MUSIC INTERVIEW: MASTODON

Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor Crack the Top Ten & Tuck into a Taco in the Name of Metal

The members of modern metal masters Mastodon formed after a chance meeting at an Atlanta, Georgia High on Fire concert back in 1999. In the twelve years since, Brent Hinds, Troy Sanders, Bill Kelliher, and Brann Dailor have recorded album after album that have set the standard for melodic hard rock and propelled them to deserved levels of greater and greater success. This September, their fifth studio album, The Hunter, became the first Mastodon album to debut in the upper reaches of both the US and UK charts. Earlier this week, Troy and Brann sat down with Buzzine’s Stefan Goldby on both the eve of the Mastodon US tour and a very appropriate day to talk about their latest music video…

 

Stefan Goldby: As we are actually here in LA on Halloween, that timing means there is really only one place to begin our chat: Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the song and horror-themed music video for The Hunter’s latest single, “Curl of the Burl”?

 

Brann Dailor: The idea behind the song… It was a quick song that came together in about 15-20 minutes down at the practice space. I think Brent [Hinds] just plugged his guitar in and started tuning, and then I heard a little something and I said, “Hey, what’s that?” and he said, “Nothing: I’m just tuning...” And then we figured it out and put it together and recorded it.

 

“Curl of the burl” is something I heard a young man say on a television show called Intervention, where he was this logger up in the Pacific Northwest and he was also addicted to methamphetamines and would go out in the woods and look for burls in trees, which furniture makers… or the veneers in a luxury automobile might have this really interesting, ornate pattern in the wood veneers that you see inside the vehicles. So if you see these giant, kind of cancerous growths on these trees that either have cancer or have gone through a stressful period in their tree life, that can equate to lots of money… for a meth-head. So “Curl of the Burl”: The swirl of the curl of the burl – that’s what you’re looking for.

 

SG: Because meth and chainsaws are things that really need to go together…

BD: Meth and chainsaws! So it shoehorned into the video idea where I want this meth-head to be out there, and I want him to snort some sawdust and kind of freak out, and then find some mushrooms and smoke those, and then become Paul Bunyan and smash the sun with a tree… and then have the trees turn into these women that start to seduce him and turn him into a pile of firewood… and then use their breasts to shoot laser beams out and burn him.

 

SG: So the whole thing is really just a really elaborate joke about getting wood?

 

Troy Sanders: Yeah, very basic storyline. Very basic video treatment.

 

BD: Yeah… just standard practices…

 

SG: So with The Hunter, wood is actually a loose motif throughout the album, but that is far less rigid of a structure than your albums in the past. Did that dramatically change the band’s approach to actually making a record?

 

TS: Yeah. Approaching the music for The Hunter, we had shed the idea of doing a thematic or linear conceptual album, so it really opened up the floodgates for any type of riff or any type of lyrical content that kind of hit us at the moment while at the practice space.

 

BD: It was fun.

 

TS: Brann would have a riff and it didn’t quite sound like normal Mastodon, but it’s like, “Hey, that’s okay. Let’s travel that avenue…”

 

BD: …to get to name a song “Bedazzled Fingernails” and be totally okay with it is something that we found refreshing… [smiles] It was just a lot of fun to make the record because the heavy, or sometimes lofty, ambitious stories were gone and we were free to do whatever we wanted.

 

When we were making previous Mastodon records, we reveled in the stress of putting it all together, but when it came time to make this one, there was so much stress happening outside the band with certain band members and things that were going on in people’s personal lives, that we really wanted the practice space where we were making music to be the least stressful place…

 

As opposed to, in the past that being a really stressful place to go and be down there and really try to shoehorn this 14-minute mathematical equation into this simple pop-rock song. This time we sort of let things be where they lay, and we put riffs together and put song ideas together, and instead of the previous selves being like, “It’s too simple. We need to make it more complex,” we didn’t need to find a way to make it harder to play. We just said, “Hey, it’s done. Cool. Move on.”

 

SG: We thought we were having a very random day today. We spent lunchtime with a lovely singer-songwriter from New Zealand before we came here, but it turned out that it wasn’t random at all because producer Mike Elizondo is the (somewhat unlikely) musical link between Kimbra and Mastodon. What did he bring to this record? What did he do to make that safe space you all needed?

 

BD: He was calm, cool, and collected.

 

TS: Yeah, that Mike Elizondo, he’s a nice man. He’s a handsome character.

 

BD: He got us to do his bidding.

 

TS: In my opinion, he really approached each of us as individuals in what we wanted with our own sounds and our own approach and our own tones, and our own instruments that we wanted to attack with. And I think he made each of us very happy on an individual level, and then had the band collectively speak of the overall sonic sound and quality and balance, and everything that goes into the actual mixing and producing of the sound of an album. So I think he really made all four of us happy, individually, as well as collectively as a band. That’s really tough to do. And obviously his ears are very smart and talented, so…

 

BD: Yeah, because he likes us… so he’s got good taste. [Laughs]

 

TS: Yeah, so he’s either messed up or he’s really smart: I don’t know which one. But he was very efficient with his time in the studio, and he was a breeze to work with, and I’m really glad that we did. Looking back, a lot of people have said, “Wow, that’s such a mismatch -- the Mastodon record producer is this guy and your band is like this…” but as soon as we befriended him on a personal level, and then we collaborated our ideas for all of the technical side of it, they just aligned right away. And we never looked for anyone else. It just made perfect sense, and looking back, I don’t think we could have made a better choice.

 

SG: From the way you just described him, it’s nice you got to work with him before he became the next US president as well, as the great unifier of factions – today’s world needs that…

 

TS: Yeah, but you want to know the real deal of why we started working with Mike Elizondo? Should we tell him?

 

BD: Tacos?

 

TS: Tacos. Should we talk about that?

 

BD: He flew to Atlanta and bought us tacos, so we said, “You have the job.”

 

TS: It was that easy. But we won’t talk about that because we like to make it all elaborate. “Oh, we got along great!”

 

BD: [quietly] We just talked about it…

 

TS: Yes, you can edit that how you like.

 

BD: You just talked about it, and then you said we can’t talk about that.

 

TS: Well I like to throw a curveball in there. I’m a professional baseball player in my second life…

SG: Aside from that awesome taco prelude, is there a session that stands out most in your mind from recording of The Hunter?

 

TS: What about doing drums?

 

BD: I got to go to this really famous studio [Sound City in Van Nuys, California] where many, many incredible rock albums have been crafted – pretty much the whole Fleetwood Mac catalog… Tom Petty, Nirvana’s Nevermind was recorded there… Dio’s Holy Diver, to name just a few. So being in that room and being able to get the best drum sounds that I think I’ve ever had – that was incredible. It was a good five days that we spent in there. [Laughs]

 

SG: No pressure at all then, being in that room?

 

BD: It’s hard to ignore the musical ghosts that are floating around in there, but I think that just makes you better. It makes you want to play better and create something really special, and I think it’s important to do that – to go to a place like that. And unfortunately, those kind of places are closing up shop at an alarming rate, so I’m happy we were able to get in there before that happened to them.

 

SG: You just spent the day of The Hunter’s release at your hometown independent record store Criminal Records – a beloved store that recently announced that it may be forced to close down. Can you talk a little bit about the role that record stores played for you growing up in introducing you to great new music?

 

TS: All four of us in the band, growing up with super inspiration from music that we’ve heard and seen on TV, and his mother was playing music growing up, so we were all exposed to all these musical avenues, and going to the record store and having that tangible piece of art that you purchase and you hold, and just the feeling of going home, sitting on my bed, put the record on; while listening to the music, I’m reading all the liner notes and I’m checking out all the artwork, I’m holding it in my hand, truly immersing myself into the music – that’s a feeling that was amazing, and I really miss… I mean, I understand how the world changes…

 

BD: I don’t like it!

 

TS: I don’t like it either. Basically it sucks. Everything sucks now.

 

BD: My dad would have me and my sister on the weekends, and we’d go to the movies, and we’d go to the record store. Every weekend we’d go to the record store and flip through records and look at magazines and records, and get three or four of them and then go home and listen to them, and it was just a really cool ritual and a cool thing that we would do together, and it’s horrible that that kind of thing could go away, because I still do it now. Especially on tour, one of the most fun things to do is every city you’re in, it’s like, “Okay, now let’s go to Amoeba, or let’s go to Jackpot Records over here, and let’s go here and just flip through records…” and I don’t want that to go away. That’s one of the most fun things to do.

 

SG: It seems like the best of them are still surviving, and even thriving here and there. Not so many, but stores like Waterloo, Twist and Shout, Fingerprints…

 

BD: Yeah, hopefully Criminal Records in Atlanta can figure it out, because I go in there on a weekly basis when I’m home, maybe twice, maybe three times a week I go in there and flip through records and check it out to see what’s new in the music world, and it’s just a fun place to hang out – the record store. A local record shop.

 

SG: Even though you guys say you fear change in all its shapes and forms, you’ve actually embraced it too. Where did the original idea for the augmented reality element for the new record come from?

 

BD: That was Troy’s idea. [Laughs]

 

TS: I am the brains of the band, basically.

 

BD: The mouthpiece.

 

TS: As the handsome mouthpiece spokesman…. I’m lead bass player, so that says it all.

 

BD: He can dunk. He’s a basketball player.

 

TS: Yeah, I’m 6’4”, 205, hazel eyes…

 

BD: …enjoys long romantic walks to the convenience store…

 

SG: And tacos.

 

TS: Yeah, tacos. I like to find beautiful acreage with fall foliage and walk the acres, and hold hands and talk about it.

 

BD: He’s all about acreage… What were we talking about?

 

TS: Tacos. Tacos and acreage. It’s a new EP we’re working on.

 

BD: Augmented reality?

 

TS: Oh, that thing. I don’t even know what that is.

 

BD: The total immersion thing, basically. Immerse yourself in the experience, which is The Hunter, and have that creature become you.

 

TS: Yeah, you can breathe fire and blow smoke, and you can become a beast for a moment. Take a step inside the Mastodon world a little bit. Come closer to us.

BD: When the idea was brought up to us to do it, we didn’t really understand what it was because we’re simple folk, and we just don’t get all that computer stuff, but we were then shown a piece of paper with a bunch of like Star Wars people running around on it, and it was pretty insane, so we decided to go with it and check it out, and we knew that it was something that no one has ever done before. We wanted to do something special for the fans because we have some really awesome fans that have been with us from the beginning and just maybe want that little bit extra. So we thought it was something cool to do.

 

SG: And then they get to send their version of your world back to you: Is that something you guys are actually checking out?

 

BD: Yeah, I’ve sat and watch that.

 

SG: Is there somebody’s day you want to make by singling them out?

 

BD: I can’t remember anyone’s name.

 

SG: Well you can describe what they did. Because they wear the head and move around…

 

BD: Yeah, well this one guy was blowing fire and smoke... [Laughs]

 

SG: All right, moving on... [Laughs] This is not just the Eve of All Hallows – it’s also the eve of your US tour. Is there a song from the new album you’re particularly looking forward to unleashing on the crowd?

 

BD: The first one.

 

TS: [Laughs] It’s exciting to get that first song under your belt.

 

BD: “Dry Bone Valley” I have to sing first. It’s scary, a little bit.

SG: Good to get it out of the way early…

 

BD: Yeah. If it was at the end of the set, I might be a little out of breath and maybe it wouldn’t sound that great [laughs], so I’m happy I’m the first one that gets a crack at singing. But I’m really excited about this tour. We’ve done a few shows leading up to this point, and the new stuff as been really well received, and I’m just really excited about it.

 

It’s always exciting to go out and play your new stuff and see what the fans are digging on, but it’s a mixed bag – the whole set is a veritable hit parade, if you will, of mammoth majestic metal from the Mastodonian persuasion. Right? [Laughs]

 

TS: Absolutely. I couldn’t agree further. And then you throw a band like Red Fang and Dillinger Escape Plan on the bill and then it really has…as the headliner of this tour…

 

BD: …I don’t think people are going to be able to take it.

 

TS: You’ve got to really step it up when you follow bands that we respect tremendously. So yeah, I think it’s going to be a nice little run around the US here.

 

BD: They’re not going to be able to take it.

 

SG: Could you just hold back for the first three songs when we’re shooting tomorrow night so you don’t blow our photographer up?

 

BD: Hell no.

 

TS: Well, we’re here to destroy. Passive destruction. Evil and darkness.

 

SG: Seeing as we have you on the cusp between changing officially between studio mode and live mode, what are the best and the worst things for you guys between playing live and being in the studio?

 

BD: Monitors. When the monitors are bad, it’s just bad and it doesn’t sound good, and it’s not fun. [Laughs] You’ve got to fight through it.

 

TS: I think there’s a big handful of pros and cons, both in the studio and taken on the road, and when we can, we seem to find a very healthy balance of touring and then taking a couple weeks off to rejuvenate your own sanity, and then take the material on the road for as long as you can go without achieving burnout, and then you’re excited to get back writing new material and jump in the studio. So it’s a nice balance when you can make it work in a timely fashion. But I love them both.

 

BD: I like the studio. Studio is cool.

 

TS: It’s the creative part, when you’re in the studio, and you can try different things, and then when it’s all said and done, usually we try to record in our hometown of Atlanta so we can shoot home each night, and that’s always refreshing. But then you take it on the road and, like right now, I’m excited to play new stuff every single night.

 

BD: I like hearing people sing along to it and watching kids… you have this little memory of yourself sitting, writing these lyrics at your house or whatever, and then this 14-year-old kid that I don’t even know is singing it right back at you. It’s just cool. It’s awesome… what it’s capable of, once it’s out there.

 

SG: What’s been the single best rock-star moment for each of you so far in the world of Mastodon? The moment that you could tell the teenage version of you that you’d be the most excited about…

 

TS: For myself, we had the opportunity in the year 2007 to support Metallica at Wembley Stadium. It’s the soccer stadium in London, and we started from the ground up in London playing the smallest of clubs, and we’ve been there many times and it’s always been great. But to play in front of 80-something-thousand people, or 100…it was so big, we weren’t even nervous before the show. It was hilarious.

 

BD: It looked like a really big sheet pizza.

 

TS: It was insane. Thankfully the Metallica guys are super awesome and down-to-earth, and invited us to play that show. But I remember just sitting back after that thinking, “What the hell just happened?” And I took a picture so I would remember that one.

 

BD: I remember being at the Hard Rock Café pretty recently, actually, in Copenhagen, and Nicko McBrain walked in and said, “Hey Brian, how you doin’?” I was like, “Hey Nicko, what’s up?” We sat down and shot the s*** for a few minutes, and then when he left, I was just like, “Yeah, I can go back and tell 13-year-old Brann that Nicko McBrain will know your name, and when he sees you, he’ll be like, “Hey, how’s it going?””… My 13-year-old brain would probably explode!

 

TS: Yeah, so it’s a good thing you don’t tell that person now, because you would have died at 13.

 

BD: So that’s cool that all these rock icons and heroes of ours recognize what we’re trying to give to music as well, so that’s totally awesome.

 

TS: Agreed.

 

SG: Finally, what Mastodon Internet rumor would you like to confirm or deny?

 

TS: I would like to confirm the rumor that Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame is indeed my great, great grandfather. There’s a forum going back and forth if that’s true or not, and I’m going, “Are you kidding me? I said it. That must mean it’s true. Hello? You think I’ve got time to sit around and lie to people?” [pause] Yes.

 

BD: I would like to confirm that my great grandfather invented the fur handcuffs and edible underwear.

 

TS: That is true. That’s one of the first things you told me when we met.

 

Mastodon’s latest album, ‘The Hunter,’ is out now on Reprise Records.