Mastodon at Club Nokia in LA May 2
Known for their theme-inspired albums turned into heavy-edged, in your face riffs, Mastodon returns to Southern California with a show at Club Nokia on the Sunset Strip Fri, May 2.
Last June OC Concert Guide spoke with Mastodon’s drummer Brann Dailor as they toured as part of the Mayhem festival or as Dailor called the tour, “Heavy Metal Summer Camp.” Here is a recap of his interview about their music and being on a big metal festival tour.
“It’s like a parking lot party everyday of the Mayhem tour,” said Dailor. “Someone at the buses in the backstage always has a barbecue going. It’s a great band hang out.”
Dailor says it is a time when the band looks forward to meeting with and hanging out with fans too. The band just got back from a three-week tour in Europe so they feel ready to hit the U.S. tour circuit.
“We are excited to be on tour with some old friends we toured Mayhem with in 2008,” said Dailor. “And there are definitely some bands that we get to be on the road with this time that we like a lot and have never toured with or seen live. Like Battlecross, we haven’t Battlecrossed them on a tour yet (Dailor jokes with a chuckle).”
According to Dailor, the first few legs of the tour are when the bands and sound team do all gear and sound checks. Then it is the same thing everyday as far as performance goes, by the third or fourth festival the bands and crew are all dialed in and ready to play.
The band’s last album, The Hunter, came out in 2011 so Dailor hinted that the band was ready to start recording their next set of themed songs for a new album hopefully coming out sometime in 2014. They still don’t have a producer set up yet, but he explained that the producer is a good set of extra ears, although they feel confident in their product regardless of who is producing the recordings.
“We get a good mix and recording because we already know what we want by the time we get in the studio,” said Dailor. “I get my inspiration from the on-hold music when waiting on the phone because it is so distorted…(ha-ha)”
Dailor was happy to display his, as he put it, “false modesty” and cheeky side explaining his fictitious side gig was designing and patenting a new baby product called the Baby Bubble. A product he hopes will protect all babies from any harm outside his or her bubble. Fans can look forward to seeing this new idea hit stores soon. (ha-ha)