Les ClaypoolJoin now to read essay Les ClaypoolLes ClaypoolLeslie “Les” Claypool is a bassist and lead singer best known for his work with the alternative rock bad called Primus. Born on September 29th, 1963, in Richmond, California ( raised in El Sobrante, California in a working class family). Claypool’s mastery of the eletc
ric bass has brought him into the spotlight with his funky, creative playing style. Though he cites bass virtuoso Geddy Lee of Rush as his greatest influence. Claypool mixed metal finger-tapping, along with Larry Graham-like slap technique to develop his own style. (Slapping- Is to strike with a flat objetc
, such as the palm of the hand)Influenced by Rush’s Geddy Lee, Yes’ Chris Squire and Paul McCartney, Claypool took up bass at age fourteen. After developing his chops in his school jazz band, where he received at least some formal training (reading sheet music), and learned to play upright bass. Well, needless to say he sucked, but the teacher was patient with him and he learned all his scales etc
(that’s why when your listening to Les play you’ll hear some upright bass work on his albums). Les was tuned on to rock music such as Led Zeppelin, Cream and Jimi Hendrix by a fellow classmate, Kirk Hammett ( yes, Kirk Hammett from Metallica fame). Hammett asked Claypool to join a band he was in the late 80’s, but Les opted for another group in his high school. He played in the band Blind Illusion with future Primus guitarist Ler Lalonde. Blind Illusion was a legendary SF Bay Area metal band for years, going through many lineups and style changes prior to their first release. The original lineup ( formed around 1979) consisted of vocalist David Godfrey (later of Heathen), guitarist Mark Biedermann, bassist Alvin Petty, and drummer Bret Hern. By the time of The Sane Asylum, only Biedermann remained, and in fact Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde departed soon afterward to form Primus. The Sane Asylum was a thrash album–a very good one at that, highlighted by Les Claypool’s inventive bass work ( a style he would fully develop later in Primus.)
After graduation Claypool played in a local cover band called the Tommy Crank Band where he was able to develop his slap technique through listening to Stanely Clarke and Larry Graham. They played mostly blues, R&B, funk, and mainstream rock hits. He sharpened up on his improvisation skills due to the fact he played several sets a night almost every night of the week. After a short time, there wasn’t a musical style that he couldn’t pull off convincingly.
Les Claypool bought his first bass as teenager after seeing it in music shop in his home town. His first thought was that it was the ugliest bass he had ever seen! He tested it out with his bass testing song, “Roundabout”, and as it turns out, it was the most comfortable bass he had ever played. He begged his mom for some money and they bought it the next day. Les now owns six Carl Thompson basses. The fourth out of the six basses is perhaps the most infamous Carl Thompson bass he owns, it’s a six string fretless multi wood bass. It is nicknamed the “Rainbow Bass” because it has strips of walnut, curly maple, padauk, purple heart, ebony and cocobolo. (Carl Thompson is a New York City luthier who created Les’s custom basses). The basses all are hand-carved and totally custom made. He has also created basses for Stanley Clarke and Anthony Jackson.
Songs
Music from Les Claypool is a number of different kinds of music. “Pete” he created with pianist John McCollum at the Gramercy Music School in New Hampshire in the 1990s. It consists of three sets of songs, a guitar, and a bass. When a musician gets bored with a song, he goes off and starts adding others. Les says he invented the drums after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and it never got out of hand. With such a new sound he decided to write a song. He says he started writing because he was doing something totally different, and it is now his most popular music. “Dance In The Club” is a song about how, under the influence of drugs, he began to listen to music in the disco back in the day, and his goal was to create a sort of dance music that would create a new kind of music for his peers. It’s an out-of-body experience that the rest of us go through, even at first.
The new album, “The Routine Room” was released over two years ago and also featured John McCollum. The songs are still up to the day of the album release.
Songs by Leslie:
“Les Claypool’s Musical Score and Soundtrack
“Les Claypool’s Music Score
“Lyrics by Leslie:
John and I played our piano from 2 the moment the piano was played into the soundsystem. He played piano for years. He asked me if he could try singing at 2 in the morning at a time when it was quiet and we were just trying to do other things. I said, “No, but some people may get bored of playing a piano. The way it works comes from their mind. If they sit and sit, they don’t really listen to music, and that’s okay. Let the music go. You can get used to it when it changes from 2 to 3 in one night. You can listen to music while you can’t at night. You don’t have to be completely bored of the song. You can get used to the music you keep playing. It’s the new music!” (loud applause)
“Les Claypool’s Musical Album
“Les Claypool’s Musical Score
“The Routine Room
“The Music Room
“In The Routine Room
The Routine Room was the number one record selling vinyl in 2009. We were thrilled that it turned out to be the number one record in the country, since it is the only one that had vinyl for sale. We are so thrilled to get this to the point in our lives we couldn’t possibly wait. (The song “The Routine Room” is currently listed as the number one sold on vinyl. This is because it sold out in two weeks. This is because this is a record we are currently waiting on for release.)
When we were preparing to play “The Routine Room” at our local record store this past November, our manager asked us, “What exactly do you mean
In 1986, after the tragic death of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, Claypool auditioned to play bass for Metallica. Unfortunately, he did not get the position because his style was considered “too funky”. So he departed and created Primate.
Primus began as Primate with Todd Huth, Jay Lane and Les Claypool, who also contributed vocals (in a strange sing/speak style, almost a kin to a narrator) in addition to bass. Huth and Lane left shortly thereafter to purse other projetc
s. Claypool then replaced them with metal guitarist Ler Lalonde and eletcric drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander. Primus began selling out local clubs with their out-of-control live act and irreverent approach to music ( their catchphrase was- and still is- “Primus sucks!”) . How the phrase Primus sucks came to be, started before Ler and Herb joined, fans of Primate/Primus would follow around Les and the guys saying, “you guys are great”. Les would reply, “ Nah, we suck”. It caught on and the fans started yelling “You Suck” at shows. Les would then reply, “Why Thank You”. It caught on and the rest is history.
Primus and Primate are one in the same. They started out as Primate and as far as I know the last release as Primate was in 1984. Germ’s Choice featured a single by Primus in 1988. So sometime in between 1984-1988, the