It’s been a rollercoaster week for Mastodon fans. Last Friday, right before the metal stalwart’s set at the Tool in the Sand Festival, it was announced that Brent Hinds had left the band.
Esteemed YouTuber and Mastodon mega-fan Ben Eller was drafted to replace the band’s co-founding guitarist of 25 years to play the gig, but at the time of writing it is still unclear whether Eller’s appointment is temporary or permanent.
In a new interview with Guitar World, Mastodon’s remaining electric guitar player Bill Kelliher stays coy on that particular topic, but he does offer some key insights into what the band will be looking for when it comes to selecting Hinds’ full-time successor.
It sounds simple enough, really: “Someone who is easy to get along with, and who really has a desire to play – and can play well,” he says.
Expanding on his point, Kelliher goes on, “Obviously, you gotta be somebody who we all get along with and can stand the true test of time. Like, living together in a little tour bus on the road for fucking days and months at a time, it’s got to be someone who can do all that.
“And that’s another variable,” he adds. “Like, ‘Oh, this person is a great guitar player, why don’t you hire them?’ It’s like, ‘Well, they gotta stand the test of time.’ We’ve got to be able to sit down and have a beer with them, go out to dinner with them, you know, feel them out, and make sure they’re Mastodon material.
“Like, can they hang, for sure, but it’s got to be someone who has a unique style, and is very serious about it.”
Ultimately, it sounds as though the search for Hinds’ successor will come down to a few key points: how good they are as a guitar player, how good they are as a person, and how seriously they are ready to commit themselves to the Mastodon way of life.
“I’m as serious as a heart attack with Mastodon,” Kelliher says. “It’s my life. It’s all I really know. I’ve got all my eggs in this basket – and I’m not ready to give it up yet. So, we’re going to keep looking, and who knows? We’ll find the right person when the time is right and ready.”
Whether that will be Eller or someone else, Kelliher remains tight-lipped: “We do have some more shows coming up. We have a tour with Coheed and Cambria coming up in May, which, you know, we’re still going to fulfil that.
“We’re going to finish up our new record; I’m not sure what our future is with Ben or if we’ll try a couple of other people out. Not really sure yet; it’s too early to say.”