Mastodon’s Brann Dailor: ‘We Were Never Plotting World Domination’ From the Tour Van

"It depends on how well we know the place," Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor told Noisecreep while in Europe for most of the summer. "If it's a stroke of good luck and you are in a touristy area, like Rome, you can go to the Coliseum or the Vatican and enjoy a good pizza. I've seen these places before, but I could see them over and over. Some days, when you are in the middle of nowhere, you can go to a bar. But that can get boring and lonely. But you can write, draw, read a book."

Dailor and his bandmates also kill time by watching tons of movies while on the road. "I supply the entertainment," the skinsman said. "I bring a big wallet of like 150 movies on the road. We go on a 'telebinge' and knock out the classics. You've got to do something! This summer, the festival circuit is dictating where we go and what we see, though!"

Mastodon -- the little band that could from Atlanta, who isn't so little these days -- are on everyone's lips in the American metal scene, and they recently toured with Metallica. But Dailor is taking it all in stride.

"You never think of yourself in that respect," he said, referring to the Mastodon's 'it band' status. "No one expected any of this. Everyone was fine with finding each other as musicians and wanting to play together. We were never plotting world domination from our van. We were four dudes doing what we do, playing for as long as we could remember. All of this is all gravy. No one expected it. It was slow and steady for us. We love that we get to play with Iron Maiden, Metallica and Slayer, and to befriend the bands who were on posters on our bedroom walls when we were young and 10 years old. It's spiritually fulfilling when those people become your friends."