Stone Age

Kyuss Lives reunites members of the legendary, iconic band that rocked the desert

By Kristopher Christensen

Kyuss was born in 1991 from its previous mother: Sons of Kyuss. Influenced by bands such as Yawning Man and Across the River, Brant Bjork, Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri teamed up with slightly older singer John Garcia, not knowing they were about to create what would later be called “desert stoner rock.” Four groundbreaking albums, multiple generator desert parties and tours with megabands such as Metallica and White Zombie followed. Kyuss reached cult status here in the U.S. and were huge overseas. By 1995, the last Kyuss album was released and, two years later, a Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age split was recorded, putting a final nail into the coffin of the band forever. Members joined other groups such as Unida, Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Goat Snake, Mondo Generator, Desert Sessions, Brant Bjork and the Bros and others.

Flash forward to 2011 and Kyuss Lives! has risen from the grave to once again blow away its fans with good ol‘ head-bobbing, fuzzed-out metal. CULTURE recently sat down with Brant Bjork just days before the band’s 37-date North American tour to discuss Kyuss Lives!, music and his favorite strain. The band is scheduled to perform at the Summit Music Hall in Denver Oct. 4.

Whose idea was it for the Kyuss Lives! reunion?

John went and booked a tour in Europe last year under “John Garcia plays Kyuss” and asked me if I wanted to have Brant Bjork and the Bros open up. I said, “Sure,” and a nightly ritual began where I would get onstage and play drums on the Kyuss song “Green Machine.” For the last dates of the tour Nick Oliveri had been added to the bill, and one night we all got onstage and rocked some old songs together. John later asked us if we wanted to continue this and the rest just snowballed. It’s crazy.

How does it feel after all these years to be playing with John and Nick again?

It feels great, it’s fantastic. I loved every bit of my musical experience with Kyuss. I missed very much playing, writing and performing with those guys. It’s very exciting to be doing this again.

What’s your take on medical marijuana?

It’s great. I’m an advocate of the hemp plant on ALL levels, and I support medical marijuana . . . Pot can certainly be abused like any drug—but hey we can abuse cheese pizza if you don’t watch it, you know?

What’s your favorite strain?

Well, growing up in the desert we generally didn’t have much of a choice back then . . . Mexican, seeds, stems, it was whatever you could get. Now I love a nice strong and sweet smelling sativa or a nice sativa-dominant hybrid.

Are there any plans to record a new Kyuss Lives! album?

Yeah, we actually have begun writing right now and messing around with some new ideas. We begin recording in February of 2012, so yeah, we’ve committed to a new record.

www.kyusslives.com.

Daddy Issues

When we asked Kyuss Lives co-conspirator Brant Bjork if he felt he was the “father” of stoner rock, this is what he said: “That’s a tough question because there were a handful of bands that I kind of looked up to back then. I know for a fact the term “stoner rock” wasn’t even around when Kyuss was doing what it was doing back in the early ’90s. A part of our trip was being very open with our use of marijuana and committing to heavy rock music. I don’t know if that all adds up to us being the “fathers” or “grandfathers” of stoner rock because you had bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, Sleep and others that were all doing the same thing but in different places. I think all those bands are responsible for stoner rock.”