Intervista a Bill Killiher che a parte un suo side project probabilmente trascurabile (Primate), parla molto del prossimo album dei Mastodon. Intervista interessante in spoiler.
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http://thesilvertongueonline.com/?p=22416
After some time off from his main band, Mastodon, Bill Kelliher joined an upcoming Atlanta hardcore\grindcore band, Primate, to record and tour. At a recent gig in Athens, Ga at the Caledonia Lounge, TST’s Brad Olsen sat down with the guitarist to discuss his side project and a new Mastodon album in the works.
TST: When did you guys first start playing together [Primate]?
Bill: About eight or nine months ago. I was just getting off tour with Mastodon and we weren’t really doing anything right then. Me and Evan live on the same street. I have a home studio and he asked me to record his new band. They came over and I helped them arrange some stuff. Eventually we just decided I should join the band. We had labels interested in us almost immediately.
TST: So will you be releasing an album?
Bill: It’s probably going to be an EP. We’ve recorded a lot of stuff. We did our demo first, but now we’ve gone into a real studio and got some good stuff recorded.
TST: What label are you thinking of signing to?
Bill: We had been talking with Scion Records, but there were some conflicts because I’m signed to Warner Brothers. We’re sort of just shopping around right now. We get phone calls like everyday though, so there’s plenty of interest.
TST: How many songs does Primate have right now?
Bill: We’ve got like 16 songs, but like I said, I mostly just helped with arranging. They had already written most of the stuff.
TST: How is Primate different from Mastodon?
Bill: Oh it’s totally different. It’s a lot more aggressive – like, Mastodon has some aggressive stuff, but it’s also more dynamic. Primate is all aggressive fucking riffage.
TST: Is it nice to sort of revisit that?
Bill: Oh yeah. It’s great. I haven’t played with anybody other than Mastodon in like 10 years. It’s nice.
TST: Is there any new material in the works for Mastodon?
Bill: Yeah it’s been a while since our last record and it’s time to get back to Earth with Mastodon. We’ve all got our side projects, but Mastodon is our main focus. We got together once and threw some ideas together.
TST: Do you have the concept yet?
Bill: Yeah we do. Brann just had me over a little while ago and he was showing me some of the stuff he was working on and I was like “Woah. This is some crazy shit.” It’s gonna be an even crazier head trip, journey.
TST: Can you tell me anything specific about the concept?
Bill: Well not a lot since we haven’t even really written much music to it yet. But it’s gonna be about rebirth, but not in the sense you would think. It’s about what man goes through, the evolution of man.
TST: What percentage of the riffs would you say you write?
Bill: When we first started I wrote a lot of the riffs. Like Lifesblood and Remission are a lot of me. On the last record I contributed a few riffs to “Crack the Skye” and “Ghost of Karelia,” but most of that was Brent. Me, Brann and Troy had been practicing for about two months before and we had some written, but what Brent had just flowed so well that we decided to save what we had and use his. I’ve got tons of riffs stored up though. I’ll probably write a lot more riffs on the new record. I’ve got riffs from like ten years ago that’ll just pop up sometimes and we’ll be like “Dude, you remember that riff from 10 years ago? Yeah, I think it will fit here.” It’s really spur of the moment when we write. It’s just whatever comes out of our fingers.
TST: Will the new album be more like Blood Mountain then?
Bill: Well we’ve got a few songs that didn’t make it onto Blood Mountain and some of those riffs will show up on this new record.
TST: What makes good art to you?
Bill: When art takes you somewhere, like on a journey. It’s like when you smell an old smell you haven’t smelled in a long time and it reminds you of something. We like to keep Paul Romano (Mastodon’s cover artist) in the loop from the very beginning so we can have some kick ass artwork. Nobody wants an awesome album with shitty artwork that doesn’t represent the music.
TST: Do you get tired of touring?
Bill: Yeah man, absolutely. It’s just chaos on the road. Every time you go to a city you meet up with all these people you haven’t seen in years and they just want to party down with you every night. They come onto your tour bus and eat all your food and trash the place and I’m like “Hey man, we have to pay for that.” Then there’s like 12 people crammed on a bus for months on end. You get homesick and you drink too much. I’ll be 40 this month and I just can’t rage every night. I’ve got a wife and two kids to think about. It’s nice to come home and be reminded of what it’s like to have a normal life. What it’s like to be a dad and a husband.
TST: Do you get tired of paying the same songs like “Colony Of Birchmen?”
Bill: Not really because we put so much time into all our songs. We put everything under a microscope and that makes it interesting. Sure, at the end of a tour you really have all those songs down perfect, but they are still a challenge.
TST: Mastodon has had a long standing relationship with High On Fire. You guys met at a High On Fire show. Any chance we’ll ever see some collaboration between you guys?
Bill: Yeah. I mean those guys are like brothers to us. We were both young bands when we met. Anything’s possible. I’d love a collaboration with them.
TST: Which do you enjoy more, performing or writing?
Bill: I’d have to say performing because when you’re playing live you don’t have to think. You just let your fingers do the talking. When you’re in the studio it’s like going to work.
TST: Any advice for aspiring metal heads who want to make it big?
Bill: Stay in school [laughs]. Seriously, it’s like a one in a million chance of “making it big,” and that’s not to say that we have. We are still growing and we still have a ways to go.
TST: Last question. What’s you favorite guitar?
Bill: Probably my 1982 Les Paul Silverburst custom. That guitar’s been all over the world with me. It’s been to Japan, Europe.
TST: Thanks for sitting down with me Bill.
Bill: No prob man.[/spoiler]
