Access Backstage Pass
Latest about Les Claypool
“Lars said, ‘You’re not really used to this kind of music, are you?’” Les Claypool on his failed Metallica audition
According to James Hetfield, Les Claypool was “too good” for the thrash metal giants
“I’m trying to show the world that a bass player can do many things”: Watch the first trailer for Geddy Lee’s new docuseries, featuring Les Claypool and Robert Trujillo
Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? also stars Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic and former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
“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
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
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
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
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”
Primus’ bass wizard tells us all about his Pachyderm bass and exactly what naugahyde is
The 10 best covers of Charles Mingus songs
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-840-80.jpg.webp)
Les Claypool praises Willow Smith's Primus cover: “Fine guitar pickin’ there young fiery lass”
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”
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
