Primus Tracks

It seems antithetical to describe anything Claypool-related as pleasant, but that's the word which comes to mind for this jaunt. The vocal layering is a highlight here, as well as the imadery produced by the lyrics. Feel the gravel between your toes and dance your way through this episode of Primus Tracks! Get involved: Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook Email...

The title "Rubberneck Lions" suggests a strange word soup, but there's some kind of meaning underneath the opaque lyrics, and they trend towards familiar territory for Les Claypool and Trey Anastasio. We closely inspect this track, which is one of four that survived Oysterhead's initial performance in May 2000. Get involved: Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook...

Army's on Ecstasy, or as I call it, Military on Molly, is a an uptempo, art-rock exploration of musical compormise. That is to say, with three strong-willed musicians in the room, something has to give, and this is what we get. It's sort of poppy, sort of jammy, and sort of weird, but undeniably a product of Les, Stew, and Trey. We get into these unique Claypool lyrics, their source material, and...

We can all breathe and drift away after the heavy subject matter and oppressive aura of Shadow of a Man, and perhaps it's a relief that the music of Radon Balloon is light and airy, and the lyrics make zero sense. Either way, please have your basement tested for radon, the silent killer, and then drift away as Josh and Frankie talk about the only Oysterhead track credited solely to Trey Anastasio....

Despite being an Oysterhead track, we suspect this is a tune that Les had at least formulated during the Primus Antipop cycle, and was revived for the Oysterhead record after some time on the shelf. The only track solely penned by Claypool on The Grand Pecking Order, this one is a quintessential Les track, and we discuss the for such an assertion, while embracing the darkness of the lyrical experi...

For the mighty thematic track underpinning the formation of Oysterhead and the purpose behind its record, we turn to a favorite, Kello Gonzalez, to discuss the structure and freedoms that both exist within Mr. Oysterhead. It's rare that Les pens such confident lyrics about himself and his music, but when you're flanked by Stew and Trey, I suppose one might be feeling their oats. Kello provides inf...

Who is Oz? Why is he floating? What does this have to do with John C. Lilly? We tackle all of these questions and more to gain an understanding of the second track from Oysterhead's The Grand Pecking Order, a compact number that tangentially broaches the metaphysical. Plus, song history, live tracks, and Josh helps you avoid cults, FOR FREE. Get involved: Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money G...

We continue our Primus-adjacent chronology with the 2001 release by Oysterhead, The Grand Pecking Order. This record came about after Les Claypool, Trey Anastasio, and Stewart Copeland reconvened at Trey's barn in Vermont many months after their only planned gathering, a one-off (at the time) show in May 2000 in New Orleans. In this episode, we chart the band's formation and development of the rec...

David Lefkowitz returns to Primus Tracks to further flesh out the narrative of the band's 1990s rise. We discuss the Pork Soda album cycle, complete with production, videos, touring, and how the band responded to suddenly having a top ten record. Soya and Josh hold it down in Frankie's absence. Get ready for inside baseball! Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade returned in majestic form as they toured the USA in 2023 - 57 shows that thrilled, delighted, and awed audiences who came for the Claypoolian tunes and stayed for the cover of the entire Animals album by Pink Floyd. We delve into the tour by the numbers, provide our own personal highlights from the shows we attended and recordings abailable, and read lot...

After Primus went on hiatus in 2000, Les Claypool was at a musical and professional crossroads. Eventually, he assembled a group of friends as Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade for some festivals, and after solidifying the lineup, took to touring the States in a small Airstream trailer. These efforts results in Live Frogs Set 1 and Set 2, which provide a glimpse into the early Fr...

This week, we discuss Buckethead's album Monsters And Robots, a 1999 effort that features Les Claypool and Brian Mantia writing and performing with Bucket during some time off from Primus. The result: six unqie tracks from a Buckethead ouvre that now includes over 400 albums, a dizzying number. We provide a brief overview of Bucket's mysterious persona, and how Les and Brain help shape this record...

We take a detour from our standard programming to talk with frequent guest Luke Bemand about the new lespecial record, Odd Times. All three members of the band are good friends of the podcast, and we're excited to talk about their new music. Of course, it's not without some Primus connections. Luke discusses which track is a direct Pork Soda descendant, and the motivation behind the record's heavi...

In 1998 and 2001, Tim Alexander teamed up with guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Michael Manring to create records under the name Attention Deficit. We are honored to have Michael Manring join us to document and sample those two records, as well as his work with Tim on Michael's records Thonk and Book of Flame. We also get into Michael's latest record, Small Moments, to discuss his mindset when...

The great Harry Waters takes the glass elevator up to the 38th floor of Primus Tracks Towers to discuss his endeavors in film and tv composition, as well as his role in the Frog Brigade and the relationships therein, as he gears up for the Hunt For Green October run with Les Claypool and company. Plus, Harry gives Josh some piano-playing tips, FOR FREE. Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn y...

Tim Alexander resuscitated Laundry in 1999 to create Motivator. Tim took over vocal duties, and the resulting effort is in many ways a departure from the first Laundry effort, but still delivers excellence. Frankie hadn't heard this record before the episode, so tune in to see why we make so many Tool references with this music, and why it's an intriguing listen! The CD is hard to find, but the al...

Here's another sub-series within the Primus Tracks realm: Ask Soya! We put out the call, and you answered with your hard-hitting questions about the Primus world. Is Soya up to the task? Find out in the episode as he faces queries about his own drumming, and some hair-raising experiences as a drum tech, and that time he got a talking-to from Les Claypool. Do you have a question for Tim Soya? Acces...

Bonnaroo 2008 saw Les Claypool assemble a one-off lineup to perform a bevy of his solo tracks around a couple of setlist surprises. Sam Bass, Pualo Baldi, and MIRV joined Les to delight and bewilder the assembled masses in a show that stands out among all of the performances billed to Les Claypool. Frankie guides us through the highlights and gives backstory to the circumstances of the show. Playl...

We double-dip to close out our exploration of Les Claypool & The Holy Mackerel Presents Highball With The Devil by discussing the two instrumentals at the end. Me and Chuck features guitar great Charlie Hunter on one of Les's guitars, and Carolina Rig lays down a dirty groove underneath a fishing program that Les captured from his television. Two disparate tracks that reveal the brilliant musi...

Granny's Little Yard Gnome is a little plaster gem hidden near the end of the record, but it hasn't escaped the watchful eye of Primus Tracks. We discuss what makes this one of the more complete tracks on the album, and sample its surprisingly rich live history. Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

An autobiographical narration about Les Claypool's decision to purpose a career in music, El Sobrante Fortnight stands out among the goofball tracks on Holy Mackerel for its control, groove, and arrhythmic narration, and of course, MIRV . We get into the details of the lyrics to better understand Les's approach here, and that leads to discussions of oysters and chicken strips. Why not. Get involve...

An oft-overlooked track on the Holy Mackerel record, George E Porge is a modern take on the children's nursey rhyme, and features some fantastic guitar work from the one and only Joe Gore. It's a rare live cut, but we have a couple to sample, and we get some more Soya stories around the Holy Mak, and his attendance at a Frog Brigade show. Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get i...

Do you want relentless, pounding rain? You'll get it with this strange offering from the Holy Mackerel record. This track dates back to 1991, and trace its lineage, as well as the lost Michael Palin audio samples along the way...or are they truly lost? With some close listening, one might hear what could have been. Turn in up and listen closely! Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your mone...

It's a special day on Tracks, as we address a tune near and dear to Les Claypool. The Awakening is a drum-and-bass piece originally by The Reddings, and over the years it's become synonymous with Les. Luke (bass) and Rory (drums) of lespecial team up to analyze the song, but along give a live performance from their band headquarters. Soya compliments the performance, the complements the legend of...

We've referenced it enough, so why not return from out summer vacation to discuss Primus at Seahawks Exhibition Hall, 2004. This recording captures the band with a more raw and aggressive sound than any of the other soundboard recordings from this run. As to the why, we discuss some possible sonic reasons, but really, they must have been feeling their oats that night. Frankie hand-picks some highl...