Les Claypool
Latest about Les Claypool

“If I wanted to play like Geddy Lee I’d play a black-and-white Rickenbacker”: Les Claypool on his bass collection, and the Rickenbacker he bought from John Entwistle
By Joel McIver published
The Primus frontman has employed a range of instruments during his career, including a Dobro bass and the famous one-string Whamola

"Like wrestling an octopus": How to play bass like Les Claypool
By Nick Wells published
Even if you're not playing double-stops tapped on a fretless 6-string bass there’s still a lot you can learn from Primus frontman Les Claypool. We asked him to break down some of his craziest basslines...

Primus's Les Claypool names 7 bassists who shaped his sound
By Andrew Daly published
The alt-rock innovator on "one of the most underrated bass players ever", who he sees as the instrument's Jimi Hendrix and that time a low-end hero "f**king kicked my ass" in a jam

Hear Justin Chancellor play through Les Claypool’s rig as this Primus-Tool supergroup take on Ænima at chest-rattling velocity
By Matt Parker published
Members of the two bands and Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen teamed up for a double-drummer take on the Tool classic

Les Claypool: “The Pachyderm bass has one knob on it, a volume knob: I don’t want any tone”
By Joel McIver published
Primus’ bass wizard tells us all about his Pachyderm bass and exactly what naugahyde is

The 10 best covers of Charles Mingus songs
By Nick Wells published
From Keith Richards to Joni Mitchell, we chart the 10 best takes on ‘The Angry Man of Jazz’, Charles Mingus
![[L-R] Les Claypool and Willow Smith](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Gha8XtUxotzQgeKzvEV92n-320-80.jpg)
Les Claypool praises Willow Smith's Primus cover: “Fine guitar pickin’ there young fiery lass”
By Sam Roche published
Willow donned her one-of-a-kind St. Vincent signature model to play one of Larry LaLonde's signature avant-garde leads

Les Claypool says he was on acid during Primus’ 1992 MTV Spring Break performance – “everything I saw was just orange”
By Matt Parker published
The bassist extraordinaire has been reflecting on Primus’ early years amid the 90s alternative boom, in which the band got picked up by MTV before Metallica... It was quite literally a trip

Primus cancel European leg of A Tribute To Kings tour due to “unavoidable logistical challenges”
By Matt Owen published
The mammoth Rush tribute tour comes to a premature end

Rush’s Geddy Lee on A Farewell To Kings, Les Claypool the bassist, and what he thinks of Primus playing the album live in its entirety
By Ellen O'Reilly, Joel McIver published
Playing A Farewell To Kings in full is not for the fainthearted. Even Geddy Lee, the man who recorded it, thought Les Claypool “was a little bit nuts” for attempting it
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