Bassist Quits Kyuss Lives!
Nick Olivieri walks away from the band
Speaking to Antiquiet in an exclusive interview, Oliveri stated about his decision to leave Kyuss Lives!, "John's idea, when I was first asked to be a part of Kyuss Lives!, was we were going to do a tour and promote our solo bands. Seeing John do it already with Garcia Plays Kyuss at such a big level, we thought, 'Wow, man, we could actually reach some people with our solo stuff in a very honest way and play the tunes that we have mad respect for and love as well. Basically, at the end of the day, that's what I'm doing. I'm gonna bow out and do Mondo Generator, because that's what we were supposed to be doing originally."
He added, "To me, you can make money doing whatever you wanna do, but it isn't about that at the end of the day. To be in KYUSS, if I'm not having a good time, it's like... When I was a kid, I had a great time doing it. It sucked being out of it. I don't wanna be fired from any band... again. I figure to walk away with my head up high and do my own thing is a respectable thing, and I think I need to do that."
Commenting on former Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme's decision to file a federal lawsuit against Garcia and Bjork alleging "trademark infringement and consumer fraud" over the use of the Kyuss name, Oliveri said, "When people sue each other, it guarantees that a band will never be together. It just guarantees that those people will never play in the same room together again." He added, "I am friends with both sides, and I also disagree with both sides at the same time, so it's a real weird place I'm in."