Teaming up with famed pop and dance producer Mark Ronson, the keyboard and dance-beat heavy record marks a departure for the hard guitar driven sound the band is known for. While Queens of the Stone Age are no stranger to style shifts and musical experimentation, the style and vibe of Villains marks a complete turnaround from not only the darker sound of their previous effort, 2013’s …Like Clockwork, but also reflects a triumph over the personal turmoil and injuries surrounding the production of their last album.
In the lead up to the release, we chatted to guitarist/keyboardist Dean Fertita on how the band approached the sound and style of the new record, his role in the band’s evolution and their ongoing musical chemistry and progression.
Discussing the method of reflecting the band’s personal lives into the music, particularly frontman Josh Homme’s debilitating health issues in 2010, Fertita takes a simple yet confident perspective of moving forward. “We’re just a bunch of people in the room trying to do the right thing for the song. It’s was a dark time making our last record, so this time we wanted to try and do the complete opposite vibe on it.”
When the band made the unexpected announcement that the new record would feature a much more upbeat and dance-focused sound, allegedly inspired by Josh Homme’s newfound love for dancing, fans were understandably concerned about such a potentially radical change in sound. “We knew that there was going to be a perception of what Mark Ronson would bring to this project, but we’re fans of each other and we had a lot of faith. He knew how to let us be us and to reel us in when we needed to be. We both had things to lose but we both had a lot to gain.”
While Queens of the Stone Age has primarily been a heavy guitar driven band originating in the ‘90s Californian desert rock scene, the addition of Fertita as a multi-instrumentalist in 2007 brought new opportunities for the band’s sound to evolve. “There’s never really been a rule book with it. Part of the fun is trying to redefine our sound as a band. Mark brought in a million synthesizers so we had a lot of fun with that.
“I still approach keyboards like I do guitar. It’s a fun instrument to try and get the most out of. I’m not really traditionally a keyboard player, but it’s fun to try and realign your mind with what you play, especially when taking the band’s sound and adding something new to it. The more time we spend, the more trust we have with each other musically. I try and be in a supporting role to whatever Josh is trying to do. That’s what I’ve always felt my job was,” Fertita says.
“The more you spend time together touring and writing, you always try and challenge yourselves and try and reach out a bit more, so it always changes and evolves over time. It’s so hard for me to tell how things have really changed over the years since you don’t really fully notice everything as it happens when you’re in it. I’ve always thought that you can’t really tell what it really is until you’ve had time to look back on it. We’re trying to make the most truthful representation of where we’re at at the moment. That’s all this record is, just how we were feeling in those particular few months when we were writing and recording it.”
As the only original member and core songwriter and bandleader, frontman Josh Homme has become known for being a strong personality, often resulting in conflict and stress with other band members and musicians. While teaming up Homme with pop producer Mark Ronson could have resulted in simply having too much personality in one room, Fertita feels the recording process wasn’t at all hampered by including another big name involved so closely. “I’ve never really felt like it was that heavy of a thing having them together. It was just a bunch of people in the room trying to get the most of out of the song.
“I think everyone in the band has the same mindset which I think makes it pretty effortless in the recording situation. There are egos there but nobody’s trying to do their own agenda. It’s never been difficult in that regard for us. The song tells you what to do and we take it from there.”
