Les Claypool

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Les Claypool
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Highball with the Devil (Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel)
  US 182 09/14/1996 (1 week)
Purple Onion (The Les Claypool Frog Brigade)
  US 145 10/12/2002 (1 week)
Of Whales and Woe
  US 115 06/17/2006 (1 week)
Of Fungi and Foe
  US 110 04/04/2009 (1 week)
Monolith of Phobos (The Claypool Lennon Delirium)
  US 84 06/25/2016 (1 week)

Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool (born September 29, 1963 in Richmond , California ) is an American musician.

The trained carpenter is the bass player and singer in the rock band Primus . Claypool is best known for playing electric bass . He uses different playing styles, especially the slap technique , which he has developed further by combining funk with experimental rock in the style of the residents . In addition to the electric bass, he also plays the double bass , banjo and a self-made instrument called the Whamola, a variation of the washing tub bass . In addition, his nasal voice and imaginative lyrics are very characteristic.

Career

Claypool grew up in the greater San Francisco area , where he played in various bands in his youth. He learned different styles, including funk and blues rock . He then introduced himself to Metallica ( Kirk Hammett is a school friend of his), but they decided on Jason Newsted . He then played with the thrash metal band Blind Illusion , where he met Ler LaLonde . In 1984 he founded Primate, from which Primus emerged after a while . With this band he began touring and was able to record the first albums. The breakthrough came with the album Pork Soda , which made it into the album top ten in the USA . During this time he set up a studio called Rancho Relaxo on a farm not far from San Francisco , where he recorded with various musicians. In addition to his musical work, he was also involved in the creative design of the record covers and the mostly animated video clips from Primus. In 1996 he released his first solo album, which he nicknamed Holy Mackerel due to his collaboration with many other musicians .

Since 2000 he has been increasingly involved in side projects. These projects usually come about during jam sessions , which means that the projects are mostly short-lived or are often renamed due to changes in line-up. The best-known projects are Oysterhead with former Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Phish singer and lead guitarist Trey Anastasio as well as Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade . In the latter, he worked with lesser-known musicians who, however, appear again and again in various follow-up projects. He has appeared as a guest musician with artists and bands such as Tom Waits , Buckethead , Limp Bizkit , Adrian Belew from King Crimson and with Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains .

Since 2005 he has published his solo works without nicknames. It started with a DVD with insights into his work. In the same year he sat for about half a dozen concerts under the pseudonym Lapdog on the drums of Electric Apricot . In 2006 his first novel, South of the Pumphouse, was published, an autobiographical story, stylistically classified between Ernest Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson according to the blurb . Also in 2006 was the mockumentary Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo , which accompanies a fictional band through the Californian jam band scene. Claypool directed and acted with. In 2008 the video game Mushroom Men (Red Fly Studios) was released for Nintendo Wii and DS, for which he composed pieces of music.

In 2010 he toured Europe for the first time in a long time. In 2011 he toured Europe with Primus, among others. In general, Les Claypool allows its concerts to be recorded as audio, but video recordings are not allowed.

Discography (without primus)

with sausage

  • Sausage Demo (1988)
  • Riddles are Abound Tonight (1994)

with Les Claypool and The Holy Mackerel
(solo project with guest appearances by Henry Rollins and Charlie Hunter ):

  • Highball with the Devil (1996)

with Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

  • Live Frogs Set 1 (2001)
  • Live Frogs Set 2 (2001)
  • Purple Onion (2002)

with Oysterhead (with Stewart Copeland and Trey Anastasio):

  • The Grand Pecking Order (2001)

with Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
(with Buckethead, Brain and Bernie Worrell ):

  • The Big Eyeball in the Sky (2004)

Solo albums

  • Of Whales and Woe (2006)
  • Of Fungi and Foe (March 17, 2009)

Guest appearances (selection)

  • The Sane Asylum (1988, Blind Illusion)
  • Bone Machine (1992, Tom Waits)
  • Trios (1994, Rob Wasserman , Title: Home is where you get across feat. Chris Whitley and 3 guys named Schmo feat. Jay Lane )
  • The Wild Bouquet 1995 with MIRV, Brain & Mat Callahan
  • Boggy Depot (1998, Jerry Cantrell)
  • Garage Inc. (1998, Metallica)
  • Monsters & Robots (1999, Buckethead)
  • Mule Variations (1999, Tom Waits)
  • Significant Other (1999, Limp Bizkit)
  • Crank It Up (2002, tribute album for Commander Cody's classic Hot Rod Lincoln )
  • The Deep End Vol. 2 (2002, Gov't Mule)
  • The Deepest End (2003, Gov't Mule)
  • Real Gone (2004, Tom Waits)
  • Attention Dimension (2005, Jack Irons , Title: Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd )
  • Side One (2005, Adrian Belew, with Les Claypool (bass) and Danny Carey (drums) on the first three tracks)
  • Be Careful What You Wish For ... (2005, Gabby La La)
  • Side Three (2006, Adrian Belew)
  • Bad As Me (2011, Tom Waits)
  • Beelzebub (2013, Beats Antique)

Video albums

  • 5 Gallons Of Diesel (2005, Les Claypool DVD)
  • Fancy - Live 2006
  • Electric Apricot - Quest for Festeroo (2006)

Web links

Commons : Les Claypool  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Excerpt from the US Billboard 200 chart