DUDE. I didn’t even know that the Mastodudes had side projects. Did you know? How come no one ever told me? I thought we were friends!

Fine. Whatever. As it turns out, there are not one but two Mastodon side projects, called West End Motel (pic above) and Fiend Without a Face. According to Metal Insider, Brent Hinds plays in both bands, while Brann Dailor is in Fiend Without a Face. And according to The PRP, the two groups are doing a short tour together later this month.

For Mastodon fanatics, it’s a chance to see both musicians play venues far, far smaller than Mastodon have played in years. And while neither band is especially metallic in sound — West End Motel has a country/bluegrass vibe and sometimes even dip into ragtime territory, while Fiend Without a Face, despite their name sounding pretty evil, actually play surf rock — Crack the Skye was by and large not really metal, either, and we all still loved that, because Mastodon rule. So you should still try and show some love, even if these shows will probably be mosh-less.

Here are the dates…

10/19 Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
10/20 Washington, DC – The Red Room
10/21 Richmond, VA – Gallery 5
10/22 Asbury Park, NJ – Wonderbar
10/25 Allston, MA – Great Scott
10/26 Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool
10/28 Baltimore, MD – Golden West Cafe
10/29 West Chester, PA – The Note
10/30 Charlotte, NC – The Milestone
10/31 Atlanta, GA – The Earl

-AR