Bring the Reign

The desert dudes from Queens of the Stone Age unleash an oldie and a goodie

By Arrissia Owen Turner

Now that Queens of the Stone Age is more than a decade old and has surpassed the fame of date shakes, it’s time for Josh Homme and the rest of the band to look back at a deed well done.

Come January, Homme’s label Rekords Rekords will reissue the band’s self-titled 1998 debut, which has been out of print for many years. The CD stormed out of the sand, whipping critics into shape and lending a feminine machismo to the rock scene of the day.

While a new QOTSA release would be even more sought after—the last was the 2009 full-length Era Vulgaris—the band has spent the last few years working on side projects. For now, the re-release offers three new songs from the band’s formative years.

Bassist Michael Shuman’s side project Mini Mansion’s new album (also being released in January by Rekords Rekords) is decidedly downtempo with Shuman switching to drums for a change. He started the band in January 2009 with Zach Dawes (vocals/bass) and Tyler Parkford (guitar/keys). CULTURE talked with Shuman about musical multi-tasking and what puts the “desert” in desert metal.

Who is the driving force behind Mini Mansions?

We started it together. Zach is the middle man between me and Tyler. I’ve been friends with Zach since we were kids. He went to school with Tyler. He introduced us. Zach and I are both songwriters in our own right. I didn’t start a band and recruit two guys. It was definitely formed together. But I drive it now that it’s functional.

Do you share songwriting duties within the band?

It’s pretty split. But a lot of the ideas from our first EP and our first record are songs that Tyler’s had for a long time. A lot of people misconstrue it as me writing it all, doing everything. There are two voices you hear on the record. The main voice you hear is Tyler’s.

This is a very quiet album. Not what I expected from a member of QOTSA.

When we started, it was even quieter. There were no drums. It was supposed to be a mellow project. It’s gotten progressively louder and the live shows are heavier. People think coming from a band like QOTSA that we only listen to heavy music, but for the most part, even the guys in Queens, we don’t listen to just heavy music. Because I am in a rock band, I like to listen to mellower music when I’m not playing it. I don’t need to be bombarded by heavy music all the time.

What would be examples of quieter influences?

Elliott Smith, The Zombies, The Kinks, ’60s psych-pop bands. For Tyler, it’s a lot of film scores. He likes horror film scores and old Italian movie soundtracks.

Have you been playing live with Mini Mansions so far?

We have done a lot of touring without a record out. Our first tour was June of 2009. We put together an EP and went on road immediately. Three U.S. tours, two Canadian tours, an Australian tour and another West Coast tour. This will be the first time we are touring with a real record with promotion behind it and people working it. We had an EP and a 7-inch on our own. We put them out and toured on those before to play as a band and learn how to be a band. We didn’t want to waste time waiting.

Is it exciting for you to build a fanbase one person at a time?

It’s super hard and it’s also super fun. It’s great to see it build, but it takes years. Some bands are lucky enough to catch a break, get hyped and blow up after their first album. I don’t think that will happen for us. We don’t have the music to get on commercial radio and blow up. I think it will take until the second or third record to have a well-established fan base. I think this record is just the beginning of what is to come. I love getting into the band and it’s just the three of us one the road; no tech, no tour manager, no merch person. It’s like a road trip.

Did you work with a producer or do it on your own?

We did it on our own as well, recorded it at Josh’s studio. Our friend Justin Smith recorded it. We knew what we wanted to do in the studio. You can have a producer for anything, whether it’s experimental or mainstream radio rock. But we weren’t really looking to make a bunch of hits or singles. We knew we wanted to keep it weird, how we construct the songs. We didn’t really need anyone to come in and tell us what to do. It’s basically an art project. The piece of art is 12 songs long. It’s not one song we’re making to base everything off of. It’s [the] songs combined. It’s hard to make people listen to an entire album nowadays with iTunes and the Internet. But for us, it is the whole record together.

How do you think being one of the first releases off Josh Homme’s new label will help Mini Mansions?

Josh has been in the business for a long, long time. He has a lot of clout. A lot of people are willing to hear what he has to say and what he’s backing. People respect his opinion. I think that will help. But it can sometimes hurt. Sometimes I want to say I’m not even in Queens because it immediately takes it to something it’s not. Other than that I am in Queens, there is nothing that is the same about it. I think it’s great, and it’ll help the band a lot, but it may hurt a little too. It’s from the eye of the beholder. It will affect people differently.

You’ve been in Queens of the Stone Age for four years and the band has been on hiatus for the last two years. It must feel like starting a new band again.

It totally is. This is our first time all together writing on a Queens record, so it’s almost like starting a new band. It makes me almost want to change the name. But I am super excited. We were a band together for two years playing together every night, but never writing together. It’s a whole-new ballgame. We’ve all been excited about it, but we had to tour. Now it will actually happen.

How do you go from having your head in one band to the other?

I play drums in one band and bass in the other. So I am not thinking of bass lines in Mini Mansions, so I can keep those separate. Drums are new for me, and are not so musical really. I gravitated to the drums because we didn’t have a drummer.

Is that challenging learning a new instrument?

Yeah, it’s super fun. I play a drum set, stand up and play, no kick drum. It’s something not just different for me but different for any drummer. It’s fun to try and figure out these beats that won’t work on a regular drum set.

What do you think about the early comparisons to the Beatles?

I don’t think it sounds like the Beatles but everyone else does. We hear that every day. I have never heard Beatles songs that are as dark as our songs. I’ve never heard the Beatles use distorted bass, which is what Zach does. Sure, it’s an influence and it’s a compliment.

Who do you hear in it? If you were to choose something, what would you compare it to?

I think it sounds like Mini Mansions. I don’t think it sounds like much I can put my finger on. The biggest influences you might hear is a band called Pleasure Forever. They were out in the late ’90s, early 2000s. They are not a band anymore, but they were a huge influence on me. And the Odessey and Oracle-era of the Zombies. But I am hoping it sounds like Mini Mansions.

So what is coming up for QOTSA?

We are just starting to get back together. We just did a European tour in August, and we just came back from South America. We are doing some touring to get our bearings back and to get back to where we were two years ago. And then just start playing again together.

Is it hard to get back together?

It’s like a bicycle. Just starting to write together. We are going to Australia in February. That is the only plan as of right now. Just see where it goes. Nothing set in stone and we don’t want it to be. We want it to all come together organically—especially with me and Dean being in the band now and on a record. It’s a totally different deal. The first Queens record was just Josh. Since the beginning of Queens, it’s changed a lot.

Do you think of Queens as “desert metal”?

I’ve never thought of Queens as a metal band, and I have been a fan since I was young. I never thought it stoner rock either. I always just thought of them as the best rock band in the modern world. I just thought it was good songs, and there is something special about it whether [or not] you want to say it has some desert elements. I don’t know what that means though. The desert is just a place. I mean Josh is from the desert. [Former bassist] Nick [Oliveri] was from the desert. But that is about it.

What about the stoner rock tag? What makes something stoner rock?

I used to listen to a bunch of bands that were considered stoner rock and they weren’t anything like Queens. I think of them as more experimental, songs that are ten minutes long that sit on one riff, like Sabbath. That is what it means to me.

I always wondered, does it mean there is a joint hanging out of their mouths when they’re playing?

You can think this: It’s going to be heavy and laid back, and there is going to be a lot of space.

Do you have any opinions about what has been going on in California with trying to legalize marijuana?

I am not the most political person in the world. I’m not that politically active. I vote for what I think is right . . . There are a million reasons why [marijuana] should be [legal].

You have toured all around the world. Have you discovered differences in how Americans view marijuana compared to other countries?

Places like Amsterdam, where it’s so everyday; it’s just like having a drink. They are so nonchalant. I don’t know if it makes people happier, if it makes you lighten up or not work as hard. I don’t know if it has that effect. I would think you could see the difference in not having health care, you can see that difference more so than the marijuana issue. Look, I smoke weed. Yeah, I think it should be legalized. It would be a lot easier on everyone.

www.qotsa.com, www.myspace.com/minimansionsmusic.

Shifting Sands

Josh Homme’s brainchild nearly went by the name Gamma Ray in the mid-’90s, but he was forced to change the moniker after a German power metal band already using that name threatened to sue. Why not “Kings of the Stone Age”? Too macho, Homme said in a 2000 interview.