Where now? - Nick Oliveri

Sitting in a dirty bar full of disco sludge, vomit pools and broken glass, a man, nay a rock’n’roll demon with no hair, except for straggly goatee on his chin, a myriad of tattoos dotting around his torso and arms, and a look that makes you want to take him home, give him a cup of tea and tell him that everything will be alright, wanders through the midst to a table with a beer in his hand. He’s somewhat nervous about the interview that is about to take place just before he goes through sound check with his band. He’s on his own, and it is obvious he’s still getting used to it.

The man is Nick Oliveri -  co founder and member of two of the coolest and most influential bands to date most notably Kyuss and of course Queens Of The Stone Age. Sadly however, those days are over, and now it is clear as to why he seems nervous, Oliveri isn’t used to doing these interviews without his usual array of band members or hangers-on or even his childhood friend Josh Homme to back him up. Yet he puts on a brave face although it is plain to see the dirty back alley bars he’ll never sell out are somewhat symbolic as to his situation.

In exile from the band he loved with all his heart, Oliveri sits back and reminisces like an angel cast out of heaven, genuinely distraught that he can no longer go back from whence he came, yet eager to talk to anyone who’ll listen to his story. And listen we do as a surprisingly gentlemanly charm flares up as he talks without barriers in place, ready to tell of his battle to get back in Homme’s good books and back onto the stereo’s of his fleeting fans.

Fired from his beloved Queens Of The Stone Age in 2003, seemingly the victim of an act of shameful dishonesty, and now on tour with his last bastion of musical prowess Mondo Generator, Oliveri is a man on a mission to prove to everybody. Or perhaps just himself - that he can go on without his partnership with Homme.

“Things are going good, new band, new record, things are good�. He states, curiously repeating it over as if to convince himself of what he is saying. His band Mondo Generator are currently on an extensive European tour, the first time he has toured his side project to such a great length, and he seems happy just to be playing music to crowds again. Back in his QOTSA days Mondo Generator was little more than an outlet for a prolific songwriter eager to get his own tunes that didn’t make the cut, out on record. Now it is all he has.

Playing to a tenth of the crowd his old band were likely to pull in, is a humbling experience, especially due to the fact that 99% of the punters showing up were fans of his old band and he is quick to remember why he was given the opportunities he has, whether it means playing old favourites like ‘Gonna Leave You’ and ‘Tension Head’ or the sheer fact he goes into the crowd before gigs to meet the punters, he appreciates his fans. “I think it’s important to play some old stuff, to play the songs the people want to hear that they can’t hear at a Queens show anymore. But it is still important to play the new stuff for us, and so far the feedback has been good.�

His new and third solo album ‘Dead Planet: SonicSlowMotionTrails’ is currently on the shelves. It deals with a range of tribulations, of course the usual drug fuelled night out that Oliveri is privy to (‘I Never Sleep’) girl troubles (‘She Only Owns You’) and of course his yearning for the truth as to why Homme left him like he did (‘Lie Detector’). Recorded at Dave Grohl’s studio 606 in LA, it’s obvious (not to mention comforting) he still has friends in high places, however he is quick to point out he doesn’t need anybody’s help, not asking Grohl to play on his new record however much the publicity may have done for Mondo.