Josh Homme says “you have to be willing to lose your fans sometimes” when writing new music
Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme thinks that for artists to be authentically themselves in their music, they have to be willing to lose fans.
We’ve seen it before with artists such as Paramore, Bring Me The Horizon, and Arctic Monkeys – they grew up, changed their sound, and had to constantly deal with a chunk of listeners asking for “the old” version of themselves. But as Homme says, loyal fans won’t care.
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During a Q&A at Hellfest, Homme explains (via Ultimate Guitar): “The least oft-done thing is for someone to make their 15th record, their best record.
“And it seems natural that, sometimes, you copy yourself, or you try to be safe, or you cater too much to the fans instead of [to] what’s happening in your life. But I think it would be so wonderful to be part of a group [where] the last record I make before I die would be the best one of all.”
He adds, “I think it’s difficult to do that, and I think you have to be willing to lose your fans sometimes. I always say, if 15 percent of the people don’t hate you, you suck, you know? I think you have to get addicted to the risk of trying to sound different, but trying to sound the same. We don’t always [do] that, but I think you try to [do] that.”
Homme advises bands to be true to themselves and what they want to write about: “I think the fans that are loyal are the ones that expect the change,” he shares. “I started listening to GBH, The Exploited, Subhumans, Black Flag, and the Misfits. I still love Legacy of Brutality by the Misfits as much as I ever did. It’s so hooky and good, and I almost like it for different reasons now, because I’m older and I can hear it in a different way.
“But I would think that someone that’s into us would expect the change to happen, just because they’ve gotten older too. I think if you just write about a snapshot in your life as it is occurring, then you should be okay.”
Queens of the Stone Age are currently on tour in Europe. For tickets and a full list of dates, head to the band’s official website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
