After being ousted from Queens Of The Stone Age last year, it appeared bassist Nick Oliveri had written off playing again with Queens leader Josh Homme. But a year since the split, Oliveri seems to have had a change of heart, as the two have started talking again.
“I told him last time I was hanging out with him, ‘If anything falls through and you need somebody, you know where your bass player is, dude — you know where the bass player for that band is. So pick up the phone,'” he tells Billboard.com. “It ain’t about a money gig thing for me — I know which band I play bass in.”
Since the Queens bass position has been filled by newcomer Dan Druff (who worked previously with the band as a guitar tech), it doesn’t appear as though the aforementioned phone call will be coming Oliveri’s way soon. But Oliveri does have several other projects lined up.
First up is a new EP from his band, Mondo Generator, titled “III: The EP.” For now the set is only available as an import via Cargo Germany. “It’s just something I wanted to get out to let people know that I wasn’t not doing anything. But again, it’s an import from Germany, so it’s not like it’s everywhere,” he says.
And what about that all-acoustic full-length first reported last year? “As far as ‘Demolition Day,’ I’m trying to get it out, but at the same time, I haven’t really been doing the ‘label thing,’ so putting it out myself is going to be kind of tough to do right now. I don’t have a deal right now, is what I’m saying,” he says with a laugh.
Oliveri will get to work on a new Mondo Generator full-length by the end of April, and a month later, the band will open a European tour for Scandinavian rock outfit Turbonegro. As if his plate wasn’t full enough, he recently sang the track “The Final Warning,” which is pegged for Turbonegro’s next release, and is in discussions with Amen leader Casey Chaos about collaborating on a new project, to be named Suicide Pact.
The artist says Homme recently gave him an advance copy of QOTSA’s new album, “Lullabies To Paralyze.” And what did he think? “It’s a good record,” he says. “I was hoping for more of the first record with this one. I know there’s growth, change and experimenting with music, so obviously I was caught off-guard a little bit. But I was hoping for something a little more guitar-heavy.”
