During a recent appearance on the Sixty Scales And The Truth podcast, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher opened up about recruiting guitarist Nick Johnston. According to him, the band’s latest recruit “fits right in with” them.
Kelliher said the following about replacing former guitarist Brent Hinds, who died after this interview took place:
“We have gone through a lot of changes in the past, I guess this year, but all for the good. We are the strongest band we’ve ever been right now. And this is on every level — writing, touring, performing, just being friends and hanging out. Honestly, it’s like being in a relationship with someone for so long that was not really something you were that stoked about anymore. Relationships get old — it happens — and you get a new wife maybe or a new girlfriend or something. That’s the only way I can really relate it to, but it’s a genesis of just a new band. We are just all firing on the same level finally. And it’s the band I’ve always wanted to be in, and it’s finally here. So we’re just taking full advantage of it.”
He went on to praise Johnston:
“He is fricking good. And more importantly, he’s just very humble and he is very extremely excited to be where he is with us. And he fits right in with us. And we’re all pretty laid-back guys and don’t take ourselves too seriously. Our music, I live and breathe MASTODON every day. But Nick is surely becoming one of those same people. At first it was weird, honestly, it was different, ’cause he’s not the guy that’s been there for 25 years, but he’s quickly adapting to fit right in with us. And we’re writing together like crazy. And he’s just always so excited about going on. He’s like a kid in a candy store when he goes on stage. He’s, like, ‘Yeah, I can’t wait to get out there and grab the candy.’”
He also explained how they discovered Johnston:
“We found him — I believe he was doing some overdub guitar work with Brendon Small from DETHKLOK out in L.A. years ago. And I think Brann [Dailor, MASTODON drummer/vocalist] was out there visiting with Brendon, who is a friend of ours, and he heard Nick in the studio, and he was, like, ‘God, who is that guy? That guy’s really, really good.’ And he just started thinking, if something ever happens, then maybe we could play with that guy someday, I think. And it just sort of [evolved from there].”
Kelliher also added the following about having someone who has chemistry and a desire to perform with the band:
“Your heart has to be into what you’re doing, especially if you’re an artist. You can’t just get up there and fake it. I know if I were to fake it, if I didn’t wanna do this anymore, I would stop doing it. But I love my band and I love all the hard work we’ve put into it. It pays off. Every day you have to do something positive for your band.”
He later addressed Hinds’ departure:
“People go in separate paths. And sometimes you’re doing something for the wrong reasons. It’s just like being in a relationship with someone. You wanna get divorced, but you don’t know how to do it. You don’t know how to tell them. It’s kind of similar.
I honestly just wish the best for that guy. I just hope he can find what he likes to do, and we’re gonna keep on doing what we like to do.”
Kelliher also revealed that Johnston has been writing material for the band’s next album:
“Well, we’re kind of still in the writing process. Honestly, I’ve been writing for the new record since ‘Hushed And Grim’. Even before ‘Hushed And Grim’ was finished, I still had extra songs, and then I just keep writing more and more and more. So now we’ve got, like, 20-some ideas. ‘Cause I own a studio as well — not just the one in my basement, but I have a proper studio. So we’ll demo the stuff at my house and we bring it to my studio with my engineer, and then we bring in Nick and João [‘Rasta’ Nogueira], the keyboard player, and we start jamming the songs and say, ‘You wanna add something? Please add whatever you want in here.’
It’s only been a slow kind of process because you take one song a day and you’ve got 20 songs, it’s taken 20 days and we’ve been touring and we’ve been busy. We’re in a good place, though. I feel like the stuff that I’ve written, mostly Brann and me, it’s really good. It still needs the touch of the other guys, but there’s also these whole new songs that Nick is bringing in, like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this whole song.’ I’m, like, ‘Okay, cool. This is great.’ So it’s a combination of both. It won’t be until the next record, after this one, I think, where it really will be more of kind of more Nick being in there. He’s gonna be in the new record, for sure, yes. But he’s writing like crazy. I’m writing like crazy. It’s like a race. I don’t know — not a race, and not a competition either — but we’re just so full of energy. We just don’t wanna get lost. I’m, like, Let’s concentrate on the songs that we have that we had before Nick joined and get those out with their help.’ And then it’ll be more of a cohesive, like, ‘Oh, this is definitely… Part A is Nick and part B is Bill and part C is Brann and part D is Troy [Sanders, MASTODON bassist/vocalist].’ You know what I mean? It’s a little lopsided still, because he’s only just joined the band. But it’s still gonna be fucking awesome. I’m so excited. Everything that we’ve been demoing is incredible.
I just feel like we’ve been given a booster shot of adrenaline, like, ‘Kaboom!’ It’s kind of a clean slate. Now we can really open our minds and really just kind of write whatever we feel like writing without worrying about what another person’s gonna think. Because that was a real challenge for a long time, and now I feel like it’s just like a new, fresh start. It’s the easiest way to put it.”
[via Blabbermouth]
Metal Anarchy 
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