Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band formed in El Sobrante, California in 1984. The band is currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by drummer Jay Lane, though the latter two had departed the band by the beginning of 1989, and were replaced by LaLonde and Alexander respectively.
For other uses, see Primus (disambiguation).
Primus
El Sobrante, California, U.S.
- 1984–2000
- 2003–present
- Todd Huth
- Vince Parker
- Mark Edgar
- Peter Libby
- Robbie Bean
- Tim Wright
- Jay Lane
- Bryan "Brain" Mantia
The "classic" lineup of Claypool, LaLonde and Alexander debuted with the live album Suck on This, which was self-released in 1989 on Claypool's label Prawn Song and reissued a year later by Caroline Records. Caroline also released Primus' debut studio album Frizzle Fry (1990), which was critically well received and its underground success led to interest from major record labels. Their second studio album and major-label debut Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991), released through Interscope Records, launched the band into mainstream exposure, supported by their first charting single "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and receiving platinum certification within a decade after its release.[1] Primus repeated its success with their next two albums, Pork Soda (1993) and Tales from the Punchbowl (1995), both charting in the top ten on the Billboard 200,[2] and being certified platinum and gold respectively by the RIAA;[1] the former album featured the band's top ten hit on the Billboard rock chart, "My Name Is Mud",[3] while the latter's lead single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" has the distinction of being their only song to chart anywhere outside of North America.[4]
Alexander left the band in 1996,[5] and was replaced by Bryan "Brain" Mantia, with whom Primus recorded two more studio albums – Brown Album (1997) and Antipop (1999) – as well as the covers EP Rhinoplasty (1998) and the original theme song for the TV show South Park. The band went on hiatus in 2000 but resumed activity in 2003, reuniting with Alexander for the EP/DVD Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People and touring sporadically throughout the 2000s before Alexander once again left in 2010. Lane rejoined the band and appeared on their seventh studio album – and first in twelve years – Green Naugahyde (2011). Following Lane's departure in 2013, Alexander returned to the band once again and Primus has since recorded two more albums with him – Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble (2014) and The Desaturating Seven (2017) – as well as the EP Conspiranoid (2022).
Primus is characterized by its irreverent, quirky approach to music distinguished by Claypool's bass-centric songwriting and eccentric lyrical themes. The band's musical style, which draws influences from progressive rock, metal, funk, and psychedelic music, has been noted as difficult to categorize and is most frequently described by critics as funk metal, a label the band has rejected. In 1993, Robert Christgau remarked: "[Primus is] quite possibly the strangest top-10 band ever, and good for them."[6]
Band history[edit]
The early years, Suck on This and Frizzle Fry (1984–1990)[edit]
In 1984, singer and bassist Les Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth began playing together in El Sobrante, California, under the name Primate.[7][8] The duo were initially accompanied by a LinnDrum drum machine as they had trouble finding a drummer, until Claypool's friend Vince "Perm" Parker returned home from a stint in the army.[7][9] Claypool, Huth and Parker recorded the band's first demo tape together, financed by Claypool selling his car.[10][11] Primate then changed their name to Primus after "about a month" when they were contacted by the legal representative of a group called the Primates threatening legal action over the similarity of their names.[9][11] Parker was soon replaced by the band's second drummer, Peter Libby, who played on the first demo tape recorded under the name Primus. In the next few years Libby was then replaced by Robbie Bean, who was himself replaced by Tim "Curveball" Wright in 1986.[12][14]
By 1988, Primus had found success in the Bay Area music scene; it was to the point where they were "getting pretty popular [...] selling out at Berkeley Square", when they "[got] rid of" Wright.[11] He was replaced by Jay Lane, drummer with the Freaky Executives, who were "getting dicked around by their record company" at the time, as Claypool later described it.[11] This lineup of Claypool, Huth and Lane recorded the demo tape Sausage (which later gave its name to the band Sausage), before "something good happened" with the Freaky Executives' record deal and Lane left the group.[11] Bryan "Brain" Mantia is said to have briefly joined to play drums during this period after Lane's departure, until a broken foot forced him to leave.[15] Huth soon also left in order to dedicate more time to his family, as he had recently had a son and was expecting another.[11][16]
At this time in 1988, Claypool had been "moonlighting" in his words,[16] playing bass for his former band, Blind Illusion, which also featured guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde.[9][16] LaLonde was a former member of the band Possessed,[12] a student of Joe Satriani,[17] and "one of [Claypool's] best friends".[11] This lineup of Blind Illusion recorded the album The Sane Asylum before Claypool and LaLonde left the band in late 1988 to reform Primus.[9][11]
In January 1989, Claypool and LaLonde were joined by Tim "Herb" Alexander, drummer from the Arizona-based group Major Lingo. A month later,[11][9][18] this lineup recorded the band's first album: Suck on This, a live recording culled from two of their Berkeley Square concerts.[11] The initial pressing of 1,000 records was funded by a loan from Claypool's father,[11][13] and after repaying him, the band used the profits from selling these to fund further pressings, later signing a deal with Rough Trade Records for nationwide distribution.[11][16] The band also sent copies of the album to college radio stations across the United States, many of which gave it significant airplay, and it quickly gained traction.[11]
In December 1989, Primus recorded their first studio album: Frizzle Fry, which the band self-funded with the profits from sales of Suck on This.[9][16] In 1990, the band signed a one-album deal with Caroline Records to release Frizzle Fry on condition that Caroline also obtained the rights to reissue Suck on This.[11][17] The band then spent the year touring North America and Europe in support of bands such as 24-7 Spyz, the Pixies and Jane's Addiction,[19] and soon attracted attention from a number of major record labels.[7][11][16] They signed to Interscope Records in 1991.[9][11][17]
It was during these early years that the band developed their iconic catchphrase "Primus sucks".[9][20] According to Claypool, this began as fans of the band would compliment them, and Claypool would reply "Nah, we suck".[9] The band then started introducing themselves on stage by saying "We're Primus, and we suck",[17] and fans quickly adopted the phrase, shouting "Primus sucks" at the group as a sign of affection.[9][11] Audiences also began chanting the phrase at the band's concerts, both before the start of the show and as a call for an encore.[17][20] The band embraced it and began printing and selling t-shirts with "Primus sucks" written on them.[17][20] Claypool, talking about the phrase, said "I think it's the greatest thing [...] somebody can come right up to me and say, 'You guys really suck.' And I would just take it as a compliment."[17]
Seas of Cheese, Pork Soda, and Tales from the Punchbowl (1991–1996)[edit]
Primus's major label debut was the album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. The album was supported by the singles "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Tommy the Cat", both of which appeared on MTV. A third single, "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers", was also released but did not feature a video. "Tommy the Cat" appeared on the soundtrack of Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and the band made a cameo appearance in the film. Primus made a Beavis and Butt-Head tribute song entitled "Poetry and Prose" which appeared on the tie-in album The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience. With a major label behind them, Sailing the Seas of Cheese went gold. The band then toured in support of Rush, U2, Anthrax, Public Enemy, and Fishbone.
After the release of Sailing the Seas of Cheese, in 1992, Primus released a cover song EP Miscellaneous Debris, with their version of XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel" receiving enough airplay to reach No. 30 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[21]
In 1993, Primus released Pork Soda, which managed to debut at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. The album was darker than previous Primus efforts, dealing with murder, suicide, and alienation. The band has commented that prior to recording, they had been touring for nearly two solid years and were thus in a sombre mood. "My Name Is Mud" was the first single, reaching No. 9 on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart. "DMV" and "Mr. Krinkle" followed, the latter made into a video featuring Claypool in a pig suit and tuxedo playing upright bass in an abandoned warehouse as a carnival of oddities parades behind him, including Claypool's wife and her twin sister. Claypool said he put his "heart and soul" into the video, but it received next to no airtime on MTV. In an interview with Guitar World magazine, Claypool disparaged the channel's unwillingness to air the video, saying "it got played like six times."
Pork Soda was recorded at the band's rehearsal space in San Rafael. The band would subsequently record all of their albums at Claypool's home studio called Rancho Relaxo (a Simpsons TV show reference).
In 1993, Primus headlined the alternative rock festival Lollapalooza. They also made an appearance at the Woodstock '94 Music Festival. They were pelted with mud while they performed "My Name Is Mud".[22] About a minute into the song the band stopped playing, and Claypool said, "Well I opened a big-ass can of worms with that one, didn't I? The song is called 'My Name Is Mud', but keep the mud to yourselves you son-of-a-bitch."[23]
During a lull in 1994, the early Primus lineup of Claypool, Huth, and Lane reunited to record Riddles Are Abound Tonight under the band name Sausage, named after the demo they had recorded together in 1988. Among the songs they recorded is an early version of "The Toys Go Winding Down", retitled "Toyz 1988". The video for the title track "Riddles Are Abound Tonight" featured the band in blue leotards performing on stationary bicycles.
In 1995, Primus released their fourth album, Tales from the Punchbowl. It contained Primus's most successful single to date, which is the Grammy-nominated "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". The song was accompanied by a video with the band members dressed up in cartoonish plastic cowboy costumes (similar to the suits worn in the then-current Duracell battery commercials). The band was invited to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. On the David Letterman show, Primus appeared dressed in penguin tuxedos. Two other less successful singles, "Mrs. Blaileen" and "Southbound Pachyderm" (the latter of which featured a claymation video that received only minimal airplay on MTV) were also released.
In 1996, Claypool self-produced his first solo album entitled Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel Presents Highball with the Devil. On this album many of the songs are done solely by Claypool himself. Claypool also employs the help of a number of other musicians. Experimental Bay Area guitarist M.I.R.V. joined Claypool and others. Performances include a spoken word piece from Henry Rollins on the song "Delicate Tendrils". This album was recorded at Rancho Relaxo.
Musical style, legacy, and influences[edit]
Primus emerged from a metal background, with Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde previously having been part of the 1980s Californian thrash metal underground.[64][65] Kirk Hammett, guitarist of Bay Area band Metallica, remarked in a 1991 interview that Primus are "unique, they're a square peg in a round hole".[66] The music of Primus has been described as "thrash-funk meets Don Knotts, Jr."[67] and "the Freak Brothers set to music".[68] The Daily Freeman described the band's style as "a blend of funk metal and experimental rock".[69] The A.V. Club described the band's music as "absurdist funk-rock".[70] Primus have also been described as "prog rock" or "prog metal".[71] AllMusic places Primus within the first wave of alternative metal bands, saying that they fused heavy metal music with progressive rock.[72] Entertainment Weekly classified the band's performance as "prog-rock self-indulgence".[73] Stephen Thomas Erlewine suggests that Primus is "a post-punk Rush spiked with the sensibility and humor of Frank Zappa".[74] Guitar Player said that Primus "plays rock the way Dr. Seuss intended. In their crazy backwards world, progressive metal beds down with art-funk, instrumental flash tangos cheek-to-cheek with self-mocking humor".[67] Spin have labelled Primus as "pranksters" and, in 1995, as an "unlikely gold-selling white trash purveyor of hard-ass pinballing funk metal".[75][76]
Regarding the band's genre, Claypool stated in 1991, "We've been lumped in with the funk metal thing just about everywhere. I guess people just have to categorize you".[77] Claypool dislikes the term "thrash-funk", while admitting that "it's more accurate than calling us a funk band, since I'm the only one in the group with any sort of funk background".[78] Claypool himself once classified Primus's music as "psychedelic polka."[79] Primus is the only band with its own ID3 genre tag, 'Primus', as introduced by Winamp.[80] Primus's primary influence is the Residents, an avant-garde band that are well known for their anonymity and surreal music. Claypool has said he is often accused of being a member of the Residents due to their similar musical style.[81] Other influences include King Crimson,[79][82][83] Rush, Pink Floyd[84] and Hillel Slovak-era Red Hot Chili Peppers.[85]
Despite the seemingly upbeat, quirky music, Primus lyrics have often dealt with darker subject matter such as murder ("My Name is Mud"), accidental death ("John The Fisherman", "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver"), drug addiction ("Jilly's on Smack", "Lacquer Head") and suicide ("Bob", "Coattails of a Dead Man"), along with seemingly mundane observational comedy ("DMV"). Claypool himself has said, "The thing is, a lot of these songs, with Primus, there’s an amazing amount of tragic tales, but it’s under the guise of this lighthearted perspective, and the music a lot of the times is lighthearted."[51]
The band have been credited as an influence to the nu metal genre,[86] with bands such as Deftones,[87] Korn,[88] Limp Bizkit,[88] Pressure 4-5[89] and Pleymo[90][91] all having been inspired by Primus. Limp Bizkit's frontman Fred Durst, who produced a song on the Primus album Antipop, stated in 1999 "I fucking love Primus. Spawned by pure rhythms, Primus has and always will be the most innovative and original source of groove to influence me in this decade. If you listen you will learn."[92] Incubus vocalist Brandon Boyd has mentioned them as an influence, and said, "Primus was one of those bands that myself, José from our band, Mikey from our band, the three of us fully bonded over them. We would just crank their music in the car, outdoors."[93]