Mastodon played their first show without Brent Hinds on March 9th at the Live In The Sand in Punta Cana. The band invited guitarist and YouTuber Ben Eller to replace Brent for this performance.
The band hasn't yet made an official announcement about who the new guitarist will be, but Eller gave an interview to Guitar World and said that he had to learn 17 Mastodon songs immediately, from the band's entire discography, which wasn't easy. “I was completely unprepared for the level of positivity and kindness I would receive from the fans after the show. I can't believe how receptive and wonderful they were; it's amazing!”
“I went into this seeing it as one of the coolest things I could be a part of, but also knowing that the negative reaction could be brutal, especially considering how incredible and important Brent was to the band's history.”
Eller explained that he received the phone call with the invitation from Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher , as they have kept in touch since Eller published his video "Stuff Mastodon Does" six years ago. "A few years ago, Bill contacted me by email, saying how much he liked my channel and the
'Stuff Mastodon Does' I made. We've kept in touch ever since."
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