Knowing me, knowing you

Before QOTSA lay waste to the UK, rock sound collared the musical masterminds behind them, Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, to see just how well they really know each other...

words: trevor baker
rock sound, issue 42, november 2002

Nick on Josh

  1. Full name?
    Joshua Michael Homme.
  2. Date and place of birth?
    May 17th. And it's either Palm Springs or Indio Hospital.
  3. What album could he not live without?
    'Bone Machine' by Tom Waits.
  4. Which band does he wish he could be in?
    Queens of the Stone Age.
  5. Which album changed his life?
    'Raw Power' - The Stooges.
  6. What's his worst habit?
    Smoking.
  7. What's his favorite tipple?
    Corona Beer.
  8. Would he prefer to be buried or cremated?
    Cremated.
  9. What's his favorite album at the moment?
    'Outside the Simian Flock' - Millionaire.
  10. What's his favorite item of clothing?
    His 'dare to resist drugs and alcohol' T'shirt.
  11. What special item does he always take on tour?
    An acoustic guitar.
  12. What was his most embarassing moment?
    It was on tour in Vienna, Austria. We'd heard some bad news or something and we opened a bottle of vodka. I had one drink and then went off to do an interview. When I came back the rest had gone and we had to go on stage. He ran on stage and grabbed hold of this mic stand to support him but of course it wasn't strong enough so he fell over, flat on his face. And somehow he managed to keep playing. That was the amazing thing.
  13. How would he like to be remembered?
    As a musician.
  14. What would he most like to be remembered for?
    'Songs for the deaf'
  15. If he wasn't in the band what would he be doing?
    Forming a new band.
  16. What was his first ever gig?
    Kenny Loogins, ha! I don't know if it was Kenny Loggins but just say Kenny Loggins 'cos I wanna see what he says.
  17. What would he change about himself?
    Smoking. He'd want to give up smoking.
  18. What's his biggest regret?
    None. I don't think he has any regrets.
  19. What do you know about him that he doesn't know you know?
    I can't really tell you that! I don't know if he knows that I know.
  20. How many tattoos has he got?
    Two. But he had one of them done in two separate sessions so he might say three.

    SCORE 7/20

Josh on Nick

  1. Full name?
    Nick Stephen Oliveri.
  2. Date and place of birth?
    October something or other, 1971, Santa Monica, near the White Swallow gay bar.
  3. What album could he not live without?
    Something by Motörhead or Johnny Cash I'd guess.
  4. Which band does he wish he could be in?
    He'll say Queens of the Stone Age, too.
  5. Which album changed his life?
    Something by Sabbath or Black Flag.
  6. What's his worst habit?
    He's a walking bad habit. He's got more bad habits than anybody else on earth.
  7. What's his favorite tipple?
    Anything wet. That fool will drink anything.
  8. Would he prefer to be buried or cremated?
    I think he'll like to be cremated and then have the ashes buried like me. He likes do to everything that I do.
  9. What's his favorite album at the moment?
    Probably 'Songs for the deaf' or something by Bad Brains.
  10. What's his favorite item of clothing?
    He don't like clothes. I'd have to say nudity.
  11. What special item does he always take on tour?
    Vitamins. Special vitamins that he takes that gives him the power to save rock music. It helps him to fly even higher and rescue rock from the top of burning buildings.
  12. What was his most embarassing moment?
    Nick doesn't really get embarassed.
  13. How would he like to be remembered?
    He'd like to either be hated or loved.
  14. What would he most like to be remembered for?
    For saving rock from the top storey of burning buildings.
  15. If he wasn't in the band what would he be doing?
    He'd be roofing houses.
  16. What was his first ever gig?
    Ozzy Osbourne 1983.
  17. What would he change about himself?
    Me. He'd want to change me 'cos I cling onto him like a diaper and he'd like to change me like a diaper.
  18. What's his biggest regret?
    None.
  19. What do you know about him that he doesn't know you know?
    Nick doesn't have any secrets from me. I always know what he's going to do. He's just walked out of the room shouting 'toilet' and I knew he was going to do that. 'Toilet' is his favorite word. He says 'toilet' all the time. More than the whole population of England put together.
  20. How many tattoos has he got?
    It must be more than 12.

    SCORE 4/20

Nick on Nick

  1. Full name?
    Nick Stephen Oliveri
  2. Date and place of birth?
    Los Angeles, October 1971.
  3. What album could he not live without?
    'The Ramones'.
  4. Which band does he wish he could be in?
    Tomahawk.
  5. Which album changed his life?
    Cro-Mags - 'Age of Quarrel'
  6. What's his worst habit?
    I've got a lot of bad habits but if he had to choose one he'd go for Parrotitis. That's repeating yourself. I repeat myself a lot. I repeat myself a lot.
  7. What's his favorite tipple?
    Beer.
  8. Would he prefer to be buried or cremated?
    Cremated.
  9. What's his favorite album at the moment?
    'The Ramones'.
  10. What's his favorite item of clothing?
    Taint wear. It's this label that he's into.
  11. What special item does he always take on tour?
    CD Walkman.
  12. What was his most embarassing moment?
    None. I don't care what people think.
  13. How would he like to be remembered?
    For the albums I've made, especially the ones with Josh.
  14. What would he most like to be remembered for?
    'Songs for the deaf'
  15. If he wasn't in the band what would he be doing?
    I'd be forming another band. Either that or I'd be doing porno.
  16. What was his first ever gig?
    The Ozzfest in 1983.
  17. What would he change about himself?
    I'd learn to play bass.
  18. What's his biggest regret?
    None.

  19. How many tattoos has he got?
    17... no, 18.
Josh on Josh

  1. Full name?
    Joshua Michael Homme
  2. Date and place of birth?
    May 17th, Palm Springs.
  3. What album could he not live without?
    'Raw Power' - The Stooges.
  4. Which band does he wish he could be in?
    Queens of the Stone Age.
  5. Which album changed his life?
    'Lust for life' - Iggy Pop.
  6. What's his worst habit?
    Smoking.
  7. What's his favorite tipple?
    Vodka and tonic with two limes. Two limes is the height of luxuary.
  8. Would he prefer to be buried or cremated?
    I'd like to be cremated and then have my ashes buried. Just to make sure.
  9. What's his favorite album at the moment?
    Either the Millionaire album, or Peaches, I love her too.
  10. What's his favorite item of clothing?
    Whatever Nick's wearing at the time. I just love Nick. It's that smell of cigarettes and beer.
  11. What special item does he always take on tour?
    Nick, I take him with me everywhere because I love him.
  12. What was his most embarassing moment?
    Freitag 4.15 (at Rock Am Ring in Germany). It was the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people. That's why Nick, Mark Lanegan and I have all got Freitag tattooed on us. It's funny that I would play the worst gig of my life at this age. Not when I was young and starting out. You'd have thought I'd have learned by now. Right after the show this German guy came up to us and said (German accent) 'I drove eight hours to see you and it was sad' and I just ran at him and started laying into him. I didn't give a fuck at that point!
  13. How would he like to be remembered?
    For as long as possible.
  14. What would he most like to be remembered for?
    For bringing quality product to quality people. Sort of like selling milk.
  15. If he wasn't in the band what would he be doing?
    Selling milk.
  16. What was his first ever gig?
    BJ Thomas and Carl Perkins at The Festival in North Idaho. You could sit there and listen to music while eating chicken on the grass. That's where I first got into drumsticks. I was using chicken drumsticks to bang on people's thingies. Thingies? That's gonna have to remain a mystery. Let your mind race!
  17. What would he change about himself?
    I'd give up smoking.
  18. What's his biggest regret?
    That I'm in a band with Nick. I think we clash, it's like plaid on plaid.

  19. How many tattoos has he got?
    Four. I've 'Freitag' and three others!