In the 27 years that Queens have been a band since forming in Seattle in 1996, the group has counted some of the biggest players in rock as contributing members, including the late Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees and Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters. The band's longest-running and current lineup consists of founder and vocalist Josh Homme, guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, bassist Michael Shuman, keyboardist Dean Ferita and drummer Jon Theodore.
Along with The Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age is one of the last arena rock bands. Since their inception, the group has released eight studio albums, three live albums and 20 music videos to date, all through both major and independent labels. Regarding the longevity, strength and consistency of the band's career, longtime bassist Michael Shuman equates the groups success to their authenticity and persistence.
“I’m not sure what the recipe has been for us that worked out so well,” says Shuman. “We’ve stayed true to ourselves and to the music we love, never following a trend. People connect with the authenticity and the realness. It’s been a slow and steady trajectory, which is how we like it.”
Shuman joined the band in 2007 as a touring musician before becoming a full-on contributing member of Queens. His former band, Mini Mansions, based in Los Angeles, has ties to Dallas, having previously worked on an album for Capital Records with the Dallas-based, Grammy-winning producer and The Paperchase singer, John Congleton.
In June 2023, to much anticipation, Queens released their latest LP, In Times New Roman… on Matador Records, featuring singles, ‘Emotion Sickness”, “Carnavoyer” and “Paper Machete.” The album was recorded and mixed in California, at the famous Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, and was finished at Hommes’ now-defunct Pink Duck Studios in Burbank. Although all the music for the album was created and finished over two years before it was released, it was stalled when the time came to record the vocal tracks. Queens weathered major life events during this period including a cancer scare and the loss of bandmember and friend Mark Lanegan, among others.
After things became more manageable, Hommes called Shuman and invited him to Pink Duck to work 35 days in a row to write, record, mix and finish Hommes’ vocal tracks to the new record.
“It’s been a tough one,” says Shuman. “There’s been endless hurdles and obstacles with making this album, but then, we got out of it a way deeper understanding and bond between the five of us that we thought that we already had before. That became enriched, so this record has made touring together and playing together more fun, and the band bigger than it’s ever been.”
As far as the writing process for In Times New Roman… although Homme sits firmly as the leader of Queens of the Stone Age, he understands and appreciates the artistic merits each project member brings into the mix, opening the writing process to their opinions and musical contributions.
“In general, there are no rules or a certain process when it comes to writing,” Shuman says. “Everyone brings everything they’ve got, and everything is welcome. In this record there is stuff we all wrote together jamming, and then stuff Josh brought in demos. He likes to leave things open for us to add to and put our own stamp on it. We feel very secure in knowing each other’s strengths.”
Simply put, Hommes respects his band members as humans and fellow artists. This may be part of the reason Queens has been able to steadily build a career on the upward trajectory, regardless of cultural trends or the major shift rock has undergone since dominating the mainstream of the '90s. As many career rock bands now find themselves back playing at the clubs where they once started and opening for bands that opened for them decades ago, Queens has successfully maintained its status by evolving artistically from album to album — its members pivoting and minting themselves as one of the only relevant modern stadium rock bands of this era.
“There is a level of professionalism we all have, Josh being our leader.” Shuman says. “It’s not by chance we are all in this band. It’s all well thought out. Josh was looking for something, certain people to fulfill certain roles that support each other. On tour, we hang out all day. We go on vacations together after tours. Not all bands have that.”
In 2023, music fans are hard-pressed to find that level of commitment and success in a rock band. As electronic music, country, K-pop, hip-hop and pop music have come to dominate the charts over the past decade and a half, Shuman considers authenticity the best weapon for rock 'n’ roll. He also hates the term “rock star.”
“I would never consider myself that,” Shuman says. “I fucking hate that term and that’s what makes rock 'n’ roll seem so cheesy and in a lot of ways that term makes rock dead. I started off with punk. It’s the ethos behind it and how you live it, not if you have a mohawk and tattoo. Just because you wear a leather jacket doesn’t mean you’re a rock guy.”
"Just because you wear a leather jacket doesn’t mean you’re a rock guy.” – Michael Shuman
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As for the future of the music industry and especially musicians on major record labels, Shuman has mixed feelings. The band’s In Times New Roman… was the final record of a trilogy released on independent label Matador Records after they had released four records for major label Interscope Records, starting with the 2002 classic Songs for the Deaf.
“It’s been a real pleasure being on an indie label,” Shuman says, “They give us freedom, have confidence in us and will back any crazy marketing idea we have. With Mini Mansions, Capitol dumped a bunch of money into it until the first week the album came out. Major record labels make their money on pop artists and gamble on small artists. They don’t give a fuck about actually developing artists, and now it’s all just based off of TikTok numbers.”
Shuman is puzzled when considering what young artists need to think about when looking for success in the music industry.
“I don’t know how to comment to a lot of young artists because it’s a different world now,” he says. “We’re lucky that we have the fanbase to do what we do. The best advice is to just make music you believe in, because I don’t think it will happen again. I don’t think there will be legacy bands in 20 years. I’m not saying there won’t be success, a band like Suede can play 1,500 to 2,000-capacity venues and still make a living, but some of the last ones will probably be Royal Blood.”
Although this may be the case for the current state of rock music, Shuman finds hope for the future of music in some of the career models perpetuated by modern-day pop artists such as David Bowie and Billie Eilish.
“Bowie is a shining example of how to do it and take risks, constantly reinventing himself,” Shuman says. “I wish more people would take the Bowie approach. That’s why I like Billie Eilish, because she is herself and now all the majors are looking to replicate that, but they can’t. You can’t replicate that kind of authenticity.”
As Queens of the Stone Age embark on part two of The Time is Nero world tour, all five musicians are in a good place, happy to be playing music together again and excited to share the new material with their fans. Throughout the band’s 27-year-long career with Homme in the driver’s seat, it’s been mutual respect, friendships and authenticity that have forged Queens into one of the last legacy rock bands of this generation. Shuman and the rest of Queens owe it to the fans for recognizing the authenticity of their art.
“I think that our fans are no dummies,” Shuman says.
