Maton Guitars

Songwriter/guitarist Josh Homme has been part of two of the most acclaimed stoner rock/metal bands of the late '90s and early 2000s: Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age.


Josh Homme: GEAR

Josh Homme plays the following Maton instruments


Hailing from Palm Desert, CA, Kyuss was formed in 1984 and built a following by throwing "generator parties" (which consisted of inviting friends out to a secluded part of the desert at night while the band would plug into a power generator and jam away until dawn). In 1991 the band released its debut Wretch, and although other acts with a similar sound like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains gained widespread commercial success it was largely ignored by the public.  They released their second offering Blues for the Red Sun in 1992 to much critical acclaim, it too failed to break the band commercially. Kyuss then signed with Elektra, issuing two more releases (1994's Welcome to Sky Valley and 1995's ...And the Circus Leaves Town) before calling it quits in 1995.

Disillusioned by the breakup of Kyuss, Homme didn't touch his guitar for nearly a year, but was coxed back from his self imposed exile by the Screaming Trees who invited him to serve as the band's second guitarist on select tour dates in support of their 1996 release, Dust. This led to cameos on recordings by other artists (Gamma Ray, Wellwater Conspiracy, and Mike Johnson), as well as starting up the multi-volume Desert Sessions series, which featured former members of Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, and Kyuss indulging in tripped-out jams. All the guest spots had rekindled Homme's desire to form another full-time band, and by the late '90s he was ready to take the plunge again.

Homme hooked up with former Kyuss/Dwarves bassist Nick Oliveri to form Queens of the Stone Age, a band that tempered Kyuss' monolithic rock with more varied styles and focused songwriting. The pair would be joined by a revolving door of other members (with both Homme and Oliveri sharing vocal duties), and by 1998, QOTSA were signed to Stone Gossard's Loose Groove label, issuing their self-titled debut the same year. 2000 saw the release of their sophomore effort (and first for the Interscope label), R, which became one of the year's most critically praised rock releases, as the band toured with such big names as Hole, the Foo Fighters, and the Smashing Pumpkins (as well as being part of Ozzfest 2000 and the third Rock in Rio). Critical praise continued with both 2002's Songs for the Deaf and 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze. In 2005 Homme was engaged to Distillers' frontwoman Brody Dalle following her 2003 split with husband Tim Armstrong (of Rancid), they had their  first child together, daughter Camille, in January 2006.

In 1998 Homme also formed Eagles of Death Metal with friend Jesse Hughes. Recordings from this project first appeared on Homme's The Desert Sessions Volumes 3 & 4, released that year. Over the next few years, Homme became distracted from EoDM due to the success of Queens of the Stone Age. How ever he constantly reaffirms his commitment to the band citing his "schizophrenic" musical personality for the need to be involved in multiple projects.

So far the band has released three albums: Peace, Love, Death Metal in 2004, Death by Sexy in 2006 and most recently Heart On in 2008. Due to his commitments with QOTSA Homme does not regularly tour with the band, but occasionally makes appearances during live performances.

In 2009 saw the birth of Them Crooked Vultures. A collaboration between Hommes, John Paul Jones, and Grohl, it was first publicly mentioned by Grohl in a 2005 interview with Mojo, in which he declared "The next project that I'm trying to initiate involves me on drums, Josh Homme on guitar, and John Paul Jones playing bass. That’s the next album. That wouldn’t suck.". Their first self titled album was released in 2009. During the same year they also toured North America and the United Kingdom, in October and December respectively, the UK leg sold out in just under 12 minutes, making it one of the quickest sold tours in the UK — without the band even officially releasing a song to date. A follow up album has ben confirmed by the other members of the band although no release date has been confirmed.

In 2011 They released a remastered version of their first self titled album, and where back on the road playing festivals all over the world including  the Soundwave Festival in Australia and Glastonbury, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy.

Homme finished the year by returning to the studio working on the next Queens of the Stone Age release.

In 2011, Homme was named the 14th best guitarist of the last 30 years by BBC-6 Music.