Queens Of The Stone Age: Auckland Invasion

If you’re a fan of Queens Of The Stone Age, there’s plenty to get excited about lately. The band is in Auckland Monday night for a show at the Logan Campbell Centre. Earlier in the day, they will be at Real Groovy Records for a press conference and a signing session. Also, Liberation Records has three Queens-rated releases happening.

The first is a re-issue of the first Queens Of The Stone Age album, their self-titled debut, originally released in 1998. Because it was independently-released, it’s been widely unavailable since then. The new, reissued version has three additional tracks.

Click here to listen to Regular John, the first track on the first Queens Of The Stone Age album:

Josh Homme has launched his own label called Rekords Rekords which is how the first QOTSA album has been revived. Two other albums have just been released here in New Zealand.

Current Queens’ bass player Michael Shuman has teamed up with two other musicians to form Mini Mansions. Their 12-track album is full of groovy psychedelic-power pop…not what you’d expect from the bass player from QOTSA. Tracks like Crime Of The Season and The Room Outside recall The Beatles and Pink Floyd at their most trippy. Josh Homme helps out by mixing three of the tracks.

Click here to listen to Crime Of The Season:

Also just released here is Alain Johannes’ Spark. Guitarist Johannes toured with both the Queens and Them Crooked Vultures as well as fronted his own band, Eleven, with his now-deceased wife Natasha Scheider. Spark was recorded just after her death. Again, it’s not what you’d expect from a Queens’ alumni. Johannes has a deep, powerful voice, not unlike Chris Cornell or Eddie Vedder, but the instrumentation on Spark is all stringed instruments, with a bit of percussion. Johannes plays everything you hear including Fretless E-Bow guitar, Harmonium, ContraBass, Cello, 12-String and something called Cigfiddle.

Click here to listen to Speechless from Spark:

Check in to the 13^th Floor later for reports from the QOTSA press conference and a review of their Auckland show.