Kyuss Lives No More: The Battle That Ended A Band

Former Kyuss drummer Brant Bjork has opened up to theMusic.com.au over the future of Kyuss Lives! following the bitter legal battle over the name and member changes.

In a tumultuous 12 months for the reborn version of the stoner-rock pioneers, ex-Kyuss band members Josh Homme and Scott Reeder – who are not part of Kyuss Lives! – filed a lawsuit against John Garcia and Brant Bjork over the usage of the name, the ruling of which was cloudy, but essentially allowed the use of the name Kyuss Lives! live, but not for recordings. Earlier this month Bjork and Garcia put an end to the legal stoush by changing their band's name to Vista Chino, with the band's upcoming Soundwave appearances to be the last under the Kyuss Lives! moniker.

Speaking to theMusic.com.au's Kris Swales ahead of those shows, Bjork – who didn't mention Homme or Reeder by name during the interview – said that he couldn't see the opposing parties burying the hatchet anytime soon.

“Today we're just not on the same page –maybe we can get on the same page somewhere down the road. I don't think it's going to be tomorrow or next week,” he said. “But, you know, I can't worry about them worrying! I'm very happy with my life and very content with my work, very proud of what we're doing and what we aim to do. You're just not going to be able to always stoke everybody out, you know?”

He continued, “It is a bit of a bummer but sometime I have to separate myself and my experience with the band from the fans and what they need and want. Kyuss is my life, a very big part of my life, and I've had my own individual experience with it. It's a bit of a mystery for a lot of people – most people – I've never felt the need to come out and speak of the unfortunate underlying history, reality of the band.

“But I was the first to be aware of the magic and the beauty of this band, and was the first to be really upset when it wasn't going to move forward as a harmonious unit. For better or worse, this last year was just a time when I made a conscious decision to openly give facts on why certain things are happening and why certain things happened.”

A new Vista Chino album is in the works, with April touted as a possible release date, but the focus is on saying farewell to the Kyuss Lives! name at Soundwave. They won't be marking the occasion by playing an album in full, though.

“No I don't think we're going to single out any particular record, although that would be very interesting,” Bjork admitted. “I think we've always had a respect for the entire catalogue, even the songs that Nick [Oliveri] or myself didn't actually perform on the records, but we look at Kyuss as a whole and we like all the music and we think it's important for the fans to experience all the music live. So we'll just do what we've always done which is kind of celebrate the whole catalogue – and I think we're going to play some new stuff too, man.”

Oliveri – who will be playing on the new Queens Of The Stone Age record with Homme – is back with the band after leaving amidst the legal drama.

“Nick's always been a bit of a wild card,” Bjork admitted, “and he'll be the first to tell you that. But this band is his home, and sometimes he's gotta leave home but if he wants to come back and get his old room back then he's welcome back. He seems to be back now and he's excited and he's on the new record and he loves the material and he's excited as any of us to get out there and start touring it, so we're a happy family once again.”

The full interview will be published soon.