The Blood Brotherhood
Mastodon’s Troy Sanders & Bloodsimple’s Kyle Sanders
| December, 2006
Lately, brothers Troy and Kyle Sanders have been reaping the true reward of a lifelong commitment to the hard stuff: They do their music full-time. Fresh off a stream of European dates supporting the revamped Alice In Chains, bloodsimple’s Kyle Sanders has been spreading his time among Chicago, New York, and his hometown of Atlanta, with his band in various stages of production for its next record.
Troy Sanders of Mastodon, having recently released Blood Mountain, is touring non-stop. It’s a hard-charging ethic, rooted in the self-sufficiency and tenacity both brothers share, and damned if it’s not paying off for them. Both have risen through the ranks of hard gigging, both have maintained a sense of uncompromising musical adventure, and both continue to land slots on the choicest tours between their own headlining runs.
“Mom always said music was a good way to go,” says Troy. “She said that if you’re involved in any sort of music, you’ll be able to do that your whole life, unless you lose your arms or something.” “We were lucky,” adds Kyle. “She wanted us to explore every option musically and was always looking out for our best interests. That’s the reason we’re both as persistent as we are, still working, and still doing it.”
Troy was still in middle school when Kyle hit the stage in a high school battle of the bands. “I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, so I absolutely copied Kyle,” says Troy. For him, copying Kyle simply meant following his path in learning the instrument: Holing up in his room with a bass, a boom box, some recordings (“old Van Halen, a lot of Kiss”), and learning songs note-for-note. “That was just hours and hours of trying to figure shit out, which is good because that develops your ear,” says Troy. “Kyle never really taught me because he was in high school doing his own thing.” “It’s good that I didn’t sit down with him and teach him,” says Kyle. “That’s why he’s got his own style and I’ve got mine.”
In Mastodon, Troy’s serpentine lines sit on the back side of the pocket and blend more with the band’s overall sound. Kyle favors the center of the beat in bloodsimple, employing a gurgling, scooped-out tone that punches through the mix. “Troy has a lighter, more technical approach,” says Kyle. “I beat the hell out of it. I get that bottom that you can feel rather than hear, but I play it so hard that it’s got that top-end click.”
Mastodon’s Troy Sanders
Brann Dailor digs deep into a drum groove, allowing the pulse to take root before launching into a marathon of breaks and fills. Meanwhile, guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher vary their corroded riffage and twisted harmonizing, building on the wave. Troy Sanders responds by swaying his entire body in a 180-degree arc, leaning back as the sound envelopes him, lurching forward to sink his teeth into the riff. Mastodon, which came together in 2000, emerged from the dankest gigging environs onto stages before the biggest audiences, all while cultivating a legion of genre-crossing fans with three critically acclaimed releases. Melding vintage hard rock with progressive metal, Mastodon continually explores sonic terrain that defies easy categorization, paying homage to its musical progenitors without being taken by stayed mores.
How do you come up with your bass lines?
Usually I pay the most attention to Brann’s feet. He gets his parts down with whoever is writing the song, and I just listen to them over and over and find the groove and where the pocket will sit. I just let him develop his crooked spine within the song and figure out every single part he’s doing while learning the guitar riffs and what’s going where. Once he’s created the song’s backbone, I put my final stamp on it and put the warm tones of bass guts around it.
With all that’s going on with the drums and guitars, how do you approach finding your place in the music?
I just try to play really accurately. When I can, I try to find weird notes. When some of the parts space out, I’m able to explore, find other things, and feel some stuff. Otherwise I’m just trying to lock in the thunder with Brann’s drums.
What was the recording process like with Blood Mountain?
We spent two months at the practice space just piecing it all together. Then we took it to the studio and fine-tuned some parts, but for the most part we were ready to go. We had all the parts and structures ready to brew.
Is recording a creative time for you, or is it more about perfecting the songs?
We try to achieve perfection, but between the writing period leading up to the studio, if any ideas are going to be flowing, we’ve got to start thinking about the stuff non-stop. There are only a few places across the album where little ideas struck and I was able to create this soundscape of weirdness. It’s really not a time bass-wise to be creative, because I’m more focused on lyrics and coming up with vocal patterns as well … and trying to do both at the same time.
On Blood Mountain, the arrangements seem tighter and the overall sound more focused than your last record, Leviathan [Relapse, 2004]. Was this a product of specific goals?
It was just a natural progression for the band, and natural songwriting. We spent more time being specific; we trimmed down little things. If each album is going to get better, you just pick the power points.
What kinds of decisions inform the pairing down of all the ideas into solid arrangements?
We discuss parts as a four-piece, like, “This part’s really bizarre and it takes a while to get into it—maybe we could play that twice as long, maybe do this eight times instead of four.” Sometimes if we feel something’s too repetitive, we’ll cut it in half. It’s the same thing with songs and their placement on the album. Everybody has their own say and votes; majority rules. We all just discuss parts, from the smallest intro to the entire album’s sequencing to find the best flow.
bloodsimple’s Kyle Sanders
bloodsimple’s sound fuses the edgiest textures of straight-up rock and the gut-wrenching delivery of extreme metal. Through it all, Kyle Sanders plays bass as if his life depended on it. Last year’s A Cruel World saw Kyle’s fluid adaptation to abrupt shifts in dynamic extremes, his playing reflecting an attitude he takes in every aspect of his life.
What made you first want to play bass?
After seeing some old Metallica shows with Cliff Burton, I was like, that’s what I’m gonna do. I just loved his whole style. Early on, I played guitar, and a buddy of mine played drums. We were into full-on metal and nothing else. Every time we’d play, I’d drop the pick and start fingering the strings. It was probably a month before I realized it’s obvious that I’m a bass player.
What was the beginning of your career like?
I moved out of the house right after high school, got a band together, and got a huge warehouse in downtown Atlanta. The whole band lived there, played there, and partied there. Everyone had the same goal in mind: we just wanted to play and didn’t give a shit about anything else. Being with people who want to do music, no matter what, made me work that much harder.
How would you describe your role in bloodsimple?
Daddy [Laughs]. For the past two years I’ve tour-managed the whole run. I’m real hesitant to let anyone outside the circle handle anything; I have to have a part in all the business. I want to know where every penny is spent and exactly what’s going on, and I’m involved on every level, whether it’s on the road or off. Most of us have been through the wringer several times. You’ve got to trust a few people, like your management, but basically if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.
What’s your approach to creating lines and your concept of how they should function in bloodsimple’s overall sound?
Just playing eye-to-eye, locking in with a cool bass line, and being on the exact same page with the drummer. I like doing rehearsals with just the drummer, whether we’re writing or going over other parts. There are parts where I follow guitar and other parts where I stray off and weave in and out—but without the foundation, everyone can do the best parts in the world and it just won’t come together.
Overview
Can Be Heard On
bloodsimple, A Cruel World [Reprise, 2005]
Currently Spinning
“We toured all of Europe with Alice In Chains, so that just brought back everything. For me the early ’90s was all Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction, and Alice In Chains. Touring with those guys and watching that again gave me a whole new fire, so I’ve been digging all that stuff back up.”
GEAR
Basses Warwick Streamer Stage II and Corvette basses, ’78 Fender Precision Bass; heavy-gauge DR High Beams and Black Beauties strings
Rig Ampeg SVT-4PRO with two Ampeg 8x10 cabinets
Overview
Can Be Heard On
Mastodon, Blood Mountain [Reprise/Warner Bros., 2006]
Currently Spinning
Blood & Time, At the Foot of the Garden [Neurot Recordings, 2003]
“It’s the side project of Scott Kelly from Neurosis. It’s so brutal it kind of hurts.”
GEAR
Basses Godlyke Deity 4-string and Fender Prophecy II tuned FCGD or FCGA; D’Addario XL105 strings
Rig Mesa Engineering Big Block 750 and Mesa 4x12 cab (studio); Ampeg SVT-4PRO with Mesa 8x10 and/or Mesa 4x12 (live)
Effects Sandford & Sonny Bluebeard Fuzz, MSD Automagic EQ-2 Earth Quake Bass Wah
“I like running both the 8x10 and 4x12 together. The 8x10 is classic—it’s got that punch and heavy low end—and the 4x12 has a bit more balls, a grittier sound.”
