Kyuss Lives! respond to lawsuit in "Rolling Stone"

Last September I interviewed vocalist John Garcia about the Kyuss Lives! reunion prior to the band playing Asheville two days after my husband's birthday (super present, super show). The band featured original members Garcia and drummer Brant Bjork along with sometime bassist Nick Oliveri and new guitarist Bruno Fevery. Longtime Kyuss fans like my husband, his bandmates, and their friends were beside themselves heaping on the superlatives after the show which many dubbed concert of the year (although my husband still sticks with Sade as his top pick).

In the interview Garcia seemed ecstatic about the reception and the reunion. You could see that on stage. He talked about the group working on new material, supporting Oliveri through his legal problems, and the amicable situation with fellow founding guitarist Josh Homme who surpassed his Kyuss fame as leader of Queens of the Stone Age.

Then in March, Homme and another former Kyuss bassist, Scott Reeder, filed a lawsuit against Garcia and Bjork (Oliveri eventually dropped out of the band) alleging "trademark infringement and consumer fraud." In a press release they stated that Kyuss Lives! had "filed federal documents in 2011 in an attempt to steal the name Kyuss."

Aside from a statement in March saying they were "shocked and saddened" by the suit, Garcia and Bjork have remained pretty quiet until yesterday when "Rolling Stone" published an interview with both band members. You can read it here.

As a music fan I try not to let band drama get in the way of enjoying music. I saw Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss Lives! at the same venue in Asheville last year. Both were great. No matter which side you come down on the interview and some of the reader comments are pretty interesting.