June 12, 2003 - Rolling Stone: Summer of Rock
by Austin Scaggs
"WE'RE ON AN ENDLESS TOURING hamster wheel," says Josh Homme. "That's the sort of work ethic we have here at the Queens of the Stone Age corporation." Currently opening a string of dates for the Chili Peppers, Queens are just warming up for their spot on Lollapalooza's main stage. "I'm psyched by the festival," says singer-guitarist Homme, who will reunite with his road buddies in Jane's Addiction, as well as with rumored new flame, Brody Armstrong of the Distillers. And somehow, squeezed into his relentless touring schedule, Homme has nearly completed two albums, one of new Queens material, the other from his side project, Eagles of Death Metal. Homme elaborates, "We're sort of like death metal, but like the Eagles, too."

Who will you be hanging out with this summer?

The Donnas are sweet little babies. The Distillers will be out there. We just finished a tour with Jane's. I love their fans -- they get naked and body-paint themselves and run around screaming. And I know Brad [Wilk] and the Rage guys in Audioslave -- people still call them the Rage guys, right? They helped us out on Ozzfest. I felt so out of place. The Rage guys were like, "It'll be fine. Just shoot some baskets."

How have you prepared to make this summer more thrilling?

It's the barbecue. My friend Dan turned me on to this thirty-eight-inch-diameter grill. You could actually put someone five feet eight in there. Dude, I could fit most of Jane's Addiction and two Donnas in there. They've got to fetal-position themselves. You can slow-roast them, and it's like, "Mmm...tender."

What's the craziest thing that's been thrown at you onstage?

Man, I've been hit with everything that walks or crawls. But in Germany once, someone actually threw a midget at us. I actually stopped playing, looked at him and went, "This is amazing."

You must have a collection of panties.

We get bras. And what I've found out backstage is that hardly any of them ever fit me.

Any other tips for the kids who hit the festivals this summer?

Don't get shitfaced and be in the sun with no shade. You'll just get pounded until you vomit out of every hole.

typed up by Ted Stinson

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