Josh Homme
Joshua Michael Homme (/ˈhɒmi/ HOM-ee;[1] born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he formed in 1996. Homme is the band's primary songwriter and mainly sings lead vocals and plays guitar. He also plays drums in the rock band Eagles of Death Metal, which he co-founded in 1998.
Josh Homme
- Baby Duck
- Carlo Von Sexron
- J.Ho
- Töôrnst Hülpft
- Ginger Elvis
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
1985–present
3
Palm Desert, California, U.S.
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass
- keyboards
- drums
Homme began his career as the co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Kyuss, with whom he performed 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 project with other musicians (mostly from the Palm Desert Scene) known as The Desert Sessions since 1997. He formed the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures alongside Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones in 2009, releasing their eponymous debut album later that year. In 2016, he produced, co-wrote, and performed on the Iggy Pop album Post Pop Depression. He has also been involved with acts such as Royal Blood, Foo Fighters, Run the Jewels, and Arctic Monkeys.
Early life[edit]
Joshua Michael Homme was born in Palm Springs, California, on May 17, 1973.[2] He grew up in a well-known family in and around Palm Desert, California; his paternal grandfather, Clancy "Cap" Homme, moved to the area from North Dakota and was an early settler of the Valley.[3] 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.[4] The Homme surname is believed to be Norwegian. Homme moved with his family on a regular basis due to his father's work, residing in many towns around the Valley.[5] He later discussed having to "create [his] own 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.[6]
Homme also has ties in Idaho and has talked about his formative experiences there, such as seeing Carl Perkins perform at the Sandpoint Music Festival and the first time purchasing his own electric guitar (an Ovation Ultra GP) in a Sandpoint music store.[7][8] 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 until his third year of lessons, lending to his unique playing style.[9] 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 [his] grip on reality".[3]
Musical style[edit]
Homme's work is usually described as alternative rock,[51][52] desert rock,[53][54][55] hard rock,[56] and stoner rock.[57] 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 [share secrets] 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.'"[58]
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.[59] 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.[60][61]