Josh Homme: We started on March 1 and we finished on March 20.
AW: You had a lot of the stuff written already?
JH: No, we didn't know a lot of it.
AW: Who writes most of the stuff?
JH: We all pretty much do, really...
AW: How did you guys come up with the title for the new album? I didn't hear about it and I was looking around. We heard there were three candidtaes for titles for it...Like, the one that you named it, and then Size Queen, and another one...
JH: One was called Black Jeweler...
AW: What's that from?
JH: It's just an inside joke...
John Garcia: (laughs) Black Jeweler...
AW: That wouldn't have anything to do with the crotch region, would it?
JH: As in Scott's (Reeder, bassist) car...
JG: Yeah, Black Jeweler...
AW: So, you decided just to settle on And The Circus Leaves Town...
JH: Well, we figured we would have to answer that a lot, like someone's gonna say, "What's Black Jeweler?"
AW: You guys happy with the new album? You guys didn't wanna do it like the last one (Sky Valley), like with three parts and stuff?
JH: Nah, 'cause we already pulled that joke.
AW: It's hell on the CDJplayer, man...Don't get me wrong- I like all the songs, but some I like better than others, and it's like...
JH: And you can't move around, yeah...
AW: Who's idea was that?
JH: We all just talked about it, and we thought it would be pretty funny. And it worked out good 'cause everyone has something to say about it, which is cool...
AW: How do you get some of your song titles? Like "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop?"
JH: Well, they're there to provoke some sort of weird reaction, and they just mean different things...
AW: You guys don't seem to write...like, I hate bands that write stuff about contemporary things...Your stuff's not about anything really, right? Sorta?
JH: It is to us, but we don't, like, talk about it, so, people assume that we're just like...which is fine, but people who listen to it a lot have certain things that they think it is...and it's for that...
AW: But, like, you guys aren't gonna do a song about like Bosnia or something...
JH: (laughs) Maybe, but you wouldn't know it, you know? If we did, we would disguise it in a way that you wouldn't know it, but to me, I would know it's about Bosnia...
AW: (imitates educated professor): I was thinking in a Newtonian sense that...
JG: (laughs loudly)
AW: Like, without being preachy, I guess? Like, Rage Against The Machine type stuff?
JH: Well, they do that and that's cool, whatever, but I'm not into that. Not for us. We're supposed to be there and...we're the non-preachers, we speak for the non-preaching.
AW: Do you know if you guys are gonna go to Australia, like touring and all?
JG: Um, hopefully this year, hopefully next year. We wanna go to places that we haven't been to, like Spain and Japan and Australia. Australia is so fuckin' cool, man...
AW: Really? What's so cool about it?
JG: (sighs in a cool way) Man, there's so much to see...I mean you get to go outback, and hold a koala bear, and see kangaroos, and...
AW: Where do you guys go usually? Big cities and stuff?
JG: Uh huh, we went to Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane and the other ones....
AW: Who do you guys listen to in your spare time? 'Cause were always looking for new bands to listen to...
JH: You heard of Fu Manchu, right?
AW: We love Fu Manchu. They're fucking great. Monster Magnet, too, I take it?
JH: Yeah, I like 'em...
AW: I heard that Dave Wyndorf (Monster Magnet, vocalist/guitarist) wanted to produce Sky Valley...
JH: No, Brant (Bjork, ex-Kyuss drummer) wanted for Dave to do it...
AW: So, what was up? Did you want that?
JH: I wasn't...you know, 'cause I like working with Chris (Goss, guitarist, Masters of Reality) a lot. And I don't wanna break that off just yet. That was something that Brant was very into.
AW: Yeah, the person who told me about all this was someone you guys might know named Catherine...
JH: Catherine Enny? You she used to be our manager.
AW: She manages Fu Manchu now. Anyway, she told me that Wyndorf was supposed to produce Sky Valley, or was it the one before that, Blues For The Red Sun? I guess it was Blues... So you've known them (Monster Magnet) for a long time, then?
JH: Known of them for a long time. I think we've known of each other for a while. Brant just called them up one day and heard about them through Fu Manchu, you know, 'cause we've known Fu Manchu a long time...
AW: You've played with them (Fu Manchu) and stuff?
JH: Oh yeah. Definately. They've played in the desert with us from time to time.
AW: Yeah, like what's up with that? We've been to generator parties in New Jersey, but I know it's not the same. Like we went to one in the Pine Barrens and that's not quite the same as a desert...
JH: I was at one in Santa Cruz in the woods and it was the coolest thing in the world. I think just so long as there's no one else there it's cool?
AW: Like totally in the middle of nowhere? 'Cause I know the one we went to was in the middle of nowwhere; you went down like a main road and then you made like a left and just drove a half hour into the woods...There's was fuckin dirt and like our car got stuck...
JH: That's exactly how the one in Santa Cruz was. Like, my truck could barely fit through the woods. I had to fold my mirror back like three times and shit.
AW: There was even some guy in a wheel chair. We had to let him in our car to get him in there.
JG: (still reading ther Internet letters) Holy shit! There is some crazy fuckin' stuff in there!
AW: So, you guys are like the original members? Why did Brant leave?
JG: He's playing in a band now and working. He left, you know, for his own reasons, his own personal reasons. It was a time in his life that he had to move on, and he acted on it. He took off and it was...we all didn't wanna see him go but it happened and we still talk to him. We'll go and have a beer and hang out, whatever...
AW: How are things working out with Alfredo (Hernandez, new drummer)?
JG: He's doing...he's great, man. He's an amazing drummer, you know, and he's also from the desert, born and raised. We're really lucky to have him.
AW: This new album was the first one he laid tracks down on, right?
JG: Yup.
AW: Yeah, I wanted to see him (Hernandez) play and stuff...So, you guys are gonna be here (New York City) on the 13th of July, right? Nassau Coliseum (Long Island), right? From what I remember, Nassau is fuckin' huge...
JH: Yeah, and we're the first of four bands...
JG: Well, it'll be cool because we'll be playing while the sun is still up...wait, is that place outdoors?
AW: No, Nassau is indoors. Sorta like Madison Square Garden (NYC). So, who's playing that show?
JG: Um, well, it's us, Rev. Horton Heat, Babes in Toyland, and White Zombie.
AW: I knew about Babes in Toyland, but not Rev. Horton Heat...
JG: We weren't sure if we were gonna play on that tour at all, so we might just do a couple of shows and take off, so I don't know...
AW: Have you guys ever headlined on your own?
JG: We've done a few little small things...
AW: We were supposed to catch you back in November with Dinosaur Jr....
JG: Oh yeah...
AW: ...But we didn't make it to that show...
JH: That was cool, too. That was at the Roseland (Ballroom, NYC), too. It was cooler than the Danzig (1992) show we played there. We got to play a lot longer.
AW: Yeah, the Danzig show I remember, your set was too short and everybody there was into Danzig. If I remember correctly, you (speaking to Garcia) were pissed off or something but you started yelling at some guy...
JG: Where? At the Roseland show?
AW: Yeah, some guy tried starting with you. And you were just like "Fuck you!"
JG: What, like staring at me or something?
AW: Yeah, something stupid like that. Like shouting "Danzig! Danzig!" while you were playing and he was just being a fuckin' toolbox. We wanted to see you guys play longer...
JG: Yeah, yeah...
AW: Yeah, Danzig fans are too, too...
JG: Yeah, man. Especially in New York. They don't wanna see an opening band. They wanna see the man (Danzig) (laughs).
AW:So, are the bands you guys listen to a lot, then? Bands from California?
JG: (referring to music playing during interview) I listen to this guy playing recently a lot.
AW: Who is this?
JG: Terrence Trent D'Arby.
JH: Lots of weird shit, I guess. I think people think we listen to a lot of heavy rock stuff, but even more we've been steering away from it and not listening to it.
AW: What's some of the "weirder" stuff?
JH: Well, I just think it's weird compared to what people would think. Like, I listen to a lot of Dick Dale, this sappy Brazilain chick. I listen to the new Faith No More record...I don't listen to that many records at one time. Like, I'm the opposite of what it says here (referring to printed letter from Kyuss list) about Dave Wyndorf...
AW: Like how he knows about all that garage band stuff?
JH: Yeah, like I have no clue about any of that shit.
AW: You ever listen to Acid King?
JH: No, not really.
JG: Acid King?
AW: Yeah, they're from Califonia. They're really good.
JH: I've almost effectively stopped experimenting...
AW: You guys listen to Sleep?
JG: I've heard a lot about them but I haven't heard any of their shit. I read a few articles on them, too. I mean, they had the fucking set-up going, you know...
AW: We saw them last year with Hawkwind and they like blew out their amps or something after three songs. So fucking loud. I think they're the loudest band I've ever seen.
JG: Who, Sleep? Really?
JH: Who's that? Sleep?
JG: Yeah, they've got those fuckin Green amps...
JH: Yeah, I heard about them...
JG: They're fucking gnarly from I hear...they look fucking gnarly too.
AW: Yeah, I heard they don't shower. Well, like the guitarist lives in his car. I worked at their label last summer (Earache) and like he doesn't have a phone or nothing.. It's just so...
JH: (grinning) San Francisco...
AW: My fucking pants were shaking when I saw them. Everything. My fucking skin was like...
JG: (laughs loudly)
JH: (referring to Kyuss list questions) Wow, this person knows something interesting...
JG: What does it say, about the Sons...
JH: No, "Who's your favorite "Star Wars" character?"
JG: Why, what is his?
JH: That's interesting when people, like...
AW: Are you guys "Star Wars" fans?
JG: (emphatically) Fuck yeah!
JH: Shit, Milleneum Falcon was almost on the last album...
AW: How old were you guys when "Star Wars" came out?
JG: When did it come out? Nineteen seventy what...
AW: 1977.
JG: 1977? I was seven years old.
AW: You guys aren't that much older than us. (To Josh) How old were you?
JH: 1977? I was five. But I saw it in the theatre.
AW: Are you 23?
JH: 22.
AW: 22?! You're 22? I'm 22!! You look like you're 29 or something. Are you really 22?
JH: Too much drinking...(laughs)
AW: Shit, 'cause everyone think we're 18 or something...
JH: I just turned 22 last month, yup.
AW: Wow, I've got so many problems (laughing). Do you have any favorite "Star Wars" characters, then?
JG: Yeah, I've got a bunch of them.
JH: (reffering to list questions) This guy likes Boba Fett. That's cool. He's a bad ass. That's a "Star Wars" figure.
JG: Like, "Star Wars" figures, I even think of Ton-Tons, you know...
AW: Boba Fett eats it in the last one, right?
JH: Yeah, he just like...he's not such an integral part of the movie...
AW: But he is a bad ass.
JH: Oh yeah, he's definately a bad ass.
JG: Who you talking about?
AW: Boba Fett. You know, the bounty hunter? The one who captures Han Solo.
JH: He dies like a total chump.
AW: Yeah, he get swallowed by that creature on, um...that plank thing...
JH: Yeah, Han turns around when he's blind and fucking hits him and hits his back and he's just like (makes whooshing noise)...
AW: On that ship...
JG: (laughing) Oh yeah...
AW: Lucas is supposed to be making more movies, though.
JG: Yeah, the books are out.
JH: Like, the stories before? I hope they're not too fucking, you know, like "Return of the Jedi", when they did the Ewok thing. Like "We can get the kids, we can get the families, we can get the teenagers"
JG: Yeah, they can't make it that way.
AW: Most of those actors are all washed up, anyway. I saw Mark Hamill in some really bad HBO late night flicks.
JH: Greedo is a bad character in "Star Wars"...
AW: Which one is Greedo?
JH: Greedo is the one that Han Solo shoots in the bar.
JG: He's the one who sits down at the bar and...
AW: The one who says to Han, "I don't like you" or something like that?
JG: Yeah, he wanted Jaba the Hut's money. He confronted him on it. He's like, "Hey, man" And then, "BOOM!" Just fucking takes him out (laughs loudly)...
JH: And you gotta like Han Solo, just 'cause...
AW: Han Solo, I mean, Harrison Ford is totally awesome, he just takes so much shit
JH: It's just always two on two, like in "Star Wars." He's the fuckin best.
AW: He takes so much fuckin' abuse in all the flicks. He gets the shit kicked out of him. I think it would stil be cool to see all the original characters in one more film...
JH: I think it would be cool.
JG: Gettin' to see Carrie Fisher back in action again, man.
JH: (reffering to future "Star Wars" flicks) Nah, man. It's gonna be before "Star Wars." It's gonna be when Darth Vader was Luke's age, before he turned to the dark side of the Force.
JG: That's bad ass...
AW: That was fucked up when they took his (Darth Vader) mask off. I remember seeing that in fifth grade. When I saw "Star Wars," I was four years old. My dad took me, and remember those dudes with the fuckin tubes coming out of their eyes?
JH: The Sand People, yup.
JG: Sand People, yeah.
AW: Well, I remember they scared the fuckin' shit out of me...
JG: The Jawa's...
AW: Who's the Jawa's?
JG: The Jawa's were...they lived in the sand too...
AW: The midgets?
JG: Yeah, the little midget guys.
AW: Aw, they weren't that scary. The Sand People scared the shit out of me. I remember looking over at my dad in the theatre and I was afraid he was gonna turn into one of the Sand People.
JG: (laughs)
AW: Anyway, some of the people out there are interested how you guys got the name for the band. Is it from a Dundeons and Dragons game?
JH: Yup, but it doesn't mean shit in connection with that. We just wanted something that we knew no one could ever have. If you say "Kyuss," you're definately talking about us. And that's what we wanted.
AW: Because someone wrote that they thought it meant something like "Kicking Your Ugly Swinging Scrotum..." or something like that...
JH: Oh, you mean, "Knowing You're Under Someone's Scrotum?" How do people fuckin know that shit?!
AW: Is that true?
JH: Who are these fuckin' people? They're crazy, man.
AW: How do you know about it?
JH: 'Cause we made that up as a rumor, with The Dwarves. We toured with them...I guess you heard of The Dwarves?
AW: Yeah, yeah.
JH: Well, they're the first band that ever took us out on the road, and they're fuckin nuts.
AW: Didn't one of the guys fake his own death?
JH: He did die. He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named (guitarist, The Dwarves) died.
AW: Yeah, but then I heard he faked it.
JH: Yeah, well, figuratively He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named died.
AW: As a band member?
JH: Yeah.
AW: They're pretty weird, aren't they? I remember trying to buy their albums in high school and you had to be 18 to buy them...
JH: 'Cause the first one...Well, not the first one, but Blood, Guts, and Pussy...You guys seen that cover?
AW: Yeah.
JH: It's two naked chicks and a naked midget holding a dead rabbit with blood all over them. And it's real rabbit blood.
AW: Are you serious?
JH: Fuckin' all over them.
AW: What are they like?
JH: Like, their songs are like, "Fuck You Up And Get High." Shit like that. "Back Seat of My Car." Fuckin punk rock shit...like, they play naked or with women's lingerie on. Fuckin' spit on people and hit people with mic's. Like, He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named wore a mask, and he never took the mask off. He'd be naked with shoes and the mask on.
AW: Sounds like GWAR on steroids.
JH: Scarier. GWAR's got like fake blood, but these guys are drunk and on acid. And they're gonna fuckin' hit you in the head.
AW: How's the music? Is it good?
JH: Real good. Their sets are normally like two and a half to five minutes long before they fuckin' destroy everything.
AW: You know who's like that? A.C.
JH: Yeah...
AW: Each of their fuckin' songs is like three seconds long. I read they had a 7" a few years back with something like 5000 songs on it.
JG: (laughs very loudly)
JH: I heard of them...
AW: Like, the lead singer fuckin' twirls his mic around and tries to hit people and shit. I heard he hit some chick in the head at one show and her boyfriend almost killed him.
JH: That's like The Dwarves, man. You know, it's like, if there's a chick up front, the lead singer will be singing, he'll have his pants down around his knees, he'll be bleeding, he'll have the mic in his mouth all the way, and with both hands grab her by the hair and like (simulates oral sex)...
AW: Terrible...
JH: They're like these skinny freaks and they scared the fuck out of everybody. They're fuckin' wacked.
AW: You guys all set to hit the road again? What do you guys do in your spare time?
JH: I read...
AW: You guys work?
JG: I try to do as much fishing as I can, spend time with my family, rent some quads and go riding every once and a while. Or go hiking up in the canyon or...If you wanted to, you could play golf and tennis for the rest of your life there, but it's...
AW: What were you guys doing before the band started?
JG: What was I doing?
AW: Were you in another band?
JG: No, this is my first band. I never played....
JH: (reading more Kyuss list questions)...We don't decipher our lyrics and so it's cool to see other people here try and figure them out...
AW: What are the lyrics to "Mondo Generator?" Are there lyrics?
JG: Yeah, there's some lyrics. Fuckin' full blown, fuckin' word for word.
AW: 'Cause people on the list have tried to figure them out.
JH: That's so fuckin' rad- people trying to find out what that means.
AW: It doesn't like anything.
JH: It is. When I hear that song, I sing that song.
AW: Someone said you play through a bass amp or something weird like that, right?
JH: I play through a SV II cabinet.
AW: Is that different or...
JH: It's quieter. It's got four tens and a fifteen inch. It sounds like..it's a cool sound. It's not loud, but it's for me on stage. It just adds...
AW: It's got a pretty neat sound. I can always pick it out even without vocals. It really rips.
JH: It's like, a combination of that and my guitar and tuning...
AW: You guys tune down to D, right?
JH: C. Regular tuning.
AW: What did you guys listen to while growing up and stuff?
JG: I listened to everything, man. Top 40 stuff, pretty much. When you grow up sharing a bedroom with your brothers and sisters, you get to listen to a lot of stuff...
AW: I read an interview that said you guys weren't into Black Sabbath. Is that right?
JG: I mean, we, ah...I had heard Black Sabbath as a kid growing up. Never into them, as I said. I was listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire when Black Sabbath was doing their thing. And, it wasn't till we started playing and it wasn't till people started saying we sounded like Sabbath that Josh finally put on a Black Sabbath record and was like, "Yeah, I can see the similarities." But, by no means did we...
AW: Conscientiously try to sound like them...
JG: No, no. Not at all
AW: Some people have said that you sound like them, but I don't really think so...
JH: I never did either. Now I don't buy Sabbath records just for that reason.
AW: Well, they suck now. They've been through like 40 line-ups...
JH: No, I don't mean...like, the first seven albums with Ozzy. I know all those songs, I've heard 'em a bunch of times, but I just don't buy 'em 'cause. I just don't want it to be in my head...
AW: Do you guys have any unreleased stuff?
JH: Yeah, we just did a bunch of B-sides. And this thing with...You guys know who Frank Kozic is?
AW: Yeah. He's an artist. He's really cool.
JH: Yeah, he's got a vinyl label called Man's Ruin, and speaking of Black Sabbath, his favorite song is "Into The Void," and he wanted us to do it, so we did it. But we did our version of it. Pretty cool
AW: Is it gonna come out here in the US? 'Cause all the B-sides we have from you is from Europe
JH: Right. We're doing four B-sides that are going to Europe, this Kozic thing, and this flipside thing which is our answer to "Into The Void," which is gonna be on a 10"
AW: Same song?
JH: No. Our own song.
AW: Wait, is it...
JH: We're doing a cover of "Into The Void" and then on the flipside is only one song.
AW: It's a 10"? When's it gonna come out?
JH: Probably November. And then we're doing a split single with this band called Wool, on Bongload- the same label that Fu Manchu is on.
AW: What are the other B-side songs?
JH: There's gonna be three on the "One Inch Man" single and then there's gonna be one on the next one.
AW: Is that all?
JH: Yeah. We just recorded them.
AW: You know the titles off hand?
JH: Yeah. It's "Fatso For Gotso," "Flip The Face," "A Day Early And A Dollar Extra," and "Shine."
AW: We just heard "Un Sandpiper" a couple of weeks ago and it was really good. It was so awesome and really long.
JH: Yeah. That one was, like...that was like the only fuckin' version, of that. "Play "Un Sandpiper"! Don't fuck it up!!" (laughs) (Josh leaves at this point to go find us art work for the new album)
AW: How about those album photos? We just saw them like...
JG: Those pictures are from this weird place, man. Really freaky, man. It's this fuckin trailer park and this whole village in this city...fuckin' sunk the city...flooded the city. But like nobody took anything out. Like, couches are still there and the dressers and the drapes are blowing in the wind and...
AW: Is this buy where you live?
JG: Yeah, it's called Bombay Beach.
AW: In California?
JG: Yup. Like, 40 or 45 minutes from where I live. Southeast towards Mexico.
AW: Is that from all that flooding last year?
JG: Nah, it just..the water level just rose and sunk the city there. No, it's going back down but I don't know what the hell happened. The salt level is high, the salt level is so fucking high that hardly any fish can survive... (Josh returns)
JH: You guys smoke pot?
AW: Not really, but hey, you know... (laughs)
AW: With these photos, someone said that the part that's on the top is really the part that's in the water?
JH: Yeah. How did somebody know that it's already upside down?! How the fuck...How the fuck do people know that already?!
AW: I couldn't even tell that. (everyone laughs loudly)
AW: Did you draw this cover?
JG: No, this tattoo artist did it for us (referring to the inside cover).
JH: She did all our soundman's tattoo's....
AW: How did they ordain you guys to do all the interviews? Are you guys the leaders or something?
JG: Not really. Actually, none of us really...we were going to Europe and there was a chance to get out, go over there and do some press and...we actually had to fight to see who was going...(laughs)
AW: What are the other guys doing now?
JG: One's probably sitting around and the other one's probably at his girlfirend's house... But we're going home tomorrow!!!
AW: So, you guys like New York or what?
JG: (emphatically) I love New York! Great place to visit but I would never wanna live here...
AW: You would never live here?
JG: Never ever live here.
(Josh starts reading from the list of questions again)
JH: " If Jon Bon Jovi, Hillay Clinton and Maculay Culkin were up against a wall and you had to shoot one of them to keep the others alive, who would it be and why?" (giggling abounds)
AW: And your answer is?
(Jon laughs loudly)
JH: (to Jon) What's your answer?
JG: Lemme see that thing...
AW: I figured we could end it on that note if you want...
JH: I'd probably shoot myself. I'd shoot the kid, man (to Jon).
JG: I'd fuck Hillary Clinton and then I'd shoot her.
JH: I'd fuck Maculay Culkin and then I'd shoot him.
(super loud laughter)
AW: So what are you guys doing tonight? Hanging out?
JH: We have a couple of friends we have to catch and see. I thought we were gonna kick back and get to fuckin' see the Guggenheim (art museum) and shit like that but it didn't quite happen that way...
AW: Shit happens...
JH: Yup.