In 1987, when he was 14 years old, Homme formed a punk rock-influenced heavy metal band with schoolmates John Garcia and Brant Bjork in Palm Desert called Katzenjammer; he was the band's Guitarist. After changing their name a few times, first to Sons of Kyuss (they released an EP of the same name), they finally shortened it to Kyuss. The band garnered a cult following by the early 1990s, often driving for hours to isolated locations in the desert and plugging into generators to perform. These events, known as "generator parties", became urban legend among rock subculture. The band became both famous for their heavy, down tuned, groove oriented music, and infamous for their backstage fights with local LA bands when they traveled into town to play gigs. This soon brought the attention of Chris Goss, who became the band's mentor, helping the band sign to a label and producing them exclusively in an effort to preserve their sound. Due to Homme being younger than 18 at the time of the band's signing, his parents had to sign on his behalf. Kyuss released three major label albums, Blues for the Red Sun, Welcome to Sky Valley, and ...And the Circus Leaves Town, all of which are often cited as cornerstones to the development of the stoner rock genre in the 1990s. Kyuss partially reformed in 2010 (now known as Vista Chino), but Homme opted out of the reunion.