Oliveri wrote song for SWAT cops

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By ( Louder ) published

Former QOTSA bassist recalls raid team were “very nice to me when they didn’t have to be”

Former Queens Of The Stone Age and Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri wrote his song The Robot Man as a tribute to the SWAT team who raided his home in 2011.

And he’s recalled how the officers involved in the armed stand-off played fair by him following a domestic dispute that led to an armed stand-off.

He’d locked his girlfriend in the house with him, leading to the arrival of specialist cops, who eventually broke the door down and discovered drugs and a loaded rifle.

Oliveri tells Antiquiet: “I’m actually going to give that song to the Hollywood Police Station. They were all very nice to me – actually worried about my wellbeing, and they didn’t have to be. I had a robot break down my door, so I wrote The Robot Man. Phil Campbell from Motorhead plays lead on it, which really makes the song something else.”

But the experience didn’t change his opinion of the police in general. He explains: “I still feel like I don’t need them in my home. It’s not a place for them. Sometimes the police are dicks to you, sometimes not, so I can’t say shit like, ‘All policemen are assholes.’

He adds: “I’m against the things they stand for, but I can’t say they’re bad people. I won’t go for coffee and donuts with them.”

The Robot Man appears on Oliveri’s recent solo album Leave Me Alone, launched last month via Schnitzel Records. After reuniting with QOTSA for a one-off show in LA, he’ll play three solo UK show in November:

Nov 04: London Underworld

Nov 05: Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach

Nov 06: St Albans The Horn