Since forming in 1999, prog-metallers Mastodon have almost never stopped touring. The road weary warriors have built a large and loyal following through a succession of shows all over the world. Now, four albums into their career: Remission (2002), Leviathan (2004), Blood Mountain (2006) and last year’s highly and critically accliamed Crack The Skye, the group still continue to push the musical envelope.
The group recently returned to Australia for another tour as part of the touring cycle for their latest release. While Melbourne,
Joe Matera sat down with
Mastodon rhythm guitar master
Bill Kelliher to discuss the fine art of rhythm playing, the group’s desire to remain at the forefront of metal and his obsession with Star Wars.
UG: With the amount touring the group undertakes, do you do much writing while on the road?
Bill Kelliher: We have done a little bit of late for the next record, but it is not always easy to find the time to write when you’re on the road. Sometimes, when we have a sound check or if we are foolin’ around on the guitar we may work on something. I bring a Pro Tools rig out with me but you can’t force it [creative process]. If a riff comes to me or an idea, a lot of the time I will use the dictaphone on my telephone and just hum stuff into it if I don’t have a guitar in my hand. But there is always certain amount of unconscious writing going on at all times.
Is there a lot of pressure on the band with album number five to out do its predecessor both commercially and creatively?
For me I think it is all over if you don’t top your last record. To have a healthy band and be a healthy artist, as you really need to keep out doing yourself on every record otherwise. You don’t want to plateau, so you have to keep interesting ideas coming. And so far we’ve done that. It seems that with every record we’ve done, even as far back as Remission [2002], when that record came out people were saying, ‘how are they going to top that?’. Looking back now that record was good, but that was when Mastodon was just a baby and growing. We’re only ten years old now so I think the sky’s the limit with ideas. I think we still have a lot of good ideas in us and a lot of fire under our asses. We have a lot good things going for us so we definitely want to keep the band alive and keep charging forward. I mean I’m almost 40 years old so I don’t feel like starting all over again with a new band and starting from scratch. You know, it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll.
"There is always certain amount of unconscious writing going on at all times."
It was great. After touring and touring, we had September of 2009 off, where I had all my wisdom teeth pulled out, which itself took a week and then we went straight to Los Angeles and spent a week there coming up with ideas. We watched the film in segments and wrote stuff there and ad lib some stuff. But we gave them more than enough material to use. So after we worked in the studio doing that, we then came home, Troy got married and other things had to be taken care of, and then went back on tour. When we are back home again in March, we may be a couple more small snippets for us to fill in and that’s about it. It’ll be done.
Your rhythm guitar playing primarily drives much of Mastodon’s songs. Rhythm playing seems to be a lost art, so how important do you think it is to the overall musical picture?
It is very important. When we first started out almost everything was rhythm. I’m also the guy that tries and will do a lot of the harmonizing and coming up with a different riff over the rhythm, especially when we’re in the studio. You definitely need to keep the rhythm happening in a band, and in Mastodon it is a tightly knit ship, and even though there are a lot of quirky changes, tempo changes and stuff like that, you’ve still got to be on it or it’s not going to carry. Rhythm is the meat and potatoes of the song really.
While on the subject of guitars, have you got a large guitar collection?
I do have huge collection of guitars now, and it is probably around 30 guitars. Most of my stuff is mainly Gibson and Yamaha. I have a bunch of Explorers in there, a First Act custom 9-string silverburst DC Lola, which is a double cutaway, with a big body. The top three high strings are doubled up, so it’s kind of like a 12-string. But the lower strings are normal, so you can play heavy rock and then switch over and get into 12-string electric sounds. I’ve also got a guitar that I borrowed off Gibson recently when I was over in Europe, a ’59 Black Beauty reissue. But I am like, ‘I’m not giving this one back!’ Amongst my collection is also my favorite out of the whole lot, a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom silverburst. It doesn’t go on tour anymore, it’s an antique now and it is in its perfect mint condition how I got it from the original owner, but I have used that exclusively on every record.
When not touring and recording, how do you keep your guitar playing in fine form?
There is actually not much time between shows and recording. I try and play but honestly, I don’t do too much playing when I’m not touring or in the studio. I love the studio and that’s the time to shine and where a lot of creative ideas come out. But when the band first started, I would play guitar every day, but now as I have a family, a wife and two little boys, when I get home I just want to spend time with them and catch up with their lives. And it is hard to find time to write while home too, as it’s a chaotic life, I mean it’s a great life, but there’s stuff like picking up the kids from school, taking them to the doctor, that sort of thing. Being both a musician and husband, when you’ve been away on tour for like nine months, you have to play catch up as the rest of what’s going on in their lives is moving forward quickly and your kids are growing up.
"For me I think it is all over if you don't top your last record."
Yes that’s true. My Stars Wars addiction came from [sic]… obviously, I was at the right age when I saw the movies and as a kid I had all the toys. And once I started getting into my teenage years, my parents sold all my stuff at a garage sale. So now I collect toys, art, whatever…its not that I buy them to play with them, I think it is because when my parents sold all that stuff, I kind of lost my childhood. My collection has grown over the years so much that today I have this room filled to the top with toys and an attic filled with all sorts of Star Wars art. Plus, fans also bring stuff to me too at shows.
The music industry is a tough business. What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned since having gone pro on an international scale?
It is to always be friends with your front of house guy. Don’t ever piss him off! Or your monitor guy too. Don’t throw stuff at your monitor guy as he can push the stop button real quick and you can feedback in your in-ear pretty quick, if you know what I mean. Generally, be nice to everyone on your way up because on your way down they’re going to be there and will remember what you dick you were.
Mastodon has toured the world over and done countless tours with many other bands, many of whom are your heroes. Who are the heroes that you still would like to meet?
There are so many still I haven’t met yet, I’d like to really meet Jimmy Page some day. But I’ve met some many of my idols so far, like Dave Grohl who is such a great guy and we’ve actually jammed together a little bit. Also King Buzzo [Buzz Osborne] from The Melvins is another of my heroes and I loved jamming with him. it would be great to write some music with him some day.
Photo credit: Ronan THENADEY
Interview by Joe Matera
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