Primus Tracks

The penultimate Brown Album track mystifies and delights with its tantalizing guitar, bouncy bass, grooving drums. Easily greater than the sum of the parts, Renegade stands as a favorite for many from this record. Matt Hunter helps us understand the foundation of the tune and what makes it special. Plus, Frankie uses the word "thicc" again and makes us listen to his favorite part of the song 78 ti...

Soya brings another heavy into the fold; this time, former Primus/Les manager David Lefkowitz drops in to talk Kalamazoo, a stylistic departure of sorts, until we find the pieces that constitute source material. Prima, Goodman, Miller....it all coalesces and becomes a Primus treat. We have an extended chat with David to drop after we finish the Brown Album, so be ready for that! @primustracks Get...

Les Claypool: Old Person Mall Aficionado. Anthony Garcia and Soya provide local color to Coddingtown Mall of the 1990s as we examine this unusual Primus offering. What treasures of Santa Rosa can they unearth? Does a cover of this track exist? How in the world can there be an 1897 connection?! Put on your white New Balance shoes and let's go mall-walkin' to find out. Get involved Instagram Faceboo...

Restin' Bones was roundly cited as one of the weakest Brown Album tracks upon release, and we reassess this claim. What do Josh, Frankie and Soya think of it 24 years later? Dig in your shoes and you just might find out! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Hello, what's this? We're back to the Brown Album norm of "A-B and out," or are we? Featuring a blast of drums from Brain, some mathematical manipulation by Ler, and an elastic bass lick from Les, Duchess has more to it than meets the eye, and it certainly opens doors to jamming live, which makes it a latter-day staple. Lespecial's Rory Dolan explains and models the drum parts (including the solo!...

Bob's Party Time Lounge is "overworked," for various reasons, according to Brain and Soya, who lived the making of the track. We discuss how a track moves into that territory, and Jonny G of lespecial returns to deconstruct and demonstrate one of Ler's most rippin' Primus guitar solos. This track is definitely a hidden gem; glad you came to find out why. Find Jonny @lespecialmusic on the socials @...

While Soya changes out Brown Album records, Larry "Ler" LaLonde takes the Primus Tracks crew into Ler Land for a career-spanning trip through influences, guitars, touring, music, and, most importantly, Ler's hair. Enjoy our talk with Larry Legend! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Louis Ortega and his fretted six drop in to discuss this crusher of a track, aptly named Puddin' Taine, the greatest hype man this side of PT Barnum. Is that what Les Claypool was going for in the lyrics? We break it all down, Josh finds a cover version, and Frankie asks the deep questions about the darker side of the track. Plus, Soya drops some nuggets from the Brown Album tour. @primustracks on...

We doff our caps to the road crews that bring live music to us, through endless obstacles, lack of sleep, and a generally hostile work environment. Cheez and Soya drop some truly great Primus road stories throughout this episode as we discuss Hats Off, the most autobiographical Les Claypool track at the time. See the visuals we discuss @primustracks on Instagram and Twitter Email: primustrackspod@...

The much-maligned Camelback Cinema is obnoxious, numbing, and strange for Primus standards, which makes it a memorable and appreciable track for the Primus Tracks hosts! Soya gets into what makes this drum groove so difficult. Frankie unearths a set list and review of the now-legendary (to us) Bottom Of The Hill show from 97 at which this track was performed. He also brings camel facts(!). Hang on...

The lead single from Brown Album deserves the heavy treatment, and Soya brings us face-to-virtual-face with the mysterious legend, Turk Black. Josh gets into why it's such a big deal to meet Turk, and Turk & Soya's special connection to the track. Frankie and Landon get behind the bass groove, and we all figure out just what it means to "shake hands with beef," which is /not/ what you're thinking....

The second single from Brown Album sees Primus riding in the "traditional music" lane, albeit with their own spin on proceedings. Again, we're stuck in the 19th century with the subject matter. and everything we find reinforces the idea. Hop in the barrel and enjoy! Email: Primustrackspod@gmail.com @primustracks on Instagram & Twitter Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

A fan favorite from Brown Album, Josh wants to know why this wasn't the lead single. Frankie uses the word "idiosyncratic," and lespecial's Luke Bemand tells us why, musically, this track shouldn't make any sense. @primustracks on IG and Twitter. Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

The second track from Primus's Brown Album wallows in the depths of the brutality and corruption of bareknuckle boxing. Frankie lectures on the history of fisticuffs as well as the Lilly & McCoy of the lyrics, and Josh examines their connection to James Ambrose, aka Yankee Sullivan. Soya sounds off on the prep for this track and the overall sound. Plus, live tracks and the Ler Appreciation Society...

Fellow colleagues, distinguished podcast listeners, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for joining us to explore the introductory track of the Brown Album. Our pal Leif drops in to discuss the music and the overall impact of this track as an opener, while Soya mines his memory for some intimate details. Also, Leif makes a musical connection to Ler's guitar line on...

Bryan "Brain" Mantia joined Primus during a period of uncertainty for the band, and helped drive them in a whole new direction - huge (literally) drums, overdriven grooves, and blown-out sounds. Brain gets us into Rancho Relaxo for the making of Brown Album and drops some behind-the-scenes knowledge about some of his first live shows with the band. Soya brings another heavy to you on Primus Tracks...

Jay Lane graciously joins our little podcast to get into the nitty-gritty details of some early-days Primus, as well as touching on Sausage, Frog Brigade, and the 2010 reformation with Larry LaLonde and Les Claypool. If you're anything like me, you'll only listen to Tower Of Power and The Time for weeks after this one. Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Frankie takes total control of the podcast, kidnapping the men of lespecial and subjecting them to 15 extremely rare Primus / Claypool live covers (okay, a couple are somewhat common). We get into the covers, the original artists, and of course Frankie has to talk about Bowie. Thanks again to lespecial for being game to join in! Find them @lespecialmusic on socials and at lespecial.net Get involve...

Carla Freestep, aka Lupin, joins the podcast to share some stories from the road as the de facto photographer for some Frog Brigade and Primus tours. She shares the challenges of photographing in low light, getting Herb to look like an action hero, and some of her favorite people to capture. Find her work at wildlupin.com and order a print, ya ingrates! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn y...

Longtime poster and album artist Reuben Rude drops in to discuss the Primus Poster Series of 2011-present, how he goes about his artistic process, and what makes working with Les/Primus unique. Find Reuben at reubenrude.com and on social media! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Cellist Teddy Rankin-Parker recalls his experience sliding into the Wonka tour to hold down one half of the Fungi Ensemble. What was it like getting into the rock world? How was working with Les and Primus? What the heck did Teddy do during the first set? We get into these topics and more. Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Ah, The Residents. Men of mystery. Of enchantment. And the finest influence on Les Claypool this side of Geddy Lee! We dive into some of the mythos around The Residents, but we mostly stick to the Primus side of these with a medley recorded in 1990, released as a b-side in 1995, and then included on a remaster in 2002. Skinny. Constantinople. Get it. @primustracks on Instagram and Twitter. Get inv...

No surprises this time! Soya and Rory Dolan (lespecial) help us unpack this latter-day fan favorite, and a treasure to us all - Over The Electric Grapevine. We get into the approaches of Jay Lane, Tim Alexander (and what Brain might do!) with this track, Les Claypool's bass groove, and Larry LaLonde's beautiful Ler-Land moments. And with that, we'll have finished Tales From The Punchbowl. Lots mor...

The unthinkable has happened. What started as Soya, Josh, and Frankie with lespecial drummer Rory turned into a goofball hangout with a retelling of the Grapevine story (and many more!) with Adam Gates and Les Claypool. ADAM GATES AND LES CLAYPOOL. Listen. Savor. Enjoy. We couldn't be happier to share this with you. Thank you, Soya! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Soya and Gene Meyer (of Bandit) join us to talk about On The Tweek Again, a thematic sequel to a Primus classic. It's musically sparse, but we're able to mine the track for the psychology of drug abuse and Les Claypool approaches the topic. Soya tells the story behind a failed New Year's Eve gag from '94, and Josh demands Gene's top 5 comedians - severe consequences for not naming Richard Pryor! F...