Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age believes that in order for musicians to be truly themselves in their work, they must be prepared to lose followers.
Artists like Paramore, Bring Me The Horizon, and Arctic Monkeys have experienced this in the past; they altered their sound, matured, and had to deal with a portion of their fan base repeatedly requesting “the old” version of them. Loyal fans won’t care, though, as Homme argues.
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.”