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Nick Oliveri
offical website
articles/contests
"There was a new "fear attitude" to playing live which I really enjoyed, being scared to walk up there myself. 'Cause it's good to be nervous, you should never be too comfortable."
"I think what made us different was that there was me screaming, Josh with the falsetto, and Mark singing. It was a variety and you didn't get bored listening to a whole long record."
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09.30.04
Dawn of a New Demolition Day for Nick Oliveri
by Greg Prato
Nick Oliveri has been through a lot in 2004. The year started off splendidly when his band, Queens of the Stone Age, continued a mammoth tour in support of Songs For The Deaf, the group's commercial breakthrough. Shortly after returning home from a tour in Australia this February, however, Oliveri was handed his walking papers from head Queen Josh Homme. Instead of sitting at home moping, Oliveri picked up his acoustic guitar and hit the road, opening up for longtime pal Brant Bjork as a one-man show. The shows were such a success that Oliveri recorded an entire album of acoustic compositions called Demolition Day, which will be released later this year. In a recent conversation with Musictoday, Oliveri gave his side of the story about his surprising ouster from QOTSA and talked about his current projects.
Musictoday: Let's start with what are you currently up to. I hear you've finished an acoustic album.
Nick Oliveri: I just finished it, mastered it two days ago. It opens with a song called "Brown Pussy," then goes into a song called "All That I've Got," "One More Time In Hell," "Demolition Day," and "Paper Thin." There's 21 songs on the CD and 15 on the vinyl. I'm really happy with it; it really turned out cool. I put horns on some stuff. There's some pretty cool stuff on it and I'm pretty happy about it. I had Dave Catching play on a couple of tunes, some melody guitar stuff; I had Molly play bass on a song — nothing consistent on the whole thing. It was like, "Come play on one song." I did bass on a couple of tunes.
Mt: Your other band, Mondo Generator, has issued its first live DVD (A Tour That Never Existed). Wasn't a CD supposed to be released also?
NO: The live CD is finished, but it was a mistake on the website. It's something that my ex-girlfriend had put up on the website for sale. I came back from the acoustic tour and found out it was for sale on the site and was like, "What are you doing?" But the DVD is done and they're being shipped out. The DVD is awesome, man. It's got some really good footage — a lot of Europe, some Lollapalooza stuff, and a lot of the club dates we did on the U.S. tour.
Mt: How was the tour with Brant Bjork earlier this year, and how did that whole thing come together?
NO: When I got a big old bass amp, drums, and everybody playing, you can hide mistakes pretty easy, but there's nothing to hide behind when you're up there with an acoustic guitar. Which is what's cool about it. There was a new "fear attitude" to playing live which I really enjoyed, being scared to walk up there myself. 'Cause it's good to be nervous, you should never be too comfortable. It was amazing, a really good time.
Mt: Looking back, would you say the tour helped you through the whole QOTSA split?
NO: At the time, I really needed it. And Brant was my bro who called me up and said, "Do you want to go on tour?" I thought he was calling me for a bass gig and I was like, "Yeah dude!" But he's like, "No, to come out and open up with your guitar — just you." And I was like, "Yeah dude, I'll do that!" And at the time, again, I really needed it. I was sitting at home, kinda tripping about things a little bit — well, a lot — so it was a good thing for me. [It] let me know that I could still go out there, play, and have some fun. It's all good.
Mt: Now that a few months have passed since the whole QOTSA thing, what are your feelings currently about it?
NO: Well, obviously, I went through the mad stage, then the sad stage, and now I'm at the okay stage. It's all right, you know? You can't force somebody to play with you in your band. So unfortunate, since there is a really good chemistry there, and I think we should be so lucky to say that we have fans. 'Cause you only get that, if you do, once in a lifetime. We rolled the dice and lucked out. I stopped dreaming about the stuff we got to do on this last run years ago. With that in mind, it's alright. I got to do things that were pretty bad ass, man. I know they're making a record now, and it feels weird for me not being down there. It's strange, but it's something that you just get used to — "Okay, it's not my band anymore." It's a shame; it was a good band. I think what made us different was that there was me screaming, Josh with the falsetto, and Mark singing. It was a variety and you didn't get bored listening to a whole long record. I haven't talked to him, I've just read what some journalists might've made up, maybe they didn't. I don't know. It's not something I can really be too concerned about. I was at first, and then I was like, whatever. Whatever picture needs to be painted to make it okay is fine.
Mt: It seems kind of hypocritical of Josh to say you were out of control while he was getting into a fight shortly thereafter in NYC.
NO: I don't know too much about it, to be honest. It's one of those things like, "so you fired me for what you hired me for?" It doesn't make too much sense. That's like saying I got fired from a rock 'n' roll band for doing things that rock 'n' roll bands do. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I was just trying to have a good time. I'm sure they're going to make a great record; it's just going to be very different. It's a bummer, but at the same time, I just made a really good record and I'm happy with it. It makes me realize it's going to be all right.
Mt: Do you feel that Josh's relationship with Brody Dalle had any influence on the situation?
NO: I don't know. It's hard to say. I don't know how that, at the end of the day, could make it…y'know [it was] between me and him. I don't think it had anything to do with her. I think that's like giving her power that's pretty out of control! [laughs] I don't put her up on that pedestal myself. But I don't know — you'd probably have to ask Josh that one. But I know things between me and him…I've seen bands fistfight daily and still be on tour. We had a blowout one time on the tour — I may have took things too far or whatever — but there was never any fighting as far as fists or anything crazy. We were out for 16 months or however long and I had a little meltdown. It happens. You can't be out that long and not be able to vent every now and again. I love it, but sometimes it catches up to you, and it did one night to me. I may have said some things, done some things…I'm not necessarily saying that that's the reason why it went down. I don't know, maybe I weighed down on [Josh's] nerves or something and he just didn't dig me anymore. And that's cool, man. I can vibe on that. I don't want to play with somebody who doesn't like who I am, anyway. I'm not going to change; I am who I am. It's okay at the end of the day. I had some friends staying at my house after it happened, and I had to tell them to leave 'cause they were bummed and made me think about it more than anything else! I was like, "Dude, it's going to be all right!" I also feel like it took a long time for people to warm up to the idea of it being a band of two people with this revolving cast. Josh pulled the plug on that, and now everybody's like, "What?" With that in mind, it's kind of a "F**k you." But there's nothing I can do about it, except keep playing.
Mt: Have you spoken to Josh since the split?
NO: No. He came over my house and I thought he broke the band up. That's what he told me. He's like, "I don't want to do this anymore. I don't care about the name." And I was like, "Dude, all right man, whatever. I hope you reconsider." And then I read on the Internet a week later that I was fired and he's making a Queens record.
Mt: Would you be open to working with him again in the future?
NO: No. He fired me three times in my life. It's done. I can't be told one thing, strung along — "This is your thing, too." It can't ever happen.
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