Primus Tracks

Jordan Kravitz recently joined the Primus crew to photograph some 2024 dates, including New Year's Eve. He's currently out capturing the band on numerous dates of the 2025 Onward & Upward tour, bringing us our first comprehensive look at John Hoffman in the Primus drum chair. Jordan disucsses how he got the gig, his approach to capturing the energy and presentation of the music, dealing with d...

Dave Kloc is a prolific artist who designs posters for a wide variety of artists, but when PRIMUS comes calling, he ups his game. Enjoy a peek behind his creative process and unique approach to making these lasting images. This episode is best experienced on video at patreon.com/primustracks Find Dave at www.davekloc.com and @davekloc on the socials.  Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn you...

We conclude our Of Whales And Woe coverage with this sendoff instrumental that airs a bit of mystery with its abrupt conclusion and sound samples/field recordings. We take a stab at what it might all mean, but perhaps it's just a bit of wordplay. Final thoughts on OWAW, and a preview of what's to come. Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money  Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Bur...

Sam Stewart of Flagman returns to discuss Filipino Ray, an acrobatic bass jaunt that comprises the penultimate track of Of Whales and Woe. The bass lines go hard, but there is a lot of open space as well, which can be tricky for many musicians. Sam helps us with those intricacies, and regales with his own tales of whales and woe around procuting and hearing this record for the first time. We also...

We all know about the South Park theme, but were you aware that Les Claypool wrote and performed the theme to Robot Chicken, another long-running animated television program? Probably. We discuss his involvement in the show theme, its inclusion on this record, and Frankie takes the "miscellaneous instrumentation" quiz.  Bob with keyboards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raehRGepI4w&t=6546s Ge...

The hips of the record have arrived! This utterly accessible, catchy track doubles as a slice-of-life study of a commercial fisherman, whose solace is the sea, despite its diminishing economic returns. We weigh how officially unofficial this track stands as a Fisherman's Chronicle, and and explain why it's the most-performed track from the record, although that's fairly clear to aficionados.  Get...

The great Kello Gonzalez returns to the podcast on short notice to discuss Nothin' Ventured, which we interpret as our version of a Les Claypool motivational speech, particularly because the spirit of the song (bass solos) and lyrics (taking risks to achieve something) mirrors what LEs did with his career path. IT's also chock-full of cultural idioms amd a sneaky masturbation joke; everyone's favo...

Les Claypool's ode to his wife, Chaney, starts side two of Of Whales and Woe, and there's certainly no woe to be found in this joyous track, which reflects the irrational emotional highs of fulfilled love, through the Claypool lens. Josh, a native Iowan, sheds some light on the lyrical references and discusses agricultural exports, because that's all Iowans talk about aside from the weather.  We a...

This week, we offer up a commentary track on the hour-long Primus Interstellar Drum Derby finale. Receiving this much video footage of the band auditioning, practicing, rehearsing, jamming, and recording music is so rewarding after years of shelved video-based projects.  You can join in the fun by simply listening in, syncing the youtube video with the podcast ep at the 12:52 mark in the audio, or...

NEW TRACK ALERT!  Primus have released Little Lord Fentanyl, the first track to include newly-minted drummer John Hoffman. The track was a part of the final drum auditions for Hoffman and Borlai, who each composed drum tracks for the song. We discuss the workings of the tune and the lyrical content in a knee-jerk reaction mode, and what it possibly portends for Primus.  Little Lord Fentanyl: https...

Today's track tells the tale of Richard McCaslin, a self-proclaimed superhero, who, disguised as the Panthom Patriot, invaded the Bohemian Grove in search of child sacrifices and other horrific crimes...in the off-season when the economic and political elite were not present. We provide the background on the story, as does Les Claypool in our associated live cuts. We also have with us regular cont...

The great Gene Meyer (@genemeyelol on the socials) of Bandit fame returns to the pod to discuss Vernon the Company Man. We get literary with some associations to Kerouac, Ginsberg, Arthur Miller, but we even it out with jokes about PRimus shirts being more effective than chastity belts. This tune is certainly a unique departure in terms of this record, but also for Claypool in general, thanks to e...

We tackle the title track this week with the help of old friend Lalo Fierro, who, even as a seasoned gigging bassist, maintains an uneven relationship with Claypool's bass playing, mostly due to its unpredictable nature, which is emblematic of today's track. We also consider the eternal question: Do you humor the crusty old guy's stories, or do you not engage? Plus, commentary on the recently comp...

After the bicep of One Better, we head straight to the crotch for Lust Stings. Les seems to want to highlight the body parts that the people want to see. Lust Stings gleefully swamps the listener with percussion and instrumentation that makes you want to take a hot shower, and adds to it off-putting yet matter-of-fact lyrics about the spread of STI. While all of that doesn't sound too appealing, i...

The great Luke Bemand returns to Primus Tracks to tackle One Better, the "bicep" of the Of Whales and Woe record. Luke shows us how Les flexes all over this track, and it's not limited to bass, as Les provides drums and guitar in addition to his usual bass and vocals. Luke also brings some commentary from Mike Dillon, who stars on the track. This is a Frankie favorite, so get ready for some fanboy...

Les Claypool followed up his Electric Apricot jaunt with a collection of taut, focused tunes in 2006's Of Whales And Woe record, which largely sees Les on his own in the studio, laying down bass, guitar, drums, percussion, and vocals for these tracks, and guest turns from the mighty Mike Dillon, Skerik, and Gabby La La. We discuss the album's backdrop, the physical releases, the Fancy touring band...

We are thrilled to speak with Soya and Steve Freeman, aka Extrakd, who has created loads of diverse music over the years with the likes of Brain, Disk, Mirv, Ler, and Buckethead. We tread some of the history and releases from the 90s and 00s, but hone in on Mars Mechanics, which has a new album titled In Through The Drive Through. The record is primarily arranged and performed by Steve , Brain , a...

Les Claypool was quite productive in the mid 00s, including these two discs  - one a smattering of videos and live cuts from his numerous non-Primus projects; the other a live experience sourced from fan videos of the 2006 Fancy Band tour. Each DVD came about before the proliferation of Youtube and smartphones with decent audio and video capture properties, so they were welcome additions to the ca...

In 2005, Les Claypool spawned an idea that would form Electric Apricot, a fictitious jam band of goofballs and misfits chasing their dream gig at Festeroo. The "band" formed and recorded some tracks at Rancho Relaxo in early 2005 before hitting the road that spring for some gigs that allowed them to gather live footage in between principle shooting slots. The film had a limited theatrical release,...

Flapjax has been there since the beginning and seen it all in the world of Primus and Les - the long, slow rise to notoriety, life on the road, making music a sort-of career, and being with his friends through it all. Soya joins to reminisce and jog Dave's memory - it's a great old-school time! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money  Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your m...

In our newest sub-series, Primus Legacy, we speak with pro musicians who have a fondness for Primus, and how the music impacted their musical paths. We begin with the great Tye Zamora, who you may know from Alien Ant Farm, \'mēk\, and his stints subbing in for bands such as Slightly Stoopid. Tye charts his Primus superfandom and how it influenced his development as a bassist, and handles with ease...

We conclude our c2b3 experience with the towering album closer, Ignorance Is Bliss. Peat Rains of You Bred Raptors? joins us to explicate the music and lyrics, and to discuss what makes this a grand statement at the end of the record. For those who don't know what a mohel is, we have you covered.  Find Peats band, You Bred Raptors? on Instagram and at youbredraptors.com Get involved Instagram Face...

Note: We recorded this episode prior to NYE, and I thought it fitting to include our postulations as to what we'd witness, you know, for s&g.  48 Hours To Go is another tune critical of the W administration and sticks with lyrics of its time. We dig into the time capsule lyrics and the heady jams that Brain brings to the fore. Plus, Josh is entranced by this week's live tracks, and Frankie get...

WE WERE THERE. The two-night stand for 2024 New Year's Eve dubbed Claypool Gold contained numerous surprises and delights to the senses as Les and Larry recruited numerous familiar faces to support them in performing a wide variety of tunes from the worlds of Holy Mackerel, Frog Brigade, and Primus. Limbomaniacs and Beanpole provided inspiring opening acts, making for two nights full of madness. W...

Jackalope is the third of three instrumental tracks on the c2b3 record, and it doesn't stick around too long. However, it does have some unique aspects to it that separate the track from the rest of the record. Lalo Fierro helps us by modeling the bass parts and describing their singular elements, and how the band works together to make something groovy with very few theatrics.  And while we're on...