Primus Tracks

This is a strange track, but in a different vein from the previous three; for the first time ever on a Les Claypool-fronted record, someone other than Les is on vocals! Perhaps the presence of Henry Rollins is why this track feels so out of place, but there are redeeming qualities - mostly, knowing that you're a marked man, no matter where you are. Enjoy! Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn...

Another Holy Mack track, another heavy! This time, Bruce Swenson joins us to discuss Cohibas Esplenditos and its unabashed star, Mirv Haggard. Bruce crewed for MIRV for many years, and met Soya on the Holy Mack tour. Great stories abound as we hear about the recording of this track, reveal the identities of the subjects of this tune and relive some moments from the Holy Mack tour. Plus. Frankie le...

What Calling Kyle begins, Rancor continues: madcap adventures in home-studio recording with Les Claypool. Soya relives some Mackerel tour moments via the live cuts of this track, which introduced Brain as the new Primus drummer, and everyone had time to show off their wackiness. Do it up! Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Perhaps the most bizarre of them all, Calling Kyle seems to be Les Claypool channeling his inner Residents, or simply letting his id run wild. Soya recalls the vibe around this track, and Frankie has insight on the otherwise indecipherable lyrics, as well as killer live cuts. Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Track 4 of the Holy Mackerel record showcases Mirv's surf guitar prowess, and this tune became a live favorite of the Holy Mack crew on the 1996 tour; deservedly so, and letting Mirv run wild is always a good thing. We jog Soya's memory and get some nuggets about the drum sound, Mirv's approach, and Frankie has some massive live cuts. Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get invol...

For the track Highball With The Devil, we needed a heavy, and Soya delivered with the legendary Adam Gates, who contributed backing vocals to the tune. Adam talks about the track itself, a bit about Precipitation, and the recording/sound philosophy of the Holy Mackerel record. Plus, we wind up Soya and Adam, then let'em go with some tour stories. Check out the Primus Tracks Patreon for the extende...

Track 2 of Les Claypool & The Holy Mackerel Presents Highball With The Devil is the first two title tracks. For this one, Les brought in Jay Lane on drums, and Joe Gore & MIRV for guitar parts. It's one of the more complete tunes on the record, and reflects the spirited approach to this DIY project. Matt Hunter and Soya join to discuss the instrumentation and the mostly obtuse lyrics, plus...

In this episode, we begin our track-by-track discussions of the 1996 release Les Claypool & The Holy Mackerel Presents Highball With The Devil - Les's first solo record. Running The Gauntlet is the opening track, and Tim Soya was there for most of the recording process! He sheds light on the atmosphere at Rancho Relaxo as Les put this record together and a revolving cast of guests turned up to...

We return to the Prawn Song Records well to discuss a pair of 1994 releases by Primus principles: the self-titled Porch, helmed by Todd Huth, and Tim Alexander's band Laundry and their record Blacktongue. These two records vary in styles, but are ultimately the voices of the men who formed them. Todd's signature guitar riffage is all over Porch, and Tim's unmistakble, powerful drumming drives Laun...

We return to the Prawn Song Records catalogue to discuss MIRV's Cosmodrome, recorded in 1993 at Les Claypool's house for release on his own record label. This record deserves a deep dive give nthat Les produces and performs all over the record, and that Marc "MIRV" Haggard is such an important figure in the Primus/Les world. The band MIRV has opened for Primus numerous times, and Marc has performe...

Mike Dillon, aka Jazz Dad, returns to Primus Tracks. The busiest man in music gives us the skinny on his new Punkadelick record, Inflorescence, and primes us for his Jazzfest lineup on May 4 in New Orleans, and the upcoming Frog Brigade tour. Mike's bands are not to be missed! Mike Dillon on Instagram Mike on Bandcamp Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Fac...

We've reached the final track of the Sausage record, and it's time to relax with an instrumental jam that escorts us off the premises. We discuss our lasting impressions of the record as a whole, as well as running down some missed info from previous episodes. Next week: Mike Dillon's back! Get involved: Instagram Twitter Email Burn your money Get involved Instagram Facebook Email Burn your money 

Recreating is another early Primate track that was resurrected for the Sausage record, and it's a ripper! Soya joins us from Portugal to bend his knee and praise Recreating to the heavens from the altar of Jay Lane. This powerful track features Les Claypool using a tremolo for the entire tune as well as a vocal falsetto, an unmistakable Todd Huth riff, and some syncopation that'll knock you off ba...

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...