The greatest romance of Josh Homme’s career: “He’s such a good guy”
So much is made of the rock and roll feuds that have existed in music history, particularly in the 1990s. Whether it was the princes of Britpop going toe to toe in the charts or perhaps the coastal battles of America’s great hip-hop heroes, fans lapped up this new era of musical fury.
But what about the friendships that existed between them? Admittedly, their lack of drama makes for a distinctly less entertaining product, but surely that is what music is all about. Devoid of the competition that makes sport so tribal, music and art are in a unique position whereby our idols can be seen rubbing shoulders, or at best, collaborating on tracks.
For modern rock fans, there is arguably no better example of this than the gushing friendship of Josh Homme and Dave Grohl. Tasked with upholding the values of rock and roll, into the shifting tides of the ‘90s, millennium and beyond, they bonded through responsibility. With Homme crunching down on a guitar and Grohl pounding the drums with fury, the genre had a new pivot through which it could pin its hopes.
But rather than allow that power to drive a wedge between the pair, it brought them closer, more specifically in the studio where they would regularly collaborate. Whether it was Grohl contributing to parts for Queens of the Stone Age, or them both actualising their dreams and forming a band with John Paul Jones, they banded together on countless occasions to prove that together, they had a musical synergy for this modern age.
So whenever the pair have been offered the opportunity to share praise for one another, they’ve snatched it with the same eagerness Liam Gallagher had to slag off his contemporaries.
Homme explained, “Dave has been one of the longest romances I’ve ever had that’s worked, you know? And he’s such a good guy, but I also love his dark side, and I love mixing our watercolours together like that, and just in conversation. We go to this place that I won’t name, and we go there for breakfast and just eat waffles and talk about times as you do.”
Grohl was equally as effusive for Homme, discussing their friendship that goes far beyond the music. He harked back to 1992, where he recalled first seeing “the legendary Kyuss perform at the Off Ramp in Seattle and met Mr Josh Homme. The band were friends of a friend, and before long, their album Blues for the Red Sun became the soundtrack to that summer. 33 years later and with many miles behind us, I have shared some of my life’s most rewarding musical moments with my dear friend, Josh.”
He concluded, explaining the friendship is “a lifelong bond that goes far beyond the sound we’ve made together”.
The synergy that exists between the pair, both on and off stage, just goes to prove that salacious drama doesn’t always make for great music moments. Appropriately, some of the best music is made off the back of a deep sense of collaboration.
