Mastodon drummer and vocalist Brann Dailor has revealed that he started experiencing Covid-19 symptoms the day he got home from the band’s fall co-headline tour with Opeth, suggesting he likely contracted it while on the road. Dailor said he “got pretty sick” and remained so for roughly two weeks before feeling better. He did not reveal his vaccination status.
Speaking to Art Of Rock, Dailor said:
“Right when I got home from tour, I had COVID — like the day I got home. I tested positive. I got pretty sick, actually. I was sick for a couple of weeks. I was down and out. But I guess the good news of it was it didn’t happen while we were on tour and it happened when I got home. So I was, like, ‘Oh, I’m sick.’ And I had the opportunity to be sick and I didn’t have to get on stage and play and stuff, which I’ve done with the flu many times; it’s one of the worst feelings ever, but you’ve gotta bring the music to the people. It doesn’t matter how you feel — do it.”
Dailor continued by saying that he has played through severe sickness on tour in the past:
“Many times I’d be laying backstage, on one of the couches backstage, just feeling like death, thinking to myself, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna pull this off,’ and then getting up there. I’ve had some of my best shows when I’ve been sick as a dog. So I don’t know what happens there. But something else takes over. Maybe a couple of NyQuils and you’re feeling like you’re out of your mind and you get up there and just play the drums and your body takes over. I don’t recommend it.”
The drummer also revealed that Mastodon have U.S. touring plans for 2022 that will soon be made public:
“We will announce something soon. We’re just waiting for it to completely solidify and come all together. But, yeah, there’ll be some dates coming up soon.
“It’s a strange world, isn’t it? It’s been a strange time. Nothing’s really stable right now, unfortunately. We kind of thought that, ‘Okay, we’re back. Everything’s back, right?’ But it’s, like, hold your horses, I guess. But I think that things are moving in the right direction. We should have a nice, big announcement soon for another tour in the States.”
Mastodon found themselves in the press in November after guitarist Brent Hinds used a homophobic slur in an interview while talking negatively about a past touring experience with Disturbed. Posting under the band’s account on social media, Dailor himself issued a public apology on his bandmate’s behalf.
[via Blabbermouth]