While Mastodon prepare to release a new "basher" of a song any day now, they've also shared the first installment of a new short video series titled the Emperor of Sand Tour Recap. "As we gear up to jump back on the road, we wanted to share a little behind the scenes from our last tour," the band says in the post, "Here's the first clip of Troy talking tour life as he works on his knuckle ball!"
Sanders is seen tossing a ball back and forth with a kid while he discusses the pros and cons of being in a touring band for so long. "Our livelihood is touring, so that's a wonderful thing," he tells the series' behind the scenes creator, Danger Ehren, "I recognize that as being very rare. There's over a thousand people that would be happy to be in my shoes at any given moment, so I never take any of this touring for granted."
Sanders expounds a bit on the sites the band get to see during their extensive travels, recalling "I think we've been to 37 countries now, so that's pretty amazing," before delving into the one downside of tour life: being away from his family.
"Every career has its sacrifices," he laments while continuing to play catch, "and the biggest one for me and most touring bands with longevity is just the disconnect from home." The band plays around 150 shows a year in an album cycle according to Sanders, but they take days off while touring the U.S. to fly home or have their family members fly out to spend time together. "Being able to integrate a little home life with tour life, it breaks up the emotional monotony I suppose," says the bassist before discussing the value of staying physically and mentally healthy.
