This page was originally created and maintained by Adrian Likins. It is being modified as time permits to link back more to the page. Until then, please excuse the intermediate-stage HTML formatting.
See the Primus band page.
See the annotated discography.
See the reviews from the live shows page to get other people's opinions. Here's the original response:
Well, answers seem to vary. So this is just sort of a highlight film of some comments from record reviews, personal feelings, and comments from friends some who who like Primus and some who hate them. Once again, feel free to contribute any personal favorites.
"thrash-funk" --lots of lame reviews
"They're unique, they're a square peg in a round hole. They're totally new. Maybe that's what people were saying about us when we came out" --Kirk Hammet, Guitar Player sep 91
"The only thing I can think to compare you to is a heavy King Crimson." --Rikki Rachtman
"Oh yeah, we're a blatant rip-off of King Crimson" --Les Claypool in response to above question
The consensus on this seems to include at least the following:
Those are the big four it seems. Others include:
Les was born in Richmond, CA and was 30 years old as of 10/93. Supposedly, his birthday is 9/29/63. Ler was born on 9/12/68, and Herb was born on 4/10/65.
It is a picture of Skeeter, and the caption says "Skeeters suck too". He also has a tattoo on his right shoulder (right below the Skeeter one on his head) of the Cat in the Hat with a plate of Green Eggs and Ham.
According to an article in Bass Player Magazine Les lost half of his hearing in his right ear in a diving accident. Les say's "It sucks- when I go to listen to studio playback through headphones I think, what's the point?"
Herb's nickname is for many reasons. First, there was at least one other Tim in Primate/Primus, Tim Wright. Also Herb has a fondness for herbal remedies, and is quite a health nut, at least according to Les.
See the lyrics page.
See the listing of all live shows.
See the write-up from the Useless Information page. A more condensed version is also available.
Les was a member of his high school Jazz band where he received at least some formal training(reading sheet music). Ler was at one point a student of Joe Satriani, about as close to apprenticing to a master as you get in rock guitar.
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 reply, "Why Thank You". It caught on and the rest is history.
See the family tree.
Someone strung out on methyl amphetamines, or crank.
rom:pjohn@westnet.westnet.com (Paul Johnston) | Okay, okay, okay...this here is what we call a live simulcast post. I'm | transcribing everything I can get out of the "Too Many Puppies" song I've | taped, unscrewed, rewound, and fixed so that it's backwards. | | Sure is harder to hear Les this way... | | first that whisper...sounds like whoever it is says "Yeah, right!" | | After a while it sounds like Les sez: "these here hamsters, they is so alike" | | then there's a part where it sounds like just feedback (remember this is | backwards) and it sounds like Les is talking on the phone. The vocals | are pretty buried, but it does sound like he is saying something real. | If you play Puppies the right way, it sounds weirder (could this be | something Les actually planned on purpose?) | | Then it sounds a little like Les is yelling "please don't push us down!" | | Soon after it sounds like "yeah, they're just sheep" | | The intro (to the actual song, which is the ending to this) sounds | *exactly* like the beginning of Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" | | and that's it.
: In article 140t@hearst.cac.psu.edu, dmm219@psu.edu (Dave Miller) writes:
:
: >
: >It says 'el sobrente(sp?) number one'.
: >My motorhead friend tells me its some kind of racing term.
: >
: >-Dave
: Well, El Sobrante, CA is where Les and Ler are from. In "Jerry",
: he says
: "El Solo Number One", which might be a racing reference.
: Many times in concert, Les will bastardize that line in Jerry as
:"El *Sobrante*
: Number One".
From:rajiyer@red.seas.upenn.edu
I think he does say "El Sob". It sounds like "El Sob",
and "El Sob" makes sense. Admittedly, the handwriting in the CD
insert can be read as "El Solo", but I think the 'lo' is really a 'b'.
From: AIMScott@aol.com
Too Many Puppies--When you play it straight and get to the part
where everything gets all quiet and you hear the"ding-dinging"
and the "da-da-da-da-da" of the bass drum, Les says something
that's really quiet, but I figured out he says: "Save it for
the road", then something like "sol ba tu ga la gutter, call co la
road butter" which sounds totally insane, but that's Les for
you. I'm not totally sure I got it right though. Then, Les blows on
the mike, or that's what it sounds like. At the end, he does say "El
Sobrante Number One" for sure.
In article <1995Apr11.023925.27974@galileo.cc.rochester.edu>, js018d@uhura.cc.roches ter.edu (Jeffrey Swing) writes: | > ..... But can | > anybody figure out what Les says during the "extra" verse that they add to | > Nature Boy? Something like: "Skinny was born in a bathtub, and he grew so | > incledibly thin....", and some thing with a "Hello Dolly record". Anybody | > have the lyrics? | > | > From: sdr4p@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU (Sean D. Reilly) -Jef | | That sounds like part of a song by the residents called "hello skinny". | Here are the lyrics for the Residents version, I can't imagine any other | song having such similar lyrics. | | | Skinny was born in a bathtub, | and he grew so increidibly thin, | that even the end of an eyedropper, | Sucked him in. | | SKinny never knew any questions, | And skinny never looked at lights, | But skinny sold something, | Every single night. | | Skinny sold a soldier to me, | Skinny sold a wife, | Skinny sold a suction cup | And a knofe. | Skinny found a "Hello Dolly" | Record in the hall. | He sold it to a truck driver | In the fall.
Didja know that there was a nursery rhyme called Thomas O'Malley Cat? I found it in my cheesy record collection one day. The guy sings all about Thomas's adventures in O'Malley's alley. Cool, huh.
Sender: vxh3@hearst.cac.psu.eduActually, I think he says: Skiddley dit dad dow de dee. No, that's not a stupid post, but you know Les......Check it out and listen to it again. I saw them live, and could have sworn that this is what he says.... From: AIMScott@aol.com Toys Go Winding Down--I'm quite sure that he says either Skiddily dit dow di dee or Skilly dit dow di day.
As far as I can tell, none of these pages still exist. But here there are anyway.
Newsgroups
Les:
In addition to these, Primus also cover a number of songs as Bock Cock And the Yellow Sock. As quoted from Ram's cd reviews:
Primus --- Freak Out
This is clearly a bootleg, but quite a good one. The recording is okay, but it is the content that appeals to me; it is Primus at its mellow best. The first 5 songs are Jerry was a Racecar Driver, John the Fisherman, Groundhog's Day, Nature Boy, and guess what, a medley comprising of Staying Alive (which I couldn't identify) by the Gibb brothers, Don't you Want Me (credited to Callis-Oakley-Wright), Afternoon Delight by Johnny Carved, Rock 'n' Roll all Night by Kiss, and Biko by Gabriel. You think that's cool? There's more---the songs are all performed by Bob Cock and his Yellow Socks. (But who is Bob Cock? Is he Claypool with a different voice?). Recorded in LA, December '93.
Here's what I got from the issue of Modern Drummer he's on the cover of:
Also from mantis@mail.vt.edu:
On sailing the seas.. that song Los Bastardos where there is a sample of "you bastard" over and over and at the end "you just called me a bastard didnt you?" well, that voice is from an episode of The Young Ones, a British comedy show. The dude with the red tie and buttons says "you bastard" to the 'American' type guy. And later he said the second sample to the hippie guy.. i dont know the name of the episode but if anyone NEEDS to know it was aired late night march 18 , 1995 on Comedy Central.
a mild corrections from: Mark Burrell (mark@adam.ac.uk)
- it is from 'the young ones', but its not Rik Mayall (playing 'Rick' -
often called 'Prick' during the show) but the punk Vivian (played by Ade
Edmondson) - in one episode he had a heavy night and woke up on Sunday
morning to the sound of loud church bells - he opened the curtains and
uttered the immortal 'shut up you bastards!'. however, it is Rik Mayall who
says near the end of the track 'did you just call me a bastard?' In my
teens, it was de-rigeur to watch 'The Young Ones' each week, they often
had a good band on, like Motorhead, or Madness, etc....
In 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek, the United States Calavary murdered over 200 Sioux Indian men,women , and children.
-Indie File July 1993 Pat Mitchel
This is almost like the Bastardos from Seas of Cheese. It's their close group of personal friends. Here's who was listed in the posse on Frizzle Fry.
From jrush@chaph.usc.edu
The clay Skeeter figure on the Miscellaneous Debris EP is credited to "Snap" which is one of Les' nicknames. That's the only sculpture that Link Montoya didn't do. Plus, Les halped on all the covers; he did the airbrushing on them (except Suck on This).
Schooly D is a rap artist from I think Oakland; he's had a couple of albums out over the years.
A picure of San Pablo bay is avaiable here
Ler: " I am confused enough with one" Guitar Player
Les: "No. I don't really want to. Maybe I'll do something with them later,
when I'm a little older. You see, I have to get to a point of
boredom- when I get bored, something new comes about." Bass Player Jan93
Note: Even though Les uses standard tuning as far as pitch goes, he has been know to use two A strings and two G strings tuned to E-A-D-G on his four string.
See the annotated discography and the liner notes in the lyrics page.