In addition to chatting extensively about his new supergroup, Gone Is Gone, vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders also spoke of where Mastodon are at with their new album to Team Rock. Some excerpts from the conversation include:
On what he gets from playing in side projects (Killer Be Killed, Gone Is Gone) that he doesn’t from Mastodon:
“That’s a great question, because I didn’t ever feel like I would need anything more, because Mastodon fulfils pretty much my entire existence. It’s hard for me to put into words. It’s like it’s the same sport, but I’m playing with a different team for a minute. How do you word that? I guess it further pleases me.
It’s kind of like hitting the refresh button, because I enjoy every time Mastodon makes an album, and I’m neck deep into the one that we’re making right now, but with this Gone Is Gone band, it’s the same trajectory but it’s just a different energy. I had a different and renewed fresh energy to jump back into the Mastodon world, and dove in headfirst. So it’s like smashing a reset button in a very healthy way. I found words – yay!”
When asked what he is bringing to the new Mastodon album having hit—as he called it—his reset button:
“It’s almost like the more I work, if you can call it work, the ball of excitement just gets bigger and bigger for me. It’s the opposite of getting burnt out. I’m always trying to draw from whatever strengths I believe I have, and become a better lyricist and find better vocal patterns and find the most fitting bass and lyrics that I could possibly lend to my band.”
On whether or not his other projects would poach some of his better ideas that could have been used for Mastodon:
“I know for a fact that it’s an amazing creative process to be involved in. Recently, when people ask me, ‘What are you listening to now?’ I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t know what great music is out there, because for the past three months I’ve been listening to nothing but the Mastodon demos we’re working on.’ I’m super excited about it. If someone had that thought, it’s like, don’t worry.
We all believe that jamming with other people is a healthy thing to do. With families sometimes, it’s like, ‘Okay, the mom’s going to go out on a girls’ weekend.’ You go out there, you get this out of your system, you refresh yourself, and you come back, and you’re a better lady! Or with dads, the guys are having a dudes’ weekend, he comes back, he’s refreshed, he’s happier, he’s healthier. It’s kind of the same thing with a member of a band. Get it out of your system, write something great, have a good time doing it.”
As to what the new Mastodon material sounds like:
“It’s too early to do that. There’s so many ideas… it’s almost overwhelming at the moment. We’re plugging away every week. It’s continuing to take on its own shape, but it’s entirely too early to even go there at the moment. We’re got loads of skeletons of songs all over the place.”
Gone Is Gone unites Sanders with Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens Of The Stone Age, Tony Hajjar of At The Drive-In and more. Their self-titled debut EP will hit stores on July 08th. For more from Sanders on that project, head to Team Rock.
