QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Group keeps on rocking, winning fans

The makeup of the band has evolved over the years.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Queens of the Stone Age knows how to "Go With the Flow." This unofficial theme song, a hit single found on the group's 2002 release "Songs for the Deaf," arguably epitomizes this hard-rock act.
The band's earnest beginnings came in the late '90s as yet another indie rock outfit with an underground following. This was thanks in large part to pre-QOTSA stoner rock band Kyuss (featuring Queens founders Josh Homme and former partner Nick Oliveri).
However, through QOTSA's ever-changing lineup and guest musician appearances, this California-based, guitar-driven outfit continued to blossom and purge itself like a forest fire deconstructing the countryside before Mother Nature builds anew. Names who have come and gone include Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, ex-Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan and even Oliveri, who was kicked out of the band two years ago by Homme.
Under Homme's direction, the group seemingly goes whichever way the wind blows, which is once again the modus operandi on its current tour, opening for Nine Inch Nails. The bill comes through Cleveland with a show date Oct. 9 at The Q.
Virgin audiences
"It's different for us," said QOTSA drummer Joey Castillo. "It's a pretty good thing to be honest, to be playing to a majority of people who have never seen us before and a lot of them have never even heard us, which is funny. We're just coming back from Europe, headlining a lot of festivals and doing our own shows. So, it's good to have to get up there and do a little work and win them over."
Winning audiences over is nothing new for QOTSA, with Castillo saying the most difficult part of the current tour is its reduced set time. Normally, fans get anywhere from 100 to 135 minutes for a QOTSA headlining show. Castillo hints another headlining run for the band could happen again in early 2006, but this time out, the group is forced to play as many songs as it can in an hour's time.
However, within those 60 minutes is an ever-changing and career-spanning set, which includes plenty of tight musicianship and impressive riffing. There's something cool about a band that continues to reinterpret or update its musical past. While QOTSA is theoretically supporting its latest release, "Lullabies to Paralyze," the band has been having fun in concert with its catalog by completely reworking album gems, such as "God is in the Radio" and "Regular John," into barely recognizable renditions of the originals. It's just another example of the band's going with the flow and never looking back.
Having fun
"The inspiring it does to us as players is the gratifying thing," Castillo said. "To get up with the four of us knowing that we are capable of doing that. Obviously we're not going to do that with everything, [but] when we do have the chance and we do have a little room to spread our wings, it's always fun to do things like that and it definitely keeps everybody on their toes."
QOTSA recently captured its magic on video for an upcoming November DVD release, which includes two British concerts -- a large venue and a club show -- and plenty of retrospective moments.