I had the rare treat of seeing Them Crooked Vultures play at The Hordern Pavillion in Sydney last night and I have to say that, aside from being a really powerful, spectacular live experience ( and a great album) there’s a lot to learn about creativity in this project. For those that don’t know, the constituent parts are the singer/lead guitarist from Queens of the Stone Age, the drummer from Nirvana and the Bassist from Led Zeppelin. They call it a “Supergroup” and with parts like that, you can guess that the sum is much greater.
But I was reading in Rolling Stone how the project came together and fruition, and it’s a really insightful example of how the creative process works, and should work. Here are some of the observations that I pulled out from what they said that are worth hanging onto:
• Mutual respect. OK, in this circumstance its not hard, but each member of the band is in mutual awe of the others and learns from each of them. Obviously the younger two struggle to believe they on stage with John Paul Jones, the Bass guitar player from Led Zeppelin – arguably the best band in the history of rock and roll. But he too is learning from and admiring his younger team mates. Clearly he thought his playing days were through, and he says at one point that he thought he couldn’t find anyone he wanted to play with. When you played with the best, where do you go I guess? But the way each of them puts them selves behind the other members of the band is palpable. There was a moment on stage when JPJ had finished a solo and Josh Homme of of QOTSA just paused, looking at him and said to the crown, “John Paul Fucking Jones everyone” and the crowd erupted. Equally, the drummer Dave Grohl admitted that he just kept looking up from the drum kit excited by his colleagues playing. They are musicians and each other’s fans at the same time. This kind of mutual respect is essential in getting a great outcome.
• Not being judgemental. All three of them stress the old cliché about ‘no idea is a bad idea’ was key throughout the writing phase. They just started jamming and found they automatically clicked because their thinking was in the right place, They weren’t influenced by their own agenda, what they wanted to get out of the project individually or by how it might look for their career overall. They seem to have always been entirely focussed on the outcome. Coming together to reach the best possible outcome must be about the group and idea, not about the individual – otherwise a project will fail. You can tell as well that on stage, their individual brilliance and professionalism made playing together very easy. While most bands have played together for years before they make it big, these guys just clicked and succeeded in an instant. That’s pretty awesome to observe.
• Creative fidelity. The band was always focussed on the creative outcome, not the financial or professionalism implications of their success. At one point in the interview, JPJ says, “I didn’t need the work, but I needed the play.” Thoughts of what it might sound like to others, whether it would sell, how it would make them appear career-wise seems to have been so far from their minds collectively. Being true to what emerged from their collective ideas and creative construction was what focussed them. As a result, the music they have created is amazing to listen to on your iPod, but live – I don’t think I’ve ever been blown away quite so much as that.
I also think that for JPJ it’s a fascinating lesson in growing old. He doesn’t need the money and he doesn’t need to ‘stay in the public eye’ or ‘maintain his credibility’. He just didn’t need to do it, you have to think at his age after what he’s been part of, he’d done it all. But he;s learning from these much younger professionals and is playing better in some ways he says than ever before. It would be nice for us all to be able to say that at his age.
If you get a chance to see them, its worth it. For these reasons its as much a great humanity experience as a musical one.