An Open Letter to Joshua Homme
Dear Mr. Homme,
I’d be remiss if I didn’t start off saying thanks for the many years of ass kickery. Having never spoken to you either in-person or via telephone (the closest I’ve yet come was being blown off in 2005), this feels an appropriate avenue to mention that, although there’ve been highs and lows, hard rock probably wouldn’t be the same in 2010 without your having been in it for about two decades now. So yeah, much appreciated.
On to the business at hand: By now I’m sure you’ve seen the video of your former Kyuss cohorts, Nick Oliveri, Brant Bjork and John Garcia playing together at Hellfest in France during a Garcia Plays Kyuss set. If you missed it, here it is:
Pretty badass, I know. Now, the thing of it is, I can’t imagine you haven’t watched that and thought to yourself, perhaps more than ever before, that maybe it’s time to get Kyuss back together. I’m not going to urge you not to do it. Rather, the purpose of this letter is to ask that, if you do decide it’s time for a Kyuss reunion, to do it the right way.
By that I mean no shows. Think of all the reunions going on; bands get back together and they’re all so excited to be playing again — or they’re just doing it for cash — that they book a tour, and yeah, it can be great, but it’s a nostalgic thing. If Kyuss‘ music has proved to be anything, it’s timeless, and to see a reunion come about that’s just based on, “Hey, let’s trot out ‘Allen’s Wrench’ for the folks who didn’t get to see it,” would be disappointing and lame. I think that’s also why it hasn’t happened yet.
That’s not a slag on Garcia Plays Kyuss. I saw them in April and it was great to hear him sing those songs. But if you’re going to revive a band like Kyuss, whose popularity came after their breakup, the way to do it is to put out an album first. I know the music is a lot different, but the best-handled reunion I’ve ever seen was that of Celtic Frost (until it fell apart, anyway). They announced they were back together, and immediately started writing. They took as long as it needed to take to write — in their case it was about five years — and they put out a killer album in Monotheist, and only then did they start booking tours. It was a triumphant return, the shows sold out, the record was great, and most importantly, fans had a context for who Celtic Frost was in the present, instead of who they were when they put out Into the Pandemonium or To Mega Therion.
What I’m saying is, it’s been 13 years since Kyuss ended, and a lot has happened in that time. If you decide to bring Kyuss back, don’t just do it to play the greatest hits, do it as a creative endeavor. That way no one on either side, fan or artist, goes into it thinking things will be just like they were on Blues for the Red Sun, which is a ridiculous expectation but a prevalent one nonetheless. Write first, get Chris Goss to produce, and put out a Kyuss album. Then tour. You’ll find that what Kyuss was is entirely preserved, and what Kyuss is today can honor that while at the same time offer a glimpse of how time has changed you guys as players. As a fan, I just think Kyuss deserves more than the usual “one more go” reunion, and felt compelled to share my thoughts. On the off-chance you see them, thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Some Dude You’ve Never Heard Of
Heaping Pismire Taskmaster
Amen. As cool as it would be to see them together live, I agree with you. Kyuss has always been different, thus a reunion today should be handled differently.
Although…
Eyehategod and Saint Vitus have done all right. With Eyehategod the band got comfortable playing together again and then started writing some tunes and now an album should be out later this year. With Saint Vitus it has kind of been the same way. There has at least been talk of a new album because of how good it feels to be working together again. I guess with either of them you could argue they needed to see if the demand was there before committing to doing an album. Um, yeah guys, of course the demand is there. Now get on it Vitus!
Really, it depends on the band, how it is handled and who the players are. As much as I want to see Sleep, to me it is just not them without Chris Haikus. Pentagram…that’s ALL about the money. Victor Griffin rejoining the fold does change my attitude about a new album. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
I’d like to see Goatsnake, but is it necessary? As long as a band doesn’t do anything to harm their legacy I guess it’s fine. However, all too many bands do just that and don’t know when to hang it up. Anthrax are currently in the process of have massive diarrhea all over themselves. The world accepted Kiss as a permanent joke after Peter and Ace left the band after the initial reunion in which they put the makeup back on. And I am genuinely upset when “The Who” and “The Doors” and “The Grateful Dead” tour today. I am downright pissed about Alice In Chains. Hey Dave and Chris whattabout a Nirvana reunion? The Beatles were smart. Led Zep fucked up with Page & Plant.
Black Sabbath was cool at first and would have been great with new material. Heaven & Hell was done right. If another reunion with Ozzy happens, it’ll be a shame. He should be forced to sing all Dio-era material.
But, then there is The Allman Brothers Band.
I get your point. I guess mine is it just depends. I would love to see a new album, but I think the level of commitment it would take may be too much with everyone’s other projects and schedules. A tour maybe the only way to get these guys together, initially. Then as they tour they may write and before you know it there is news of a new album. I’m on board either way. But just for something different, I’d like to see it go your way.
Sometimes our memories are best kept as they are. All too often a band cannot live up to what we remember them to be in our minds, therefore tarnishing the memories.
By the way have you ever read the Decibel magazine Kyuss Welcome to Sky valley Hall of Fame feature. BB seems pretty raw still. Or at least did then a couple of years ago. Although he actually said Homme holds the key to his musical heart….
Cannot make shit like that up. I can scan it for you and send it over. Let me know.
I think Homme needs a Kyuss reunion to establish credibility…QOTSA have been consistently going downhill since the second album and when I got played the Them Crooked Vultures album I thought it was one of the most atrocious piles of crap I’ve ever heard!!!!
The world needs a Kyuss reunion especially because Hermano really isn’t that great, Mondo Generator ain’t crap and the last QOTSA album was pretty hideous with the exception of that ballad they had already recorded like ten years before. Plus, have you heard Brant Bjork play his acoustic guitar and sing at the same time? zzzzzzzzzzzzzz….. I want Kyuss now!
I am not sure about nostalgia trips guys – KYUSS was great for a reason. now it’s no more. you should ask yourselves WHY those guys got together onstage in the first place WITHOUT him… that’s disrespectful, considering both Nick and Brant were not a part of how KYUSS ended anyway.
I think Josh is rightfully looking ahead, while some other, for lack of that special something, are left looking back. no disrespect meant, but Josh and QOTSA are something else, and whoever doesn’t get ERA VULGARIS or SONGS FOR THE DEAF is clearly lacking attention skills.