In an interview with Goetia Media, bassist Nick Oliveri shared his thoughts on former bandmates Josh Homme and Scott Reeder. He added that they stopped him and Brant Bjork from using the name Kyuss to continue making music for their fans.
Even though Kyuss had a more significant impact than many other bands, their tenure lasted for a short time. The bandmates released their debut album ‘Wretch’ in 1991 and followed up with ‘Blues for a Red Sun.’ After their sequel was released, Nick Oliveri left, and two years later, the band called it quits.
After many years, Oliveri and Bjork, who had come together and formed Stöner, wanted to hit the road in 2010 under the name Kyuss Lives! However, they were met with legal action from their former bandmates. The members had to record and tour under Vista Chino because they couldn’t get Homme and Reeder to budge on their decisions.
The bassist recently shared that the fans wanted them to play and continue the Kyuss name; however, neither Bjork nor himself owned the band’s name. The other remaining members had registered the name before the band officially disbanded. Oliveri said he didn’t understand why they would want to own the name if they wanted to destroy it.
Oliveri stressed that he couldn’t grasp why the former members wanted to prevent them from using the name and playing the songs as close to the original versions as possible. He finally said that they owe it to the fans who supported them but ultimately, it didn’t happen.
Nick Oliveri’s words about not being able to use Kyuss as the band’s name:
“The fans wanted us to play. I wish we were able to play. But I don’t have any ownership or stake in the name. Bjork came up with the name; he didn’t have ownership of it. He left the band at one point. The existing members registered the name. So it’s just as simple as that.
I feel a lot of different ways about it. Why do you want to own the name if you want to kill the band? Let us run with it and have a good time. We’re playing the songs with all respect to the music and as close to it as we can. And the fans, we owe it to them.”
You can watch the interview below.
