Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme revealed he had a near-death experience when he was a child.
Speaking to Stereogum on November 26, Homme was talking about the group’s experience performing in the Paris Catacombs for their recent concert film, Alive in the Catacombs. They are the first group allowed to perform in the catacombs where the remains of six million people are held.
Homme was asked by interviewer Rachel Brown when he learned about death. He revealed that he nearly died in a boating accident when he was 12. The incident occurred in Lake Ponderay, in Idaho, and he was thrown off the boat, fully clothed.
“I’ve had a couple near-death experiences,” he says.
“My first real death experience was almost dying myself, at like 12, almost drowning,” Homme began. “I got in a solo boating accident and got thrown from the boat, and had to swim this enormous distance, fully clothed, with a storm raining. It was a couple of miles in each direction.
He recalls being saved when “this guy pulled me by my hair and underwear.”
“He gave me the most enormous wedgie that I’ve ever known.”
Homme said the experience of almost dying left him determined to start doing something with his life.
“The afterglow of that, sort of radiating, and saying, ‘Oh, I’m not dead, and this is working out great.
“I remember thinking, ‘I’m just going to do what I want to do. I don’t think I should wait and just do what everyone else says.'”
Queens Of The Stone Age were the first band permitted to perform in the Paris Catacombs, a concert documented in the film and EP ‘Alive In The Catacombs.’Frontman Josh Homme recently met up with Stereogum’s death correspondent Rachel Brown to discuss the profound experience. pic.twitter.com/UJhhs0Vdp2November 26, 2025
It’s not the first time Homme has talked about death experiences. In 2011, he told the NME he died while his leg was being operated on.
"[In 2010] I had surgery on my leg, and there were complications and I died on the table,” he said. “I was in bed for three months.
In addition, the guitarist has had at least two health scares, including a rare form of cancer in 2022. Although he didn’t specify the type of cancer, he said he had successful surgery to remove it and spent a year recuperating.
Homme subsequently had emergency surgery in 2024 while his band was on the European leg of its The End Is Nero World Tour. He didn’t specify the nature of the medical emergency but canceled the remainder of all shows in 2024 for “essential medical care.”
Queens of the Stone Age wrapped up that tour last August. They announced last month they’ll support the Foo Fighters on their Take Cover Tour in August 2026, as well as open for System of a Down in Europe next summer.
Homme — who plays a range of electric and acoustic guitars and has a signature model, the Maton BB1200 JH — recently had a chance to play George Harrison’s Rosewood Fender Telecaster, which the former Beatle used in the making of Let It Be. The experience left Homme grasping for words.
“Seriously, I think I have to stop playing these things,” he said. “I’ll tell you, some things you are supposed to touch, and some things you are never supposed to touch.”
