Welcome to know your bass player, today we're talking about Les Claypool from the band Primus.
Leslie Claypool’s very first bass
was a Memphis Precision typed copy.
Mentioned in interviews he always wanted a Rickenbacker and saved up to buy one.
Sometime later he went to buy that Rickenbacker but was talked out of it by the sales clerk
and instead bought an Ibanez Musician EQ which he used before the debut of Primus.
Primus in one form or another rose to popularity in the San Francisco bay area during the mid
1980s.
Les Claypool was seen in performances at this time using a 4 string Carl Thompson Piccolo bass
Made with walnut and mahogany. and one EMG soapbar pickup.
Footage from live shows at this time date the use of the Walnut Carl Thompson
Which I’m gonna call “main bass” from now on - as early as 1989.
It’s been cited that when Les originally saw this Carl Thompson bass
He said it was the “ugliest he had ever seen”.
However after actually trying the bass first hand
he soon changed his mind.
Instead he learned that it was the most comfortable bass he had ever played.
And bought the bass the next day. and ended up using Carl Thompson basses throughout
his career, which we’ll get to in gripping detail.
The main walnut 4 string was primarily used during live shows
like 1989s Suck On This and 1990’s Fizzle Fry.
Over this period you’ll notice that the bass had a few minor updates.
Like the addition of a black Kahler tremolo bar
and a modification to the headstock.
It looks like the headstock was replaced most likely due to damage
and also includes a piece of flamed maple signed by Rushs’ Geddy Lee
This was added somewhere between 1992 and 1993.
Les also had a second 4 string Carl Thompson made of Maple
but it is primarily used as a backup during the same period.
For the duration of this video I’m going to call it “the back up bass”.
In 1991 Les made the decision to play a 6 string bass.
Stating he “wanted to do something totally different”
after taking influence from King Crimson’s Tony Levin
who played a Chapman Stick.
And If you’re not familiar with a chapman stick,
it’s a 10 or sometimes a 12 string polyphonic chordal instrument
and a member of the guitar family.
Subscribe for more factiods down below! *ting*
Les then put in an order with luthier Carl Thompson.
And halfway through the construction he decided that the bass should be fretless.
This explains why this bass has lines in the neck
as the frets were pulled out during its construction.
Les describes the instrument as more of a challenge
but it was a bass that opened a lot of doors for him.
Unfortunately this bass was not ready by the time Primus recorded Sailing the Seas of Cheese
in January 1991.
As a result Les bought a Tune 6-string bass and used this to record on the album.
The Tune 6 string can be seen in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey as well as live shows
at this time.
Les has also stated this bass too -- eventually had its frets pulled.
The Carl Thompson fretless 6 string finally made an appearance later in 1991
on the music video “Tommy the Cat”.
It was Carl Thompson who named this bass the "Rainbow bass",
due to the fact the body contains strips of walnut, curly maple, padauk, padauk? padauk?
Padauk,
Padauk.
Padauk, purpleheart, ebony and cocobolo wood all reflecting the light in different ways.
During the Sailing the Seas of Cheese tour from 1991 to 1992.
A Zeta Upright Electric bass was used for the song “Over the Falls”.
The Rainbow bass was used in tandem alongside the main bass to record 1993’s
Pork Soda.
Which returned in the music video “My Name is Mud”.
Following this, the video for DMV was released.
featuring backstage footage from a show dated October 1993.
In these clips you can see you see a brand new 6 string fretted Carl Thompson
with 2 EMG soapbar pickups. The rainbow bass and the main bass.
The final music video from Pork Soda was “Mr Krinkle”
and shows Les playing a Kay M1B upright acoustic bass.
On the next album, Tales from the punch bowl.
things were changing in the primus camp
Not only was there a lot more expirmentation going on
in terms of recording techniques and instrumentation
This was the first album to be recorded in Les’ own home studio
aptly named Rancho Relaxo (a location set in the simpsons).
This would also be original drummer Tim Alexander's last record with the band
but spoiler alert...
he comes back in 2003.
In terms of experimentation the record features the Zeta and the Kay upright
As well as a ba ssjo. Yes … You heard me a bassjo - A Bass Banjo
a banjo bass.
a bass jo
“Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" was the first video to air off of “Tales From The Punch
Bowl”. In this video Les is playing a 70’s Fender
Jazz in red with a maple neck. This bass was seen fairly regularly in live
and studio segments in the 1998 home video “Videoplasty”.
On the same note, a creamy/white Fender Jazz was also shown and most likely a back up to
the Red Jazz.
The following music video shows the main 4 string on Southbound Pachyderm.
And while Claymation, it’s presumed the Kay Acoustic was used when recording
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia".
Straight after Punch Bowl Les then took advantage of lul in Primus schedule
to go through a bunch of ideas he’s accumulated on tapes.
Made up mostly of self-produced freak-outs and impromptu jams with buddies,
The sessions were released as a solo album performing under the name
Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel in 1996.
Whilst most of his gear remained the same.
We hear the debut of the Italian made Eko Fiddle bass
A nice alternative to a Hofner bass. And an introduction to a Ned Steinberger upright
bass. In place of the Zeta.
Mentioned in an interview at the time, the 6 string fretted Carl Thompson was used as well.
This configuration looks like it was extended into the Brown album period
as no additional changes were reported.
In video releases from the album we see the 6 string fretted Carl Thompson
and the Kay Acoustic Bass.
The same set up is reflected in tour videos of the same time period.
Antipop was the sixth studio album and released in 1999.
Les said in an article with Bass Player Magazine
That no fretless basses are on this record. Most of it is just straight-up 4-string.,
Les explains further;
I was going to use my Jazz Bass, but I have this Carl Thompson I’ve always used as my
backup (the back up bass); I just started playing it a lot, and it sounds
and feels awesome. ...I called Carl and told him I wanted to
retire my main 4-string. But it takes Carl a long time to make a bass.
in the meantime I used my backup bass and my fretted 6-string.
In the same interview Les admits the six string isn’t fun on stage
with his vocals going in one direction and the bass in the the other.
Having missed the recording sessions and following the release of Antipop.
The brand new Ebony Carl Thompson was revealed in the music video for Lacquer head.
This was the band's final release before their hiatus in the year 2000.
Les cited that “With Primus, it wasn’t like we hated each other or anything. We were
just completely burnt out.”
Now. I know Les at this point in time goes to start several side projects which I’ll
get to shortly.
But I want to wrap up the Primus gear and keep it simple before muddying the waters
with different bands and crossovers.
So to continue
In mid-2003, after a three year hiatus. (boy does time go quick)
Claypool reunited with former Primus drummer Tim Alexander -
totally called it by the way! -
and guitarist Larry LaLonde
to record a DVD/EP called Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People.
Primus then weaved in some shows and a live DVD between Les’ solo projects going on
at this time. The Live DVD Hallucino-Genetics came out
in 2004
and Les debuted his seventh Carl Thompson
Les debuted his seventh Carl Thompson bass.
Another piccolo style bass but with Jazz style pickups
Most of the side projects came to a natural break by 2010
paving the way for to the band record their next album.
Primus return to to the 21st century in September 2011 with their album Green Naugahyde.
During the recording of the album a “Letter From Les” was published on his
website providing a brief update of progress.
In this letter Les addresses the speculation and interest in a bass he used during a New
Years Eve show December 2010.
Les explains he was using a prototype bass that he designed
and was built by high school friend Dan Maloney.
Having had the idea of building a bass for quite a while.
He was able to incorporate elements of some of his favorites basses and fancincess to boot.
It’s part Fender Jazz, Precision, Rickenbacker, Carl Thompson, a Jaguar E-Type car and a little
a little bit of bit of Dr. Seuss for some fun.
Anticipating questions regarding Carl Thompson, Les continued.
“Some may wonder why I didn't have Carl make the instrument
and the answer is that Carl is a unique artist and his designs stand on their own. “
Simply put - it would be like telling Picasso what to paint.
This bass would be named the Pachyderm bass.
Only a handful of these basses have been made so far
and two of which have been auctioned to charity over the years
fetching over $75k dollars altogether.
Primus & the Chocolate Factory. Was a reimagining of the 1971
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack.
It features his pachyderm bass, A new 5 string Ned Steinberger upright bass
and a resonator bass.
Both are new to Primus records but quite prominent in Les’ side projects.
Which we are getting to...
Desaturating Seven was released in 2017 and Bass Player Magazine reports Les
primarily using a Pachyderm on most of the pieces
but still hauling out his rainbow bass and a 5 string NS when he needs to.
This equipment is also seen during live shows of the same period
And looking at live videos from 2018 this still holds true.
and of course, the whamola still makes an appearance
and if you don't know what a Whamola is
we’re gonna get to that ... now!.
So that’s Les Claypool and Primus out the way.
We’re now going to focus on the side projects Les took part in from 2000 up to 2016.
Starting where Primus originally left off in 2000.
Les started several projects which eventually lead up to the Primus reunion.
During this time he formed supergroup Oysterhead which featured guitarist Trey Anastasio of
Phish
and drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police,
They had a small tour and released an album The Grand Pecking Order in 2001.
Les was seen on stage at this time using the main bass
These two basses were also used in the subsequent band
Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade
On both live albums and studio release.
In addition to this a 5 string Ned Steinberger upright bass was used on Hendershot
Notably another instrument introduced at this time was the Whamola.
A one string washtub style instrument with a pickup.
Pulling the handle at the top increases tension on the string
and makes for a fun sounding jam session.
A retrospective DVD “5 Gallons of Diesel” was released some time later
but included clips not seen by the public.
In one of the performances with the Frogs Les is playing a 8 string Kramer.
On the song Buzzards of Greenhill.
Les also made an apperance on a live DVD with Govt Mule in 2003
during tihs performance Les is using a Rickenbacker, given to him by Rushs guitarist
Alex Lifeson
After the frogs, a second supergroup was formed in 2002 and named
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (C2B3)
featuring, guitarist Buckethead and drummer Bryan Mantia of Gun Roses fame
as well as the late keyboardist Bernie Worrell - recording 1 album and touring in 2004.
Again he used his Carl Thompsons but also pulls out his Bassjo during the set.
By 2005 Les had moved on to the Fancy Band which sees the return of the Main Carl Thompson
and the Rainbow bass.
The Bassjo and the upright NS also make appearances
The Fancy band then evolved slightly adding a few more members and recording Les’
second solo album “Of Fungi and Foe” in 2009.
It’s around this time that the Michael Kelly Resonator bass made its first appearance.
Sporting some lovely looking pearloid block inlays.
A few years later in 2012. An aptly named duo called Duo de Twang partnered
up. Les, partners with highschool friend Bryan
Kehoe
(at least I figured out what happened to him huh!).
Duo de Twang comprises of just one bass, one guitar,
and a whole lot of foot stompin’ Les explains “We get up there and start
drinking telling stories and cracking jokes
and occasionally play a tune. It seems to work out.”
Les primary uses a Michael Kelly Bayou 4 resonator bass
and switches between an early model distinguishable by its pearloid block inlays
and an a recent version. With a tobacco burst body and dotted inlays.
Then finally In 2016
Claypool approached Sean Lennon about doing a recording project.
Sean Lennon, if you haven’t guessed already, is the son of late Beatle John Lennon.
From the bands bio “Sean said he didn’t have plans for this next year,
we started… making an old-school, psychedelic/prog record.
Next thing I know, he’s staying in my guesthouse, drinking my vino
and banging on my drums.”
(I hope that’s not a euphemism in Primus humour)
This peculiar group seems to be a culmination of Claypool's history.
Taking and using influence from the Pachyderm bass,
the 5 string NS, the resonator bass
and the vintage eko violin bass.
Take a look at the show notes for a list of all gear and stuff not included in the video
today.
This is the first video out of a 2 part series so make sure you subscribe
and click the bell icon so you don’t miss Les Claypool’s Amplifiers and Effects pedals.
Thank you very much for watching and I’ll see you in part 2.