On July 12, 2011, neighbours in East Hollywood heard an argument coming from a duplex on Hobart Boulevard. Someone called the police.
By the end of the night, the front door of that home would be breached by a police robot, a SWAT team would spend hours surrounding the property, and then-39 year-old Nick Oliveri –former bassist and co-vocalist of Queens of the Stone Age – would be taken into custody after a five-hour standoff with the LAPD.
According to law enforcement accounts, the confrontation began the previous day, when Oliveri allegedly had a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend. When she returned on July 12 to collect her belongings and move out, another dispute followed. Police alleged that Oliveri locked them both inside the residence. Neighbours alerted authorities to a loud argument coming from the bassist’s duplex and when police arrived, he allegedly refused to open the door or to allow anyone to leave.
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As a potential hostage situation unfolded, a SWAT team was called in. Negotiations stretched into the evening and roughly two hours after the standoff began, police said Oliveri allowed the woman to exit the house. A few hours later, Oliveri surrendered without further incident. He was arrested at approximately 10:30 p.m.
When officers searched the home, police reported finding a fully loaded rifle. Subsequent reports said narcotics were also discovered inside the property. Oliveri was booked on felony domestic violence charges and bail was set at $100,000.
The image was stark and unsettling: a rock musician barricaded inside his own home, police surrounding the home and a loaded firearm inside, elevating the stakes to life-or-death.
At their peak, Queens of the Stone Age were among the most distinctive heavy bands of their era – groove-driven, confrontational, and uncomfortably charismatic. Oliveri was central to that identity. His bass playing was punishing, his screamed vocals unhinged, and his stage presence volatile enough to feel both thrilling and threatening in equal measure.
That volatility eventually became untenable.
Queens Of The Stone Age – No One Knows (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Oliveri was fired from Queens of the Stone Age in early 2004. At the time, frontman Josh Homme cited Oliveri’s increasingly erratic on-tour behaviour and disrespect toward fans. There were also rumours that allegations of domestic violence played a role. Homme later said, “If I ever find out that this is true, I can’t know you, man…”
Years later, Oliveri conceded, “It took me six years to figure it out, but you know what? I would have axed me too.”
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In later interviews, Oliveri described the standoff as rooted in paranoia rather than aggression. He said he was scared and didn’t want to answer the door. When police asked whether there were firearms in the house, he admitted that there were rifles left to him by his father.
You know what? I would have axed me too
Nick Oliveri
That disclosure, he said, immediately escalated the situation. “Guns in the house automatically means it becomes a hostage situation,” he explained, insisting he was not threatening anyone and that the incident was “blown up in the press.”
But the key facts were not in dispute. He refused to open the door. The weapon was loaded. Police escalated. The moment that lingered most vividly came from Oliveri himself, describing a robot coming through the door, “with headbeam eyes like RoboCop.”
Oliveri’s charges included domestic violence, resisting police, and possession of cocaine, methamphetamines and a fully loaded rifle – charges that carried a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years. In 2012, Oliveri reached a plea agreement in which six felony counts were dismissed and he pleaded guilty to a single charge of cocaine possession. He was sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to complete 52 weeks of anger management and 200 hours of community service.
Queens of the Stone Age with Nick Oliveri Live Halloween 2014 – YouTube
While the court case closed, the fallout did not recede with it. The incident remains fixed in Oliveri’s public narrative, a reference point that continues to frame his career. Growth is possible, but reputations – especially those forged in controversy – do not reset easily.
Oliveri later acknowledged that his behaviour had taken a toll on both his career and his personal relationships. “I’ve had my problems with anger… I’m an angry individual,” adding that he had “lost a lot of things in my life because of that. Overreacting and getting dramatic about things.”
I’ve had my problems with anger… I’m an angry individual
Nick Oliveri
In the years that followed, Oliveri and Homme cautiously re-established contact. In 2013, Oliveri invited Homme to guest on a Mondo Generator track; Homme later involved Oliveri in sessions for …Like Clockwork. In April 2014, Oliveri joined Queens of the Stone Age onstage in Portland to sing You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire, sealing the moment with a brief, emotional embrace. It was a truce, not a return.
By 2022, Oliveri spoke about Homme without rancour. “It took some time to heal,” he said, noting that while they no longer made music together, they remained friends.
In hindsight, the standoff was not an aberration but an inevitable outcome; one that stands as a reminder that volatility carries real costs, and that artistic legacy offers no insulation from accountability.