When it comes to music, John Lennon once said that you should write what you know and put a melody to it. Josh Homme and Jesse Hughes know sex and so voila, Eagles of Death Metal is formed. A fusion of sex and rock and the boys obvious admiration for Little Richard, James Brown and the real creators of the rebellion that is rock’n’roll music. Death by Sexy is the boys latest sexually charged rock’n’roll album, and the Eagles of Death Metal sure know how to die a wondrous death.
Jesse Hughes is walking around Palm Spring’s mall, the town Josh and he grew up in, talking about how you write music that shouts sex so vividly. “The thing is when your writing music, you should assume that people are going to know when you bullshit. You really have to be honest with what you’re writing about….in my opinion. I want it to feel sexy, that’s why I make music. My Moustache is a homage to sexy. To just wear a moustache that’s lame, but to own it like Tom Sellick, that’s tough. And then when you have a moustache you get to say stupid things like, my moustache rides for free.” And how do two guys from Palm Springs transfer that sexual energy to stage? “By wearing tight pants,” Jesse laughs. “I just want to shake my dick and have a good time.”
Eagles of Death Metal formed somewhere in between Joshua Hommes first band Queens of the Stone Age taking over the world. Now majority of the QOTSA guys tour with EODM throughout their live appearances, including – “big hands O’Connor, because he has the biggest fucking hands in rock’n’roll,” states Jesse. “We’re kind of like a gang [QOTSA and EODM], and Josh is the captain of our gang. We’re like a big family, we look out for each other when necessary.” And on how Jesse and Josh first met. “We were 13 and 14 years old,” says Jesse. ”I was at my very first party and I was getting my ass kicked by this player and Josh stepped in. Think about it, you’re at high school and you’re walking around with this fucking giant peering motherfucker you’ve ever seen. It was kind of like that movie ‘The Bodyguard’ from the 70’s”
Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll are all fun and games until someone goes to rehab. Having just recently been there done that, I ask Jesse of his experience with the serious side of partying hard. “I was getting a little out of control and my friends were like, “we love you, let’s try this.” I took it seriously though. I went to rehab in Malibu and it’s like a $50,000 a month, cappuccino, social place, where they make you better, you know,” says Jesse with a hint of sarcasm. “I’m a regular kind of guy, I mean you know. I want to live and I want to hang out and I want to have a good time.”
Soon to be back on the road, EODM have a lot of good times ahead of them. Including a run of shows with a woman that will shout sex into the face of your 90 year old grandmother, Jesse’s friend Peaches. “I love her, she’s the real deal, she’s a real rocker. She’ll walk out in a dress made of dildos,” says Jesse. “Not only isn’t she a fraud, she’s as serious as a heart attack and you can’t fuck with her music. I think it’s perfect for Eagles of Death Metal. It’s a match made in hell,” laughs Jesse.
Recently EODM have toured with those cool kids the Strokes. “Josh was familiar with Nick and about a month ago they asked us to go on tour with them. We immediately said yes. They are one of the greatest fucking rock bands in the world – we did Paris with them.” And do EODM plan on doing Australia soon? “YES! I’m not saying this cause you’re Australian and your probably totally hot. The truth of the matter is I actually love Australia. Australia has been really really good to us. I play only Australian made guitars,” states Jesse. “Australia to me is an exotic place like the desert and I live in the desert in Palm Springs. We might be coming for the Big Day Out.”
Alright! After that a slightly blushed interviewer straightens up and has to ask Mr J Devil Hughes, exactly why EODM think sex, death and rock music go so damn well together? “It’s kind of a symbolic theme. If you get to go someway, death by sexy is it. But there’s a spiritual aspect,” claims Jesse. “And metal, REAL metal, to us heavy make-up and a cookie monster voice is not death metal, that’s bullshit. That’s how we came up with the name, kind of poking fun at the death metal bands. Josh said, ‘This is not death metal, this is the fucking eagles of death metal.’ Little Richard, that mother fucker is sexy. He was actually so sexy and scary, they burnt his records in the 1950s and tried to ban rock’n’roll. That’s fucking out of control. That’s dangerous rock’n’roll, that’s death metal.”
The Eagles of Death Metal – Death By Sexy is out now on the red label.
