Josh Homme (QOTSA frontman) explains why Nick Oliveri was sacked

Interviewed live on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show last night (Wednesday 6th July), Josh Homme finally delivered an answer to the army of Queens Of The Stone Age fans demanding to know why wild guitarist Nick Oliveri was sacked last year: Nick had been beating his girlfriend.

Josh decided this was the final straw. Until now, rumours abounded that Nick was just too much of a party animal, that he was a heroin addict, or that he had got sacked for throwing bottles at crowds in packed venues during their sellout gigs.

As I will be pointing out on a great site for rock music, I find the reaction to this news - that it's a 'shock revelation' - pretty surprising. After all, we rock music lovers tolerate all sorts of affronts to the law, encourage them too - especially the use of drugs. From the moment we willingly, knowingly place ourselves above the law in one place, why should examples of the line being crossed in other places surprise us?

And it's not like us rock fans are strangers to mental instability and the violence it causes, either! We value songs about suicidal tendencies; so is it right for us to be so surprised when someone loses their nut and beats their partner?