Primus Tracks

Just as Les Claypool took a momentary day off from Sausage to play a one-off with Primus, we divert from the Sausage record to introduce another semi-recurring theme to the podcast: Legendary Live Show Dissection. We pull the guts out of Primus's Woodstock 94 performance to find what makes it a worthy entry, aside from its place in our podcast's timeline. There are plenty of features that make it...

This week, we discuss the Sausage track Girls For Single Men, a jam that features layers of spoken-word tracks that blend together to overwhelm, much as one might experience when surrounded by barkers in the red light district. Soya gives some background, Frankie tells stories of being accosted various locations around the world, and Josh relives some strange life moments, all inspired by this tra...

Matt Hunter saunters into the episode to model the bass and guitar parts from this Sausage "slow jam," which is one of the earlier Les Claypool tunes ever created. It's truly a melange of musical styles, and Matt's able to break it into palatable chunks. Get involved! Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

The Toys Go Winding Down from Frizzle Fry has a sludgy cousin that appears on Sausage's 1994 record Riddles Are Abound Tonight, and it's only fitting that Soya is here to alert us to a third version that was performed live in 1987-88. Why is this one so oft-reworked? What charms its listeners despite being difficult to grasp for outsiders? Guest bassist Lalo Fierro helps us with these questions. B...

Shattering Song may be one of the most-beloved non-Primus tracks that Les Claypool has created, as far as official releases go. To give the tune its due, Rory Dolan of lespecial drops in to uncove the secrets of the masterful Jay Lane drum line, and Soya provides color for just how damned good Jay is, along with some Sausage nuggets. Check out Rory on Instagram , and find upcoming lespecial west c...

In the third track of the Sausage record, things take a sudden, grating turn. We discuss this dark, sludgy grinder, and how it defies expectation, which may be the riddle contained within the track. OR IS IT? Josh has idea about the lyrics. Frankie brings some interesting live cuts and posits why Here's To The Man had only a limited run of live performances with Les Claypool's Frog Brigade. Burn y...

The title track of the Sausage record gained some traction as the inspiration for "The Great Cornholio" on Beavis & Butthead, and brings a groovy element to this record's proceedings. It's loose, confident, and a perfect foil for a bass summit with Luke Bemand of lespecial and Kello Gonzalez of Parazit. Unfortunately, Luke's internet service crashed early in the episode, but Kello carries forw...

In this episode we begin our exploration of the Sausage record, Riddles Are Abound Tonight. 1994 saw Les Claypool reunite with Todd Huth and Jay Lane to publish some leftover tracks from the earliest Primus days. This is one of Soya's top records of all time, so he's along for the ride. We're also joined by Blas Perez , who models the bass parts and shares his relationship with this album. Find us...

After its inception to self-release Suck On This in 1989, Prawn Song Records went dormant until 1993, when Les Claypool revived the label to provide opportunities for his friends to cut records, and perhaps enhance their careers. We examine most of the releases from the period when Prawn Song had a distribution deal with Mammoth Records - the same deal nullified by Les's attempt to publish the Bea...

It's the first in our series of Primus side projects - some one-offs, some track-by-track. DID YOU KNOW that Les and Ler first met as members of the band Blind Illusion? Probably. DID YOU KNOW that this recording and touring experience created a bond that would last for four decades? Probably. DID YOU KNOW that the story of Blind Illusion's first album, The Sane Asylum, is a key component to perha...

Primus guest appearances, as a full band, on others' recordings, are quite rare. We found (possibly) the only four in existence and provide background information and context for each: On The Road w/ Tom Waits (1999) Big in Japan w/ Tom Waits (1999) NIB w/ Ozzy (2000) Gluten Free w/ Stewart Copeland (2012) https://www.patreon.com/primustracks https://www.instagram.com/primustracks https://www.twit...

Cage Claypool has a familiar last name, and his first name ought to be known to you by now as the creator of the music videos for Conspiranoia and Follow The Fool, as well as a promotional video for Les's gold EMG pickups. He's also working on a Primus documentary, for which Josh and Frankie are immensely excited. Cage shares his experiences making the aforementioned videos and many of the other p...

We round out our coverage of Conspiranoid with Erin on the Side of Caution, which imtroduces new wrinkles to the Primus fabric, and promises of more creativity to come. Lyrically, the track sticks with the other two on the release to provide the full picture of Les Claypool's frustrations with certain factions of society in 2020-21. Uh huh uh HUH! https://www.patreon.com/primustracks https://www.i...

The second track of Conspiranoid, Follow The Fool, follows the theme of the EP's title track, and forced its way into sets during the second Tribute To Kings tour run in 2022. Matt Hunter guests to model the bass parts, and turns the envelope filter up to Eleven. Follow Matt @hamoftruth86 on Instagram primustrackspod@gmail.com patreon.com/primustracks Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn you...

Conspiranoia was borne of the band's prog shift, starting in 2017 and continuing with the Tribute To Kings tours, in which the band played Rush every night. Seems appropriate that they'd want to create their own epic, and this is the result of those efforts - a jammy, proggy suite complete numerous firsts for the band, and lyrics sure to piss off the right people. Put on your tinfoil hats as we di...

Jason McHugh partnered with Matt Stone & Trey Parker for Cannibal: The Musical, South Park, and Orgazmo, but he also produced Les Claypool's Electric Apricot film and has assisted the band on tour. We char with him about all of these experiences, and how Electric Apricot was a full-circle moment for him. Check out Jason's work @jasonmchugh2 on Instagram. Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn...

Is it truly The Ends? For The Desaturating Seven, yes. For Primus Tracks, not even close. We round out the 2017 Primus release with a brief discussion of the album's cyclical nature, the connections to the source text, and the extensive DS7 tour. Plus, it's Halloween, so why not inspect some Primus Halloween history? parteon.com/primustracks twitter.com/primustracks instagram.com/primustracks prim...

There's a storm a'coming, and Anthony Garcia returns to help us navigate the proggiest of Primus tracks, The Storm. Anthony models some of the bass and guitar parts to bolster our claims that this is one of the more complex Primus tracks out there. Go to patreon.com/primustracks to see video of this episode! instagram.com/primustracks primustrackspod@gmail.com Get involved Instagram Facebook Email...

Although some diehards derided this track upon album release, Josh and Frankie find the charms of The Dream via the connection to the original material in Ul de Rico's book, and the nature of dreams. Besides, the reward at the end is worth it! patreon.com/primustracks instagram.com/primustracks twitter.com/primustracks primustrackspod@gmail.com Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money...

Lespecial bassist Luke Bemand returns to explain the underpinnings of this track, in which there are few, if any rests for the bass. It's a driving rainbow bass tune that requires special investigation. Plus, we talk about the "lollipop" guitar by Larry LaLonde and lyrics that, while based on a book, make oblique commentary to contemporary events. https://www.patreon.com/primustracks https://www.i...

We hold The Trek in the highest esteem for its individual elements, and how they coalesce into a truly epic track. Our renowned guest, Kello Gonzalez, brings his own Carl Thompson rainbow bass(!) and helps us with the instrumentation and what makes this a latter-day classic. Check out the oft-cited Port Chester show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw4PYdlTD2g Kello on Youtube: https://www.yo...

The ostensible title track of the album, The Seven packs a punch with its changing time signatures and bass & guitar techniques. First-time guest Lalo Fierro (and son!) join us to discuss their Primus experiences, as well as Lalo's interpretations of The Seven. Live cuts, a cover, and lots of laughter in this one. No idea why we're so giddy. https://www.patreon.com/primustracks https://www.ins...

We move into a new Primus record cycle and recap all of the hints the band dropped in early 2017 as to what was to come; the final product being The Desaturating Seven. By modern standards a short album, we discuss the initial mixed reception to the record's concept and execution, and how crowds were won over by live performances. We dig into the promotions for the album and the parallels in recor...

David Lefkowitz, Primus/Les manager for about 20 years, returns to the podcast for more deep insight into the Primus timeline. Last time, Dave took us through the halcyon days of the Bay Area scene in the 1980s. This time, we discuss the marketing and promotion of Frizzle Fry, and what it took to get onto a major label, Interscope, and how Primus navigated the seas of cheesein 1991-92. Great talk...

Primus and Ween accompanied Matt Stone and Trey Parker, along with a host of supporting performers on a two-night run at the famed Red Rocks to celebrate South Park's 25th anniversary. You'll get a firsthand account of the action, as JOSH WAS THERE. If you haven't already, check out the pro-shot footage on Paramount+; these performances will likely never happen again, and it was a truly magical ex...