Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973)
is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the
rock band
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line ...
, which he formed in 1996 and in which he sings lead vocals and plays guitar, as well as occasionally playing bass and drums in the band's early days. He also provides backing vocals and plays various instruments (primarily drums) in the rock band
Eagles of Death Metal, which he in 1998.
Homme began his career as the and guitarist of the rock band
Kyuss
Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, ...
, with whom he performed from from 1987 to 1995. He then served as a touring guitarist for the rock band
Screaming Trees from 1996 to 1998, leaving to start Queens of the Stone Age. He has also overseen a
musical improv
Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...
project with other musicians (mostly from the
Palm Desert Scene
The Palm Desert Scene is a group of related bands and musicians from Palm Desert, California. Their hard rock sound – sometimes described as desert rock – contains elements of heavy metal, psychedelia, blues, punk, alternative, grung ...
) known as
The Desert Sessions since 1997. He formed the
supergroup Them Crooked Vultures alongside
Dave Grohl and
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
in 2009, releasing
their eponymous debut album later that year. In 2016, he produced, , and performed on the
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...
album ''
Post Pop Depression''. He has also been involved with acts such as
Royal Blood,
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...
,
Run the Jewels, and
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
.
Early life
Joshua Michael Homme was born on May 17, 1973 in
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
.
He grew up in a family in and around
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...
. His paternal grandfather, Clancy "Cap" Homme,
moved to the area from
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
and was an early settler of the Valley. Cap has a private street named after him in
Rancho Mirage, marking the original road to the Homme ranch, as well as a park named after him in an exclusive enclave of the Valley. Homme moved with his family on a regular basis due to his father's work, residing in many towns around the Valley.
He later discussed having to "create
isown fun" as a child growing up in the desert, stating that he did not start playing music to "get girls or make money" and that he assumed he would grow up to be a contractor like his father.
Homme also has ties in
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...
and has talked about his formative experiences there, such as seeing
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 19 ...
perform at the
Sandpoint
Sandpoint ( Kutenai language: kamanqukuⱡ) is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho. Its population was 8,639 at the 2020 census.
Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest products, light manufacturing, ...
Music Festival and the first time purchasing his own electric guitar (an
Ovation Ultra GP) in a Sandpoint music store.
He began playing guitar at the age of nine, after his parents denied his wishes for a drum kit. He took guitar lessons for the next few years but his teacher mostly focused on
polka, so he supposedly did not learn of a
barre chord or a
pick
Pick may refer to:
Places
* Pick City, North Dakota, a town in the United States
* Pick Lake (Cochrane District, Ontario), a lake in Canada
* Pick Lake (Thunder Bay District), a lake in Canada
* Pick Mere, a lake in Pickmere, England
People wit ...
until his third year of lessons, lending to his unique playing style. He joined his first band, Autocracy, in 1985 at the age of 12. Despite his musical success, he continued to work on his grandfather's farm until releasing
the first Queens of the Stone Age album at the age of 25, because he "didn't want to lose
isgrip on reality".
Career
Kyuss (1987–1995)
In 1987, when he was 14 years old, Homme formed a
punk rock-influenced
heavy metal band in
Palm Desert High School called Katzenjammer with schoolmates
John Garcia,
Brant Bjork
Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along with ...
,
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
and Chris Cockrell. Homme was the band's guitarist. After changing their name a few times, first to Sons of Kyuss (they released an
EP of the same name), they finally shortened it to Kyuss. The band garnered a
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...
by the early 1990s, often driving for hours to isolated locations in the desert and plugging into generators to perform. These events, known as "generator parties", became
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
among rock subculture. The band became both famous for their heavy, down tuned, groove oriented music, and infamous for their backstage fights with local LA bands when they traveled into town to play gigs. This soon brought the attention of
Chris Goss, who became the band's mentor, helping the band sign to a label and eventually producing them exclusively in an effort to preserve their sound. Due to Homme being younger than 18 at the time of the band's signing, his parents signed the contract on his behalf. Kyuss released four albums (''
Wretch'', ''
Blues for the Red Sun'', ''
Welcome to Sky Valley'', and ''
...And the Circus Leaves Town''), of which the final three Goss-produced efforts are often cited as cornerstones to the development of the
stoner rock
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...
genre in the 1990s. Kyuss partially reformed in 2010 under the name
Vista Chino, but Homme opted out of the reunion.
Queens of the Stone Age (1996–present)

When Kyuss split up in 1995, Homme moved to
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, briefly abandoning his desire for a music career and attending the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...
to study business. During this time, he fell back in with old musician friends such as
Ben Shepherd and
Mike Johnson
James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since October 25, 20 ...
, and eventually agreed to join the
Screaming Trees as a rhythm guitarist on the summer
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
tour in 1996, a replacement for Johnson, and that continued into the following year. Homme and vocalist
Mark Lanegan became close friends during this time but, disliking the rest of the band's continual disharmony, began considering forming his own band. He founded Gamma Ray, a group more centered on his unique style and tastes, in 1996. After a
cease and desist
A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...
from
a band of the same name, this band became Queens of the Stone Age. The first release under the new name would be the ''
Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age'' compilation EP featuring tracks from both Kyuss and songs recorded from the
''Gamma Ray'' EP sessions from 1996, released in late 1997. Queens of the Stone Age released their
eponymous debut album in 1998. Initially, the band consisted of various friends of Homme's from the Seattle area. Homme had asked a number of singers, including Lanegan, to perform as lead vocalist for Queens of the Stone Age, but by the time of recording the band's debut album, he had moved back to Palm Desert and the band was pared down to just Homme and ex-Kyuss drummer
Alfredo Hernandez
Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name.
People with the given name include:
*Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...
. Homme was left to cover every other instrument and ended up singing for the first time in his career. Shortly after recording, Homme and Hernandez were joined by bassist and vocalist
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
and guitarist, keyboardist, and lapsteel player
Dave Catching
David Catching (born June 7, 1961) is an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the California stoner rock band earthlings?, a touring member of Eagles of Death Metal and the co-founder of the Rancho De La Luna ...
, the band was now composed entirely of ex-Kyuss members and roadies.
Following their debut album, by which time Hernandez left the group, Queens of the Stone Age released the next album, ''
Rated R'', during which the band used a wider range of instruments to achieve a more relaxed, spacious and psychedelic sound.
Though it differed from the band's debut, ''Rated R'' became Queens of the Stone Age's first mainstream hit. The next release, 2002's ''
Songs for the Deaf
''Songs for the Deaf'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002 by Interscope Records. It features guest musicians including drummer Dave Grohl, and was the last Queens of the Ston ...
'', however, would gain even more buzz from the music community and fans alike. In ''Songs for the Deaf'', Homme continued his filtering of
stoner rock
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...
and hard rock. The album centers on Homme's memories of uncomfortable rides through the California desert, where he had performed in his days with Kyuss, and where there was little to do but listen to Spanish
radio stations
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
.
During this time, Homme had a falling out with Oliveri. Following the release of ''Songs for the Deaf'', their relationship deteriorated until Homme fired Oliveri from the band in 2004. Homme reportedly strongly considered breaking up the band at this point.
Homme began writing the band's next album, ''
Lullabies to Paralyze'', named after a lyric from the ''Songs for the Deaf'' hidden track "Mosquito Song". ''Lullabies to Paralyze'', created with ''Songs for the Deaf'' touring recruits
Troy Van Leeuwen
Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the b ...
and
Joey Castillo and collaborators and future recruits
Alain Johannes and
Natasha Shneider of
Eleven, was a critical and commercial success, debuting at number five on the
''Billboard'' 200, QOTSA's best charting album on the ''Billboard'' 200 to date.
Queens of the Stone Age's fifth album, ''
Era Vulgaris'', was released in early June 2007 and received generally positive reviews from critics.
Following the album's touring cycle, the band took a break to focus on individual projects, during which Homme continued to produce and create more records outside the band. This break would unintentionally turn into a six-year gap between albums.
In 2010, following his work with rock
supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, Homme began performing more live shows with QOTSA. Following a deluxe reissue of ''Rated R'', a 2011 re-release of their debut album and corresponding tour followed, featuring the album played front to back in the style in which it was recorded. This was the first time many of the songs had been performed live since the album's original release.
On June 4, 2013, after a tumultuous writing and recording process, Queens of the Stone Age released their sixth album, ''
...Like Clockwork'', receiving high praise from critics as well as topping the Billboard 200 charts. ''...Like Clockwork'' highlights Homme's collaborative recording process and features guests such as
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
,
Dave Grohl,
Alex Turner,
Jake Shears,
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, whi ...
,
Mark Lanegan,
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
, and Homme's wife
Brody Dalle
Brody Dalle (born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson; 1 January 1979) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. She began playing music in her adolescence and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18, where she founded the punk rock band The Di ...
.
Their seventh album, ''
Villains'', was released on August 25, 2017. Conversely, ''Villains'' contains no collaborations, but was produced by
Mark Ronson.
In 2018, the band was featured on
''Revamp'', a cover album containing various renditions of
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
songs, on which they performed "
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
The Desert Sessions (1997–present)

Homme founded The Desert Sessions in 1997 at the
Rancho De La Luna in
Joshua Tree, California, describing it as a musical collective series "that cannot be defined". He stated, "At Desert Sessions, you play for the sake of music. That's why it's good for musicians. If someday that's not enough anymore, or that's not the reason behind you doing it – that's not your ''raison d'être'' – then a quick reminder like Desert Sessions can do so much for you, it's amazing. It's easy to forget that this all starts from playing in your garage and loving it."
The recordings are done "on the spot" in a matter of hours, and the line-up constantly changes, with new contributors being added for each new recording. Artists such as
PJ Harvey,
Twiggy Ramirez,
Dave Catching
David Catching (born June 7, 1961) is an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the California stoner rock band earthlings?, a touring member of Eagles of Death Metal and the co-founder of the Rancho De La Luna ...
,
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
,
Mark Lanegan,
Ben Shepherd,
John McBain,
Josh Freese,
Chris Goss,
Alain Johannes,
Dean Ween
Michael Melchiondo Jr. (born September 25, 1970), better known by his stage name Dean Ween, is an American guitarist, singer and a founding member of the alternative rock group Ween. He is currently active in the groups Ween, Moistboyz and The ...
, and many others from the
Palm Desert Scene
The Palm Desert Scene is a group of related bands and musicians from Palm Desert, California. Their hard rock sound – sometimes described as desert rock – contains elements of heavy metal, psychedelia, blues, punk, alternative, grung ...
have contributed to The Desert Sessions recordings.
After 11 years of inactivity, Homme revealed in October 2014 that he would start working on more Desert Sessions material the following year. However, things remained silent until May 2019, when Homme posted an image on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
with the
hashtags "#Desert, #Sessions, #11, #12". In September, it was announced that ''Desert Sessions Volumes 11 & 12'' will be released on October 25, 2019.
Eagles of Death Metal (1998–present)
In 1998, Homme formed Eagles of Death Metal with friend
Jesse Hughes as a joke band in the context of the Desert Sessions. Recordings from the band first appeared on ''
Volumes 3 & 4
''Volumes 3 & 4'' is the second compilation of Josh Homme's project The Desert Sessions. '' Volume 3: Set Coordinates for the White Dwarf!!!'' and '' Volume 4: Hard Walls and Little Trips'' were released separately on 10-inch vinyl, and then compi ...
'', released that year. Over the next few years, Hughes settled into family life while Homme focused on Queens of the Stone Age. However, after Hughes' separation from his wife in 2003 and a spurt in creativity that resulted in dozens of songs, Homme convinced Hughes to pursue a full-time music career. Hughes writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar, while Homme produces, arranges, and plays drums, bass, and various other instruments. So far, the band has released four albums: ''
Peace, Love, Death Metal
''Peace, Love, Death Metal'' is the debut studio album by Eagles of Death Metal, released by AntAcidAudio on March 23, 2004.
Making of the album
Eagles of Death Metal is a garage rock band fronted by Jesse Hughes. The album was recorded primari ...
'' in 2004, ''
Death by Sexy'' in 2006, ''
Heart On'' in 2008, and most recently ''
Zipper Down'' in 2015. Due to his commitments with Queens of the Stone Age and other projects, Homme does not regularly tour with Eagles of Death Metal, but occasionally makes appearances during live performances. In an October 2008 interview, he re-affirmed his commitment to the band saying, "This isn't a side project for me. I'm in two bands. I have musical schizophrenia, and this is one of those personalities."
Them Crooked Vultures (2009–2010, 2022)
In July 2009, it was revealed that Homme,
Dave Grohl and
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
were recording together for a musical project named
Them Crooked Vultures.
Though initially conceived as solely a studio project, the trio performed their first show together on August 9, 2009 in Chicago at The Metro to a crowd of approximately 1,100 ticketholders with additional live rhythm guitarist/auxiliary man Alain Johannes. Their album,
''Them Crooked Vultures'', was released by
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
in the United States on November 17, 2009, and by
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
internationally. The band launched a world tour including performing on
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
as a musical guest on February 6, 2010, and at
Austin City Limits
''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...
on October 2, 2009 as well as many festivals through 2010. Them Crooked Vultures won the
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011. Though the band has been inactive for an extended period due to the schedules of members other projects, Homme, Grohl, and Jones have all expressed interest in returning to the project.
On September 3, 2022,
Them Crooked Vultures reunited for a performance at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in honour of
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...
' late drummer
Taylor Hawkins and again on September 27, 2022 at the KIA Forum for the second tribute show. The band covered
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and
Queens Of The Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line ...
"Long Slow Goodbye", and also played their songs "Gunman" (September 3) and "Dead End Friends" (September 27).
Other projects

Homme has collaborated with acts such as
Mondo Generator
Mondo Generator (sometimes known as Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator) is an American rock band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri.
History
Formation and ''Cocaine Rodeo'' (1997–2002)
Nick Oliveri (under the moniker ''Rex Everything'') ...
,
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...
,
PJ Harvey,
Fatso Jetson
Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner rock l ...
,
Mark Lanegan Band,
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, whi ...
,
Masters of Reality,
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short s ...
,
Wellwater Conspiracy
Wellwater Conspiracy was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1993. The band was created by members of the grunge-era side project Hater. Wellwater Conspiracy featured Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and ex- Monster M ...
,
Unkle,
Primal Scream,
Melissa Auf der Maur,
Paz Lenchantin,
Run the Jewels,
Death from Above 1979
Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album, ''You're a ...
,
Earthlings?
earthlings? is an American psychedelic rock band based in Joshua Tree, California. The band includes members from Queens of the Stone Age, Desert Sessions, Eagles of Death Metal, Kyuss, Masters of Reality, Goatsnake, The Twilight Singers, Gu ...
,
Mastodon,
Peaches,
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
,
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio ...
,
Local H,
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals), and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have ...
,
Royal Blood, and
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
.
Homme,
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
, and
Brad Wilk contributed to the soundtrack for the 2002 film ''
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Care and written by Jeff Stockwell and Michael Petroni based on Chris Fuhrman's 1994 semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel of the same name. The film s ...
''. Homme and
Alain Johannes were originally meant to develop a score for the video game ''Spec Ops'' in 2005, however the project was cancelled before it later became ''
Spec Ops: The Line'' in 2012. His work on the game would go unused. Homme was also set to provide music, including a cover of
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...
's "
In the City", for the
2005 video game adaption of the film ''
The Warriors''. This also went unused.
Homme has been featured on compilation albums. He appeared on ''
Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen'' for a cover of the song "
Stone Cold Crazy" alongside
Eleven, as well as ''
Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three'' and the
Turbonegro
Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style.
History
Early years ( ...
tribute ''
Alpha Motherfuckers'' as part of QOTSA covering the song "Back to Dungaree High". The very first use of the QOTSA name was on the compilation album ''Burn One Up! Music For Stoners'' featuring a one-off lineup of Homme and
Dave Catching
David Catching (born June 7, 1961) is an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the California stoner rock band earthlings?, a touring member of Eagles of Death Metal and the co-founder of the Rancho De La Luna ...
with
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
members Milo Beenhakker and Eva Nahon, recording the song "18 A.D."
Homme and frequent collaborator
Chris Goss performed as
The 5:15ers at the inaugural ArthurBall, an offshoot of the
ArthurFest festival, in Los Angeles on January 26, 2006.
The two were later credited as "The Fififf Teeners" when they co-produced QOTSA's second album ''
Rated R'' and fifth album ''
Era Vulgaris''.
In August 2009, Homme collaborated with
The Prodigy's
Liam Howlett
Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ.
Early years
Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, E ...
for a remix of the Prodigy track "
Take Me to the Hospital". It was re-titled "Take Me to the Hospital (Josh Homme and Liam H.'s Wreckage Remix)". That same year, he produced most of the Arctic Monkeys album ''
Humbug''. He later provided backing vocals on "All My Own Stunts" from their 2011 album ''
Suck It and See
''Suck It and See'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 6 June 2011 by Domino Recording Company. It was produced by the band's longtime collaborator James Ford and was recorded at Sound City Studios in ...
'', and vocals for the tracks "
One For the Road" and "Knee Socks" on their 2013 album ''
AM''.
Homme went on to appear at multiple
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
concerts in the
USA including
Austin City Limits
''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...
and
The Wiltern.
In June 2010, Homme appeared on the
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...
series ''
Tosh.0'' to do an unplugged duet version of the hit viral song "
What What" with
Samwell Samwell is a surname or given name, and may refer to:
* David Samwell (1751–1798), Welsh naval surgeon and poet
* Ian Samwell (1937–2003), English musician, songwriter and producer
* Samwell (birth name: Sam Norman), musician/actor known for ...
. He also provided the theme song to ''Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1'', formerly known as ''
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also known by various alternative titles), sometimes abbreviated as ''ATHF'' or ''Aqua Teen'', is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late ni ...
'', and collaborated with
Mark Lanegan to provide the theme music for
Anthony Bourdain's travel show ''
Parts Unknown''.
In May 2012, it was revealed on Dean Delray's comedy podcast ''Let There Be Talk'' that Homme would make a guest appearance on the album by Oliveri's project
Mondo Generator
Mondo Generator (sometimes known as Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator) is an American rock band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri.
History
Formation and ''Cocaine Rodeo'' (1997–2002)
Nick Oliveri (under the moniker ''Rex Everything'') ...
called ''
Hell Comes To Your Heart''. The album was recorded over three days at Homme's Pink Duck Studios in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, wh ...
, and features Homme playing guitar on the album's final track, "The Last Train". This marked the first time Homme and Oliveri collaborated since their public falling out in 2004. "The Last Train" also features fellow former
Kyuss
Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, ...
bandmate
John Garcia providing vocals, which was recorded shortly before Homme's lawsuit with Garcia regarding the
Kyuss Lives! band name; it was the first time Homme had collaborated with Garcia since 1997.
In June 2012, it was revealed that Homme would be starring in the music video for the song "A Better Place" from
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...
's final album ''
Ghost on the Canvas''. In the video, Homme plays a bartender who shows Campbell a photo album of his life, from his early childhood through his music career to the present day. The video marked the end of Campbell's musical career and was a retrospect on his life following his decision to retire after his diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease. In July, he had a very brief cameo at the end of
Jack White's music video for "
Freedom at 21
"Freedom at 21" is a song by American musician Jack White from his debut solo album ''Blunderbuss'' (2012). Third Man Records distributed the single on April 1, 2012 by releasing 1000 helium balloons attached to flexi-disc copies of the track. It w ...
", playing a police officer who intercepts White at a roadblock following White's escapades throughout the video. In September, he contributed the song "Nobody to Love" to the soundtrack of the action-drama film ''
End of Watch''.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors Alain Johannes and Chris Goss added three tracks each to the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's documentary ''
Sound City: Real to Reel''. Homme was interviewed for the documentary and is notably included in a scene where he collaborates with Grohl and
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, whi ...
, under the name
Sound City Players, to come up with a song called "
Mantra
A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...
". Homme played bass and provided backing vocals on the track.
Homme has appeared in a number of television comedies. In December 2014, Homme made an appearance on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
sitcom ''
Toast of London''. The star of the show,
Matt Berry
Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as ''The IT Crowd'', '' Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', '' The Mighty Boosh'', '' Snuff Box'', ''Wh ...
, had been working alongside
Morgana Robinson (the half-sister of Homme's wife
Brody Dalle
Brody Dalle (born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson; 1 January 1979) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. She began playing music in her adolescence and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18, where she founded the punk rock band The Di ...
) in the
BBC sitcom ''
House of Fools'', in which both had prominent roles. Earlier in the year, Homme had also made appearances on
IFC's ''
Comedy Bang! Bang!'' and ''
Portlandia''.
In July 2015, Homme began hosting a weekly hour-long show called ''The Alligator Hour with Joshua Homme'' on
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple ...
's 24-hour streaming internet radio station
Beats 1
Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod ...
. The show features a highly eclectic selection of songs personally selected by Homme, interspersed with his own wry introductions of (and commentary on) the various tracks on that particular week's playlist. The show's musical selections typically have some sort of thematic, stream-of-consciousness-type relationship to each other.
In March 2016, Homme released a surprise album with
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...
titled ''
Post Pop Depression''. The nine-track album was recorded at
Rancho De La Luna in
Joshua Tree, California, as well as Homme's Pink Duck Studios. Their backing band included guitarist and keyboardist
Dean Fertita and drummer
Matt Helders; the two joined Pop and Homme on tour, along with
Troy Van Leeuwen
Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the b ...
on guitar and
Matt Sweeney on bass. The band made their debut on January 21, 2016 on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'', announcing the album, and proceeded on a North American and European theater tour that March, culminating in a performance at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
, filmed and released as a concert DVD. The album's recording was also filmed and compiled into the 2017 documentary ''American Valhalla''. In October 2016, Homme produced ''
New Skin'', the debut album from
Nick Valensi
Nicholas Valensi (born January 16, 1981) is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his role as lead and rhythm guitarist in the American rock band The Strokes. Since 2001, the band has released six studio albums, some of which Vale ...
's new band
CRX.
In 2017, Homme composed the score for
Fatih Akin
Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Hea ...
's German-language drama ''
In the Fade'', named after the Queens of the Stone Age song.
In 2018, Homme sang a song written by
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.
He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willi ...
called "Cruel, Cruel World" for the soundtrack of the
Rockstar
Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to:
Films
* ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg
* ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali
* ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...
action-adventure video game ''
Red Dead Redemption 2
''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in 1899 and f ...
''. The game features two versions of the song, with Homme's version playing over the end credits and
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...
's version playing during the epilogue.
In 2020, Homme featured alongside
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Dur ...
on the
Run the Jewels song "Pulling the Pin" from their fourth album ''
RTJ4
''RTJ4'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels. It was released digitally through their own Jewel Runners imprint via BMG Rights Management on June 3, 2020, two days earlier than scheduled, with physical editions rele ...
''. Later that year, he and Staples joined Run the Jewels (via separate pre-recorded performances displayed on giant screens due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
) to play the song during the group's
voter encouragement performance ''Holy Calamavote'', broadcast on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
.
In 2021, Homme produced the songs "Boilermaker", "Space", and "King" from
Royal Blood's album ''
Typhoons''. "Boilermaker" was included on the standard album release, while "Space" and "King" were only available on the deluxe edition.
Musical style
Homme's work is usually described as
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
,
desert rock,
hard rock, and
stoner rock
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...
. He has been evasive about the equipment he uses in the past, choosing to either change the subject or even lie when asked about his setup in interviews, as well as objecting to official photos of his
pedalboard. He explained in June 2007, "I don't
hare secrets
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...
only because my sound is important to me and I've spent a lot of years just working it over with little tricks here and there, I almost feel like if you reveal too much of that you give away something that's near and dear to you. It's like you put it up on the altar and say, 'Here, everyone take a slice.'"
Homme relaxed his secretive approach to the subject in the 2010s, though much of his known equipment has been compiled through amateur photos and screenshots of him performing live and in the studio. In choosing his equipment, he tends to look for the odd or unique, opting to stay away from the typical choices of other guitar players. In an interview about guitars in 2008, he claimed at the time to own close to 35 guitars, and said that only three of them were "really good". He has said that he purposely does not use famous guitars such as
Stratocasters or
Les Pauls, but that he is always in search of intriguing and unique guitars which are not always generally accepted as high-quality. He said that he tends to buy "weird Japanese guitars" or guitars that are "scarred" and have an interesting story.
Charity work
In 2013, Homme co-founded the Sweet Stuff Foundation, a charity which aims to give assistance to musicians, recording engineers, and their families struggling with illness and disability.
Personal life

Homme met Australian singer and musician
Brody Dalle
Brody Dalle (born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson; 1 January 1979) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. She began playing music in her adolescence and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18, where she founded the punk rock band The Di ...
at
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
in 1996, when he was 23 and she was 17; he was there to perform with
Screaming Trees, while she was there to see her then-boyfriend
Tim Armstrong's band
Rancid. They reconnected seven years later in 2003, during her separation from Armstrong, and began dating. Homme claimed to have received multiple death threats from fans of Armstrong and Rancid. The two were married on December 3, 2005. They have a daughter named Camille Harley Joan Homme (born January 17, 2006) and two sons named Orrin Ryder Homme (born August 12, 2011) and Wolf Dillon Reece Homme (born February 13, 2016). Dalle filed for legal separation in November 2019 and divorce a month later, citing Homme's alcoholism and drug abuse; he subsequently entered rehab, but he and Dalle would accuse each other of domestic violence and have mutual restraining orders filed over the following months. Dalle requested that restraining orders be filed against him on behalf of their sons in September 2021, alleging physical and emotional abuse, but was denied by two judges.
Homme once described himself as financially
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
but socially
liberal, considering himself a "fallen
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
".
He said that he dislikes the idea of using his influence to tell people how to vote, and often likens his music to an "ice cream parlour or arcade" where people can simply have fun. Despite this, he referred to then-president
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
as a "retarded human being" in June 2017,
and began collaborating more with notably liberal artists such as
Run the Jewels in the late 2010s. He owns several guns, including a classic
Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The M ...
, a
sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun (also called a sawn-off shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shorty or a boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under —and often a shortened or absent stock. Despite the colloquial term, ...
, and a
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and milita ...
9 mm target pistol.
He owns a few motorcycles, including a custom
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
and a
Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. He drives a silver
1967 Chevrolet Camaro, which he was given as a gift when he was 14 years old; it is the only car he has ever owned. In June 2017, he revealed on
Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist
*Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...
' radio show that he had recently tried to quit his decades-long smoking habit via
hypnotherapy, but claimed that it failed because he was unable to relax enough to be fully influenced by the hypnotherapist.
Homme has adopted multiple pseudonyms over the years. He used the name "Carlo Von Sexron" to credit his bass, keyboard, piano, and drums playing on albums such as ''
The Desert Sessions Volumes 3 & 4'',
''Queens of the Stone Age'', and ''
Peace, Love, Death Metal
''Peace, Love, Death Metal'' is the debut studio album by Eagles of Death Metal, released by AntAcidAudio on March 23, 2004.
Making of the album
Eagles of Death Metal is a garage rock band fronted by Jesse Hughes. The album was recorded primari ...
''. Homme is known as "(King) Baby Duck" to Dalle and the members of
Eagles of Death Metal. He is also referred to as "J.Ho." and "The
Ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...
Elvis".
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
referred to him as "Mr. Lucky".
After years of heavy touring and drug abuse severely weakened his immune system, Homme contracted an
MRSA infection during a routine knee surgery. In an attempt to restart his immune system, surgeons used a breathing tube that became stuck in his throat, choking him and leading to
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
. They eventually used a defibrillator to revive him. The experience left him physically and mentally weakened with a severely compromised immune system, and doctors confined him to bed rest with no human contact for three months. He became
depressed
Depression may refer to:
Mental health
* Depression (mood), a state of low mood and aversion to activity
* Mood disorders characterized by depression are commonly referred to as simply ''depression'', including:
** Dysthymia, also known as p ...
and considered quitting music, eventually finding himself unable to produce any new music at all for almost two years. He has said that this experience greatly contributed to the making of the 2013 album ''
...Like Clockwork''. He credits
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...
with helping him recover.
Homme has over 20 tattoos. On his knuckles, he has his grandparents' nicknames ("Cam" for "Camille" on the left and "Cap" on the right) with hearts and his two sons' names ("ORH" for "Orrin Ryder Homme" and "Wolf"). He has his daughter's name, also Camille, tattooed over his heart. His left arm has a switchblade with "Stay Sharp" underneath, while his inner right arm has a
straight razor with "Born to Win" inscribed; underneath, his nickname, "Baby Duck", is a shared tattoo with his
Eagles of Death Metal bandmate
Jesse Hughes, who has his nickname "Boots Electric" in the same location. Homme also shares a tattoo that says "Freitag 4:15" with former Queens of the Stone Age bandmates
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...
and
Mark Lanegan and their sound engineer Hutch, commemorating their "worst show ever" at the 2001
Rock Am Ring
The (German language, German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at ...
Festival in Germany on a Friday at 4:15 p.m. All were tattooed on their ribs so that it would hurt the most and serve as a reminder.
Legal issues and controversies
In 2004, Homme was arrested for assaulting
Dwarves frontman
Blag Dahlia and Karl Doyle at the Dragonfly club in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
. Pleading no contest, he was ordered to remain at least 100 yards away from Dahlia and the club, sentenced to three years' probation with community service, and forced to enter a rehab program for 60 days.
In June 2008, at the Norwegian Wood Festival in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Homme drew criticism for his reaction to an audience member who had thrown a shoe at him. He called the audience member a "chicken-shit fucking faggot" and "a 12-year-old dickless fucking turd". The incident drew accusations of
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy ...
from several blogs, which were later picked up by the mainstream media. Homme eventually responded in a public letter in which he denied all accusations of homophobia. Reaction to his apology was mixed, with music journalist
Tim Jonze stating, "Attempting to prove his pro-gay stance, Homme points out in his letter that he also called the guy a pussy and threatened to have anal sex with him. OK, so it's a fuzzy kind of logic we're talking about here." In an interview 10 years later, Homme revealed that he had often been beaten up during his youth while trying to defend his gay older brother from homophobic bullying.
Following a September 2013 performance at
Jay-Z's Made in America Festival, Homme made comments about Jay-Z during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's ''Strombo Show''. He explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay-Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt: "
ay-Zhas his security frisking the bands on the way in. I just told them, 'If you open up my bag I'm not playing, so I guess it's up to you whether we are playing or not.'
..He also gave us some champagne and wanted us to take a photo with it. And I thought, 'That's not a gift, that is a marketing tool.' So I destroyed it."
In September 2017,
Royal Blood frontman Mike Kerr discussed Homme's drinking habits and told
Radio X interviewer
Gordon Smart, "I can't go anywhere near
ommewithout having an unbelievable amount of tequila in my body. I did hide from him once
hile touring together
Hile ( ne, हिले) is a hill town located in the Eastern Part of Nepal, 13 km north of the regional center of Dhankuta Bazar. At an elevation of 1948 meters, it is the main route to other hilly districts like Bhojpur and Sankhuwasabh ...
because I could hear him coming and I was like, 'Oh no, I'm gonna have to do more tequila,' so I hid in the toilets of the dressing room."
In December 2017, Homme was captured on video kicking the camera of
Shutterstock photographer Chelsea Lauren into her face during
KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas concert in Los Angeles.
After staying through the show and photographing subsequent bands, Lauren went to
Cedars-Sinai for treatment. In a statement, Homme claimed that he had been kicking over lighting equipment and was unaware that he had kicked Lauren until he was informed of it the next day. Lauren disputed this, stating that he had made eye contact with her before kicking her.
Homme later issued a video response in which he admitted to kicking Lauren and apologized to her.
Discography
Filmography
References
External links
Queens of the Stone Age official website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homme, Josh
American alternative rock musicians
American libertarians
American male singer-songwriters
American multi-instrumentalists
American people convicted of assault
American rock drummers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock musicians
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American tenors
Grammy Award winners
Kyuss members
Lead guitarists
Living people
People from Palm Desert, California
Queens of the Stone Age members
Screaming Trees members
American people of English descent
American people of French-Canadian descent
American people of Norwegian descent
American people of Swedish descent
People from Joshua Tree, California
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Mondo Generator members
Wellwater Conspiracy members
21st-century American singers
21st-century American drummers
Eagles of Death Metal members
Them Crooked Vultures members
Singer-songwriters from California
1973 births