We’ve all been at a party, a few orange juices in us, seen a guitar and been tempted to pick it up and play. Queens of the Stage Age bandleader Josh Homme, however, thinks it’s best to resist the temptation.
“I’ve always had this thing where anyone who picks up a guitar and starts playing at a party, I think, ‘You’re fucking embarrassing, dude,’” he says, in conversation with comedian Dan Soder.
Like most of us, Homme has experienced the party strummer firsthand. Amusingly, though, the Queens man says it’s just as pervasive in celebrity circles and recalls a time actor Harry Dean Stanton – known for his roles in Escape from New York, The Godfather Part II, and The Avengers – was the six-string culprit.
“Harry Dean Stanton is a national treasure,” Homme recalls. “But there was a guitar within eyeshot and he’s sort of like, ‘Oh…’”
At this point, Homme’s internal alarm bells were clearly blaring, but he elected to not intervene.
“He picks up the guitar, and I’m standing there with my youngest [child] Wolfie, who at the time was like seven, and Harry Dean Stanton starts singing in Spanish,” Homme continues. “And of course the party starts to go like, ‘What?’ Everyone starts looking, and they gather around; it was like a movie. I was looking for hidden cameras.”
Homme stresses it’s not personal, but Stanton was dead to rights in this instance.
“Yeah, I love Harry Dean Stanton, and yeah, it sounded great, but I just was like, ‘This is cheesy right now.’ So he finishes this song, and everyone's like 'What the?' And my son goes, ‘Jesus, let’s get out of here!’”
Homme is fresh off dropping new singles with Mastodon and Shania Twain, with QOTSA releasing their latest album, Perfecth, on October 30.
Check out Soder Podcast for Dan Soder’s full conversation with Homme.
