. It’s okay to play music in your rocking chair or whatever.

Antiquiet: Well who filters out the bullshit? Someone with better taste?
Josh Homme: There’s so many bands today. What we do in Queens is we make it tough to get in the door, so once you’re in, you’re safe and you can do your thing. That concept is old as dirt. But what labels have done is let anyone in the door, try to throw it all up against the wall, and stick to what sticks. But they don’t know who they’re selling their shit to, you know? So instead of making it tougher to get in the door and having some quality control… ’cause they don’t know what quality is, they’re looking to somebody else, saying ‘is this good?’ ‘Yes, it is.’ So I say fuckin’ start the first fire with their kindling.

Antiquiet: It will be interesting to see what bands do beyond that. Trent Reznor and Saul Williams just did the same thing with Saul’s new album, and now that Trent’s free from Interscope, he’s bound to take it to the next level.
Josh Homme: That’s such a great example. Trent basically did what I’m doing. He was like ‘Interscope sucks my dick.’ ‘Cause they do. I know, cause I’m looking down at them right now. Even what they did was lame. They’re like, ‘Instead of doing a good job, we’ll let you go. And we get a little piece of what you’re doing ’cause we know you’ll work on it more passionately than we will, so we’d rather have a little piece of your passion than a big piece of our apathy.’ The fact of the matter is, they’re right. For the first time ever they’re admitting what they are: not a very good work force.

Antiquiet: The passion’s all at the bottom of the food chain.
Josh Homme: All the kids, like the girl that hooked us up with this interview probably does more work than Jimmy Iovine because she’s in the nuts and bolts of what goes on in Interscope. The underpaid, overworked section of Interscope. The interns and assistants and people that are starting out. I’m ranting because I know what I’m talking about. I’m also beyond pissed, as in not pissed, because I kinda figure they just don’t know better by now. It’s like when a dog shits in the house, you can hit ‘em with a paper but they really don’t know what the fuck happened. How can retarded kids know to not throw a Frisbee at the forehead of another retarded kid?

Antiquiet: How can they not be aware?
Josh Homme: I’m past the point where figuring it out has any meaning because I already know stuff that they apparently don’t know. And I only know it because I almost tripped on it walking in the front door. I don’t mind saying this shit because I’m a free spirit, man. If you think you can hold me down, best of luck to you. They don’t have the skill to hold me down.
http://www.antiquiet.com/entertainment/2007/12/antiquiet-interviews-j

Have QOTSA been dropped or is Josh just hoping they will?

I think he's hoping for it, based on Radiohead and NIN.

Either that, or he just feels indestructible because he's had a one in a million chance to put some decent music on the radio.

BTW, I saw Kyuss open for Danzig and White Zombie in '92. Personally, I like their later offshoots better. QOTSA are great on album. Unida were great on stage.

Overall, the whole shebang gets way too much credit IMO.

The Beaver tracks on that early QOTSA/Beaver split are top shelf though!

And who says charity, grace and the pure milk of human kindness are dead!

Nate, I never saw Kyuss sadly, But I've seen Qotsa about 5 times and they were better each time I saw them. Saw Unida in 1999 in a tiny club(same place I 1st saw Qotsa in 2000) and they were awesome.

"Like, I need Lee Marvin, and I need Robert Mitchum. But I don’t need Sylvester Stallone, unless it’s Tango and Cash, ’cause that movie is fucking awesome."

Josh Homme, secret ILE poster?

Kyuss the band were great. I just did not dig what Garcia was doing out front. He was in a camouflage trenchcoat, and barefoot. It seemed like he was trying to do an Axl Rose meets Bruce Dickinson over the top of some really find doom/blues.

Garcia's voice just worked better for me over the more overt rock of Unida.

The only time I saw QOTSA and really enjoyed it was at a small club show with Dave Grohl on drums. I hadn't seen Grohl play in a long long time (like a month after Nevermind came out. He is a fantastic drummer.

Still, the first Bleach tour show I saw (they were opening for the Goo tour) had Dale Crover drumming and NOTHING can top that.

"some really FINE doom/blues" that is.

Garcia's voice just worked better for me over the more overt rock of Unida.

Yeah, I wouldn't change anything about Kyuss. I just don't listen to them. They are a decent band that has gotten a strangely overwhelming amount of posthumous hype.

people really love kyuss though! i mean, that's where the hype comes from. it's totally listener-based hype.

That and the LA types wanting to hype them up still, even though they were from the desert. (I still remember when they played gigs as Sons of Kyuss!)

Come on Nate, they were more than just a decent band. They were bloody brilliant and one of my favourite bands of all time.

people really love kyuss though! i mean, that's where the hype comes from. it's totally listener-based hype.

-- scott seward, Wednesday, December 5, 2007 8:11 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link

otm!

Damn right

I didn't say it wasn't listener-based and I don't mean to discredit it. It's funny how many folks I've met that discovered Kyuss because Tool used to cover one of their tunes (Demoncleaner maybe?).

Anyway, I'm just immersed in that scene. I've kinda seen it all. And I've seen a lot of bands that are more worthy of that adoration.

The folks I've personally met from Kyuss (Garcia, Reeder, etc) have all been very cool and gracious. I wish them the best of luck.

well, you said the kyuss hype was strangely overwhelming and i just wanted to point out where it came from. from fans - many of whom started listening to the band after the fact - and the zillion bands who are also fans and who worship kyuss. lots of bands become more well-known/influential after the fact. kyuss would be one of them.

"Anyway, I'm just immersed in that scene. I've kinda seen it all."

and i've heard it all, but i still adore kyuss! they were awesome.

"I never liked Garcia's vocals ... still, I can't imagine anyone else singing those Kyuss songs" - HGN

Exzactly. And they're the only band I can think of that I'd say this about (or say it so emphatically, anyway). Other contenders?

Sort of see where yr coming from, Nate, but then again no. In terms of influence, Kyuss are/were up there with Sleep, St. Vitus, Grief, Trouble, Eyehategod, etc. In ways bad as well as good. Being bored of their stuff - or just not that into it - is one thing. FWIW, I'm with you there. But they totally earned their rep.

P.S. Cheers.

Thing is, since I saw Unida, I like Garcia's vocals in Kyuss now. Which i find strange. I just learned to appreciate his voice more I guess. They just seemed to make more sense in Unida.
Unida got a 9/10 for the 1st album in NME IIRC.

I have a cdr* of the unreleased 2nd Unida album and also a bootleg vinyl of it that thankfully sounds better than the shoddy sounding cdr.

*Officially sold by Hermano on their euro tour a few years back, my mate got me one.

am i stupid for passing up the unida/dozer split for $5?

fuck yes

On a related topic, I never liked Monster Magnet's Spine of God til I got it on vinyl last year. Now I fucking love it.

Maybe my Kyuss phase is ahead of me.

:)

Anyone heard the live Hermano lp that's out?

shit, i'm amazed i never wrote anything in this thread. but kyuss obviously gets a massive nod from me

um, is that 'live at w2'? i heard that at my friend's place once. pretty good

I'm not sure. I saw it on ATH as Hermano Live. I assumed it was a different album from the one on the spanish label I think it was.

They must have sold it already as I cant find it on there now. I saw it last week!

this thread has some good stuff on it

'live at w2' must be a couple of years old now. has an amusing cover of 'tnt' on it

Brant Bjork - Jalamanta 10th anniversary lp is out.

I was just talking about qotsa/kyuss/desert stoner rock phenomena with a friend the other day. we both grew up in the desert and were friends with Alfredo H. and Scott Reeder. i liked their high school-era punk band Dead Issue, but neither me or my friend gets why there is so much love for just being "heavy". when i ask people why they like "heavy" i get no real answers;and i've never picked up on any great songs when i've heard kyuss. anyway, Scott is a great musician, and so is Alfredo. otherwise it's just a big "neither" classic nor dud to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfWI-yV7TUY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_t2gE1EsKU

New Brant Bjork is pretty good.

Maybe there is hope for an American tour after all.

Three-quarters of KYUSS — the influential American stoner rock/metal band, originally from Palm Desert, California — will embark on Australian tour next May under the moniker KYUSS LIVES! Bassist Nick Olivieri, drummer Brant Bjork and singer John Garcia will be joined by guitarist Bruno Fevery, who most recently played with Garcia in the GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS project.

The dates are as follows:

May 04 - Gold Coast - Coolangatta Hotel (18+)
May 06 - Brisbane - The Tivoli (18+)
May 07 - Sydney - Metro Theatre (Lic A/A)
May 08 - Melbourne - Billboard (18+)
May 10 - Adelaide - Fowlers (Lic A/A)
May 11 - Perth - Capitol (18+)

Tickets go on sale on Thursday, November 25 at 9:00 a.m.

A European tour will take place in March/April.

Olivieri, Bjork and Garcia last played together when they reunited this past June for an appearance at the Hellfest, which took place in Clisson, France. Nick and Brant joined John on stage to perform the songs "Gardenia" and "Green Machine" during a headlining appearance by Garcia`s GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS project. Video footage of that performance can be viewed below.

Commented Garcia: "You know, the whole reason I ever considered doing this with Brant and Nick was the feeling we all shared during Hellfest this year. To be able to play with such amazing musicians again is a dream come true for me. This will also be a huge chance for me to let everyone know about GARCIA VS GARCIA which should be coming out fall of next year."

Since KYUSS, Garcia`s musical projects include SLOBURN, UNIDA and John`s most recent band HERMANO, plus side projects with THE CRYSTAL METHOD, DANKO JONES and countless others who embraced the singer from the Southern California desert.

KYUSS, the inventors of Desert Rock, have been in the last ten years much more popular than when they were still around in the early Nineties. So, due to massive public demand over the years to play songs from his old cult band KYUSS, John finally made the decision to give the fans what they want.

The last couple of years John Garcia thought often about reviving his KYUSS legacy on stage. The more he thought about it, the more he really wanted to do this. John commented: "I don`t want to do this just for myself, but especially for the fans. Both for the ones that have seen KYUSS live back in the days, and especially for the ones who haven`t had that chance. This could be as close as they could get to the real thing. Please bear in mind that this could be a one-off unique opportunity!"

John Garcia (born in San Manuel, Arizona, September 4, 1970) is a vocalist who has been a member of KYUSS, SLO BURN, UNIDA and HERMANO. His vocals have become synonymous with modern stoner rock and the desert rock sound. While still in high school, Garcia help start KYUSS (originally known as SONS OF KYUSS) in 1989 with guitarist Josh Homme. The band produced five albums in total, all of which featured Garcia on vocals.

In October 1995, just three months after releasing what could be argued as their breakthrough album "...And The Circus Leaves Town" (thanks to MTV airplay), KYUSS broke up. Their last recording was a 10" vinyl on the now-defunct label Man`s Ruin Records, which was later re-released on a split CD with Homme`s QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus ever since and has reached a legendary status, influencing thousands of new young rock bands.

1st Qotsa lp is being reissued and Qotsa are to tour playing the entire album + other material recorded then.