Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal
by Bill DeVille and Jesse Hughes
September 10, 2015
Jesse Hughes is the frontman of Eagles of Death Metal. Although he didn't originally plan to be a rock musician, he was encouraged to pursue music by his friend since high school, Queen of the Stone Age's Josh Homme. Hughes has come around to the profession. "This is the coolest job in the world," he says.
In town for a show at the Varsity Theater, Hughes stopped in for a chat with The Current's Bill DeVille.
Hughes lives in Southern California, residing alternately between Palm Springs and Los Angeles. "No one's from L.A., and everyone's there for fame, so probably not the best, most noble reason," Hughes explains, "so probably best to get out of town."
In the course of the interview, Hughes describes his transition into making music, his hopes for producing, and his work making the Eagles of Death Metal's upcoming album, Zipper Down, with Homme in L.A. Here are some interview highlights:
On playing Coachella:
"It's a hometown gig. … The walk from the backstage to the front of the stage was [lined by] every bully that ever picked on me just going, 'High five!' It was very surreal. I almost wanted to give them my lunch money — 'Here, take it' — but, whatever, those days are gone."
On making music with his longtime friend, Josh Homme:
"The best fun I've ever had in my life is always with Joshua."
On his approach to making music:
"I believe rock 'n' roll is like milk: It's nothing new, but it's only good when it's fresh. We were just trying to make fresh milk."
On dancing:
"I learned to dance when I was a little kid. When my mother was having a bad day, she'd put on Dancing Queen by Abba or Dave Mason's Alone Together. … She would let me stand on her feet and dance me around the room. That's where I learned to dance, so it was really the ability to be in no way conscious of yourself, because dancing, you're supposed to look stupid … It's supposed to be fun, you're not supposed to take yourself seriously in my opinion."
Zipper Down by Eagles of Death Metal releases Oct. 2, 2015, on T-Boy Records.
See below for portraits from Jesse Hughes's photo session with Nate Ryan.
