How an ancient place of death made Josh Homme feel alive

Josh Homme sips a Modelo the different nighttime arsenic helium sits amid the vibey greenery down Brain Dead Studios connected Fairfax Avenue. Inside the movie theater, a tiny assemblage including respective of Homme’s friends and household members is watching “Alive successful the Catacombs,” a sepia-tone abbreviated movie that documents an acoustic gig Homme’s stone band, Queens of the Stone Age, played past July successful the Paris Catacombs, wherever the remains of an estimated 6 cardinal radical are stored beneath the streets of the French capital. Back present connected the patio, the 52-year-old vocalist and guitarist is musing astir however audiences are apt to react.

“I’m truthful arrogant of the movie due to the fact that it’s either ‘I hatred it’ oregon ‘Holy s—, that was intense,’” helium says. “It’s thing successful between.”

The inspiration for “Alive successful the Catacombs,” which comes accompanied by a behind-the-scenes documentary (and a five-song EP owed Friday), stretches backmost 2 decades to a travel to Paris erstwhile a agelong enactment stymied Homme’s effort to sojourn the humanities site. Yet helium sees a definite poesy successful the information that the amusement — with radically stripped-down renditions of tunes similar “Villains of Circumstance” and “Suture Up Your Future” — came unneurotic lone arsenic helium recovered himself successful a wellness situation that forced Queens to postpone the remaining dates of its 2024 tour. With Homme having recovered from cancer, the set volition instrumentality to the roadworthy this week for its archetypal shows successful astir a year.

How arduous was it to person the Parisian officials to fto you sprout successful the catacombs?
It was a f— nightmare. There’s a nationalist cognition that’s pervasive successful France wherever you inquire a question and the archetypal absorption is, “Ask him implicit there.” The runaround, arsenic we would telephone it. We received the runaround for galore years.

Are you attracted to spooky spots successful general?
I emotion erstwhile euphony is scary. I callback proceeding the Doors arsenic a young lad and being like, “Whoa.” And they’re truthful consistently terrifying — I’ve ever been obsessed with that. My imaginativeness of Queens, erstwhile it’s perfect, is: There’s a elevation with the prima down it, and this crippled service of minstrels comes implicit the horizon. The townspeople go, “S—, drawback the kids.” When we dependable similar that, we’re astatine our best.

What’s a spot successful L.A. that mightiness beryllium comparable to the catacombs?
There are immoderate Steinbeck-y hobo hotels. And successful the close airy the Hollywood Forever cemetery has a definite ominous beauty. But that feels excessively simple. I grew up moving connected a histrion farm, and there’s thing astir the uniformity of a histrion workplace that I find terrifying. Further out, the lipid fields of Kern County are similar dinosaur relics — scabs connected the aboveground of the earth.

Seems tenable to inquire wherefore idiosyncratic successful specified perilous carnal signifier would privation to walk clip successful a spot defined by death.
Having worked connected this for the amended portion of 20 years, the chances that erstwhile it yet occurs, I would beryllium dealing with the precise contented that is wherefore it exists — I mean, the chances are astir zero. That plays into my romanticist side, and I don’t spot the worth successful moving hypotheticals astir wherefore it’s happening. I’d alternatively clasp it adjacent and say, “I’m expected to beryllium here,” judge that and consciousness empowered by it. There were a batch of radical who emotion maine that were saying I shouldn’t bash this. And I respect that. But it does disregard the constituent — like, however galore signs bash you need?

I saw the behind-the-scenes movie —
I watched it once, and I tin ne'er ticker it again. I spot however medicated I was. I cognize that susceptible is the mode to go, but I don’t bash a batch of sorting done things successful hindsight — it makes maine uncomfortable. I’m uncomfortable with the documentary.

Why enactment it out?
Because that’s what this is. I was uncomfortable successful the catacombs too.

You don’t play guitar successful the movie. Did it consciousness earthy for you to sing without holding one?
It didn’t successful earlier years, but present it’s arsenic earthy arsenic thing else. I’m benignant of dilatory falling retired of emotion with the guitar. I’ll conscionable usage immoderate instrument. I don’t play them each well, but it doesn’t truly substance — it’s immoderate volition get the thought across.

Who were immoderate of your models for the benignant of singing you’re doing?
I’ve ever loved [Jim] Morrison and his poetry. Sometimes the euphony isn’t large successful the Doors, but it’s each successful enactment of idiosyncratic that I bash judge is simply a existent poet. The words are the strongest portion of that band.

Your crooning made maine privation to perceive you bash an medium of standards.
I was talking astir this with my aged antheral today. He’s like, “You’re not gonna retire,” and I was like, “Oh, yes, I americium — I’m going to Melvyn’s successful Palm Springs to beryllium similar [sings], ‘Fly maine to the moon…’”

You grew up successful Palm Desert. This mightiness beryllium an underappreciated facet of your lineage.
KDES 104.7, baby. The DJ would beryllium like, “Are you by the pool? Well, you should be.” Very Robert Evans.

Are determination Queens songs you knew wouldn’t enactment successful the catacombs?
We didn’t deliberation of it that way. The radical successful there, they didn’t take to beryllium there, truthful what would they privation to hear? I chose things astir family, acceptance, the difficulties successful beingness and the mode you consciousness the infinitesimal they’re revealed — and the mode you consciousness the infinitesimal they’re over. My archetypal thought was: How bash I emotionally get connected my knees and bash the precise champion I tin to contiguous thing that these radical person been longing for? It felt precise religious.

Do you judge successful God?
I judge successful God, but God is everything I can’t understand.

Do you deliberation there’s an afterlife?
I judge there’s a instrumentality to something. Is it like, “Oh my God, Rodney Dangerfield!”? That’s not what I believe. But the vigor that keeps you and I alive, it can’t simply disappear. You indispensable conscionable spell location to the large shot somewhere.

Queens of the Stone Age: Michael Shuman, from left, Troy Van Leeuwen, Josh Homme, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore.

(Andreas Neumann)

Last clip you and I spoke, you told maine you you’d learned to prosecute your creation with little of the reckless wantonness of your youth. I wondered however that figured into your determination to telephone disconnected shows past twelvemonth aft Paris.
By the clip we walked down the steps into the catacombs, we each knew successful the set that it was over. The greeting we were expected to play Venice [a fewer days earlier the Paris gig], I conscionable couldn’t instrumentality it anymore, truthful I was like, “Take maine to the hospital.” But I realized determination was thing that could hap for maine there. I said, “Bathroom?” and I had them propulsion the car up and we left.

Does that look irresponsible successful retrospect?
No, due to the fact that they didn’t cognize what was going connected and they didn’t person the quality to know. I was like, “I made a mistake — I should person conscionable kept going.” We went to the adjacent amusement successful Milan due to the fact that Paris was truthful close. You enactment connected thing for each these years, and present you tin astir spot it. You’re gonna crook astir due to the fact that it’s hard? You can’t spell 2 much hours? My aged antheral says, “Quitting connected yourself is hardest the archetypal time, and it’s casual each clip aft that.”

Whoa.
Is that wrong? That’s the feline that brought maine up, and he’s arrogant to beryllium present tonight. So did I marque a mistake oregon not? I’m not definite what I would person done if I’d walked away.

You’ve been reluctant to get excessively circumstantial astir your illness.
It doesn’t matter. Who cares? It was hard and it was dangerous. Big f— deal.

Queens is astir to get backmost onstage.
We’re gonna decorativeness what we started. I thought I was gonna beryllium retired of committee for 18 months oregon 2 years — that’s what I was told.

How’d you instrumentality that?
I wasn’t looking for high-fives. But it ended up being 7 months. I’ve changed truthful galore things, and I consciousness truthful good.

Are you penning songs?
Lots. The large portion astir these physically oregon mentally unsafe situations is that present I consciousness super-alive and acceptable to go. I spent a batch of months bedridden, and present that I’m not, I’m precise overmuch similar a rodeo bull. Not the rider — the bull. When you unfastened that gate, I volition destroy.