Les Claypool - Pork Soda Era Interview

[851852093114208513]

Primus is always fun to listen to. I love how the bass and guitar parts are like... Switched, you know? Like, the bass is the one playing all the riffs, and the guitar is there to accent and tie it together. It's interesting having the roles reversed. I love guitar solos as much as the next guy, but a good bass solo will always make me stand up and say "Badass!" in ways that guitar solos usually can't.

[PachydermSouthbound]

Is the description it should just say God

[unkownastronaut]

primus sucks

[TheKlunk21]

What do u call a troll without Internet?

A virgin.

[SuperDrRockzo]

@TheKlunk21 Lmao. Nice! I'll have to remember that one.

[FidesFeroxFatum]

How could someone not like this guy?

[Bo0meRs1]

what do you throw a drowning bass player? his amp.

what do you call a bass player with out a girl friend? homeless

[LaBasseNouvelle]

@Bo0meRs1

Not cool buddy

[Polaf3456]

@Bo0meRs1 Your jokes are lame and dryer than my ballsack

[tollio1234]

@Polaf3456 LOL

[Bo0meRs1]

what do you throw a drowning bass player? his amp

[CancerianChris]

what a legend.

[mythkid1208]

"god knows why it's called pork soda" LOL!

[eeeewd33]

the anitpop is my favorite

[russellgarrett88]

Love this man!

[MagicDexter68]

hahaha!

[swagar]

Whoever edited this has ADD.

[hailmetal16]

HAHAHA! Oh, Les. "New album.." *My name is mud bass line* "Pork Soda *pause* *Claypool wave* " *bass line* "Hey Hey! " *drums* "god knows why it's called pork soda". IT"S CALLED TWEEKIN' OUT, MANNNN! Hahaha, Thanks for existing LES!

[Theshark15z]

I wish they had made a video for BOB. Where he talks about a guy who commits suicide in the area where he lived.

[TheDoctorisin2181]

What the hell, he sounds...normal.

[skizmsucks23]

love pork soda but frizzle fry is my favorite album

[terrorhawk3072]

0:51

haha. keeps it real, son!

[kred666]

"I hate it", "God knows why it's called Pork Soda...but it's called Pork Soda". Awesome lines! :D I love Primus. Primus sucks! :D

[usadrumhead]

1:07-1:09 that is the actual sound wave of his bass guatar(if u dont get that watch the my name is mud video commentary on animals should not try to act like people)

[Sonneilon6]

I love that line,

"We are here in the land of riceroni."

He's great. Ever since I picked up my bass after 10 years, I'm having fun working on  Primus tunes. Which I SUCK at.

[bassjammer14]

A bass solo at a high school talent show is ten times cooler than a guitar solo. I put on a drum machine and slapped the shit out of my Ric. Primus sucks!

[SuperMegaR]

i want to kill you for saying that primus sucks, but don't feel i can because of the warm words for bass. bass rocks, and les claypool rocks the bass man...

[bassjammer14]

@SuperMegaR "Primus SUCKS!" is their slogan, lol theyre my favorite band

[SuperMegaR]

haha, err... i know that!

[prisionnerofsociety]

@bassjammer14 Ignore him... If he doesn't know that, he's not a real Primus fan...

[chaosmyr]

"Hello we're Primus. and ah. we suck" -Les Claypool

[HugelyBig]

Fuck that shit. Lack of knowledge doesn't make it so that you're not a 'real' fan of something. It just means you're a bit of a n00b, which is fine because everyone has been at some point.

I'll tell you what not being a real fan really is - It's listening to a band's most popular song(s) and nothing else, then saying how much you just adore them. An example of this would be most Guns n' Roses fans.

[DylanVanella]

He's so funny.  Primus su(rocks)cks!!!!!

[albass626]

"Guitar is for the head, drums are for the chest, but bass gets you in the groin" -- Suzi Quatro

Its funny when some guitar players get so mad at their bass players. Those Guitar players are usually limelight sucking douches. I dont see the problem with bassist writing creative parts for their bands music. Sadly, many are forced to stay in the root note, supporting their guitar players fat ass while they solo.

[stuntman256jc]

Amen bro!!! Death to the root notes!! :P haha

[tttooommm111222333]

I agree, but Suzi Quatro is a douche

[crisco1up]

shit if my guitarist did that to me i shove that guitar up his ass i play lead and im a bass player

[WhisperInTheWind89]

im a drummer,and i love it when the bassist in my band branches out and does new shit in songs

[gurra9]

I agree to some extent but as a guitarist I must share my experiences. I have found that bassists takes just about every shance they can to be creative just because their musicality have been supressed. Unfortunately the end result might not be so good like for example my big band was playing a ballad and he started playing slap.

This is a problem most musicians have to face. When to step forward and when to stay in the background. The music comes first and that goes for all instrumentalists

[SuperMegaR]

while yes, i see your point, i cant believe you say "..JUST because theyr musicality have been surpressed.." like that's no big deal! having your musicality surpressed can strip you of your creativity! i've witnessed it! being surpressed like that is a bad thing. so in stead of further closing up any opportunities in fear of a loose cannon, why don't you give your bassist proper opportunities, eh?

[gurra9]

I do, I truly do give my bassist all the opportunities I want but I didn't write the arrangement to that partucular song I was talking about. Some things doesn't fit musically but I might also add that in like a jazz-quartet or something, the bass solos is often the best. I love the instrument and have thought about picking up the bass from time to time.

I probably should have explained myself more clearly

[skyman214]

i hear ya. in todays lame pop rock emo kitty bull there is hardly any musician that can play a BAD-ASS bass solo or just be fucking awsome and play the bass as loud as a guitar. today they just play a bass on what sounds like a 1. what happend to cranking it up to 11? well at least we all still have a few bass players like FLEA and Les Claypool. hopefully rock will have return to what it was all about...hot women, strong cars, awsome solos, BAD-ASS bass lines, and sound of 11.

[hailmetal16]

@albass626 That's why bassists like Les stick it to them *cough* *metallica* *cough* and start their own band!

[PseekoBotoX]

@albass626 I'm a guitar player, but I agree, completly

[skinnydipper16]

@albass626 I know exactly what you mean, I joined an indie band a couple of weeks ago, but there were two other guitarists in it and one of them didn't like that I was into playing funk riffs and how I popped and slapped, they wanted me to play root note style stuff, like pixies or something. The guitarist got annoyed when I said note names rather than fret numbers and offered to swap instruments when it turned out that he thought I was a better guitarist than him. Got kicked out this morning :(

[jinzodude]

@albass626 I see the role of the bass player as a compliment to the drummer and vice versa

[acrosleuth]

I love internet bass players who claim DMV is "not very complicated" and that claypools basslines were among "the first songs" they learned on bass and that they're easy to play and "even when singing at the same time." Hilarious. It's almost as funny as the youtubers who videotape themselves playing primus basslines over the primus track in the background loud enough to mask their completely incorrect basslines that they "learned." Oh, but Tommy is "pretty complicated though." ROFL

[aJazzcat]

it's not that they're easy, it's that most bassists who know Primus when they start playing immediately go off to learn the songs. they may end up doing it well or butchering it, but either way they learn it.

like.. Lacquer Head was maybe the fourth song i ever learned for bass. when i first learned it, it sounded shit because i wasn't any good yet. i've been able to play it for three years, but mostly recently i've gotten it to the point where it actually sounds good.

[HrapovikPlush]

Les Claypool is my idol. He is the one who made me pick up a bass guitar. \m/ Primus \m/

[viper914]

God knows why it's called Pork Soda...but it's called Pork Soda.

Hahaha...living legend!

[Viacomclosedmedown]

Hey I saw 'em back in the nineties playin' a festival with Neil Young, Beck, Ben Fold's Five, you know bro' top of the line performers you should check 'em out. Got this clip on a friend's mix VHS he made for me...chill or try to dispute the Aussie band "The CHills" maybe instead.

[ErixReeze]

@Viacomclosedmedown The H.O.R.D.E. festival, curated by Blues Traveler. Primus was supporting the Brown Album that year ('97)

[UngratefulLiving420]

Dude you obviously dont know shit about music. They're not punk wannabees or rock or pop..its its own genre cause les claypool's a fucking innovator on the bass. Actually listen to primus before you go making some foolish statement like that, and thus making yourself look like an idiot. Primus does suck, just in a completely different way.. Go listen to some coldplay you faggot

[sociopathix]

punk rock pop, labeling things like cans of soup you jack ass. Primus is a genre of its own if theres any word for it its experimental, inspired millions of bands to create their own sound, sorry it doesnt sound 'as good' as your favorite media hungry driven band. -chuckle-

[agenthelios]

Fuck you pussy. You listen to music like this shit because it makes you feel cool and special. Bottom line is they suck and Les is not an innovator of shit. What are some good songs that dont have elementary level bass and vocals going on?

[sociopathix]

lol ooo someones angry I hurt your feelings? get you a little riled up eh? lol.

what are some good songs that dont have elementary bass? what the hell is wrong with you lol what do you consider hard? Oh and lyrics? would you rather them talk about chilling with your homies or some douche whining over a girl? The REAL bottomline is: he makes more money then you, he has more fans then you, and your a complete NOBODY thats why your the one commenting on his video and not the other way around.

[sociopathix]

Continued from last post:

If you think his bass lines are so basic lets see you throw down bud. and as for me feeling cool and special cause i listen to les claypool, oh yeah thats right i forgot weird experimental rock from the 90s is SO IN now. man forgot how up with trends I am. lol I been listening to primus since the 90s and watching les bust out some of the most insane bass lines on his whamola, banjo bass, acoustic bass, stand up bass and good ol electric bass.

Claypool>you

[Dhakadice]

sociopathix:

Actually, one of the things I always liked about Primus was how simple the music was. :)

The first Primus album I bought was Brown Album and seriously, everybody who DIDN'T learn every bassline on that album in like 15 minutes (with a 10 minute coffe break in the middle), raise yer hands.

I think they're closer to Rage Against The Machine than Dream Theatre if you know what I mean and that's why you meet these blonde teenage girls who actually know lyrics from Pork Soda . :)

[sociopathix]

I disagree, brown album was a pretty basic album but i mean thats just 1 album. Songs like dmv, greet sacred cow, and such for me anyways is difficult, im still a noob to tapping. The slaps and pops i got down but i mean, compared to actual mainstream powerchord driven riffs, primus is not basic.

And you cant really compare primus to dream theatre. you can compare them to rage but they are both a funk spin off. Dream theatre is just to talented for their own good hehe.

[Dhakadice]

Not to brag or nothing, but those particular songs are fairly Easy and I even think those were among the first (as in 20 first or so) songs I learned after getting a bass (I don't own one anymore).

DMV is fun to play, but just like Jerry, it's not very complicated, not even when singing at the same time.

I have to admit Tommy The Cat is pretty complicated though.

And Puddin' Taine gets kinda tricky when you realize he's only using the left hand.

[sociopathix]

yeah its tapping that gets me. Slapping and popping i got no problem with.

I just got my first 5 string last week so i been putting alot of hours into practice, im getting there.

[Dhakadice]

Tapping is tricky because you got to adjust the height of the strings and also, you have to develop quite a lot of strenght in your fingers/wrists to be able to tap on a bass, especially in the left hand.

BTW, my mouse slipped and I accidentally gave one of your comments a thumbs down but I don't know how to undo it, so I compensated by giving your other comments thumbs up instead.

[Dhakadice]

I share your views on Dream Theatre and that

was exactly my point. =)

Primus ain't DT, they're a funky rock band.

That's what makes Les the best bass player on Earth. Like Flea, he can play ridiculously basic (no pun intended) bass lines if it fits the song.

He's light years from your average bass player (aka the dude who can't play guitar) but most of the time (even on cuts like Jerry, Wynona, etc), he doesn't use 1/10 of his capacity.

That's why he pulls it off while drunk, high and singing.

[sociopathix]

have you heard 'One Better' from his fancy band? thats a pretty bad ass and technical bass line

[Dhakadice]

Yeah, but I was talking about Primus.

The reason I don't like very much of his other stuff is that he doesn't hold back for the sake of actually playing songs, like he did in Primus.

It's too much instrumental masturbation (and when the band who did Hamburger Train seem like a regular, organized, pop/rock band in comparision, then that says a lot about his solo/side projects).

But if it's the song I think it is, the marimba was cool. :)

Can't remember one single melody/lyric though. =/

[sociopathix]

yeah for sure, alot of his solo project stuff is really out there, personally i like that kind of weird lets see what kind of sound we can make type of music especially his new cd from his fancy band, or anything with him on a whamola. But that one song i said 'one better' is one hell of an awesome song, its catchy, its funky, probably my all time favorite song.

[WookieeBlaylock]

Why so angry?

[cyberikon]

when you say primus sucks, then its supposed to be a compliment.

[HellolzEveryone]

@agenthelios you know "primus sucks" is there slogan, right?

[frizzlefry420oh]

@agenthelios wow really? you obviously havnt listened to them then. jerry, mud, annnnnd wynona were basically the only songs to go mainsteam. if you even call it mainsteam. i bet if primus was played 20 times on the radio and had a mtv reality show, i bet you wouldnt put their albums down, you cock smoker.

[mikeyheartskateboard]

@frizzlefry420oh I agree with you man. And as a Primus fan, I would rather hear fuckin "Hamburger Train" than any of those songs. Most of the unpopular shit is better than their popular stuff. Not putting those popular songs down, cause they're still fuckin awesome, but Primus has a hell of a lot of better songs too, in my opinion.

[jacobladders]

@mikeyheartskateboard primus are defintely purists at best when it comes down to songwriting and making the weirdest diverse type of music iv'e ever come across in my life ive been a fan for 18 years i love that song the hamburger train such a hell of a awesome trip when it goes through its different experimentations for being 8 minutes long

[lonelywan]

I think some of the people commenting here are just jealous that I'm in a kickass band. My advice is you stop leaving messages on youtube and use that time to practice. Then some day you'll be able to rock like we do.

[Pahkasika0]

DUDE! Primus sucks!

[goldenhog]

how can anybody not like les claypool?

[hellasweet4twizzle]

bass players have secret meetings behind closed doors where we make fun of drummers and singers and such...sorry

[louiestrums]

you let the cat outta the bag!

[hellasweet4twizzle]

they have to know.....it's just getting pathetic, the egos of gods these people...

if at first you can't cut mustard, go learn to sing.

[DourifPower]

do they make fun of the turntablists?

[hellasweet4twizzle]

no, they always have the good weed- that's an automatic in.

[JBobTC]

SHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

[NapoleanXV]

HES GIVING IT AWAY!

[hellasweet4twizzle]

no, you fuck up our songs, then try like children to get us to play your shit, which we don't, but we hang it up on the fridge for everyone to see. Good job.

[Dhakadice]

That's so true, it's hard as hell to get a bass player to play a song at all and to play it right (unless you're lucky enough to have a bass player who actually wants to play music).

In my bands, it's always been the bass player and drummer who quit. And not just quit the band, but music in general. They sell their drums, stop playing in bands and start working full-time at McDonalds or the post office or whatever.

What's up with that? =(

[sociopathix]

Ive always had a pain trying to find drummers let alone keeping one. I mean a drummer that doesnt want to emulate travis barker. I play bass so i never had a problem finding a bassist XD

[Dhakadice]

I used to play bass to eliminate that problem, but for some reason, we spent three long years trying to find a guitarist who could play like...(power) chords and maybe a pre-written melody line every now and then. Like a Kurt Cobain-level guitarist.

The only guy who truly seemed interested was one guy who kept mailing us but we felt he was too good (plus he was like 40 and we were like 17-20). Later, we read in the paper he'd won a guitar contest and got to go to USA and jam with Deep Purple.

[sociopathix]

lol damn shoulda picked buddy up and rode his coat tails haha.

I started out with guitar and moved to bass when my buddy needed a bassist and since then loved the instrument, just got my first 5 string though i been playing a 4 string for years.

[Dhakadice]

Ah, kinda the same thing as for me, except I got tired of played other people's music, expecially singers who in some cases could sing, but really couldn't or wouldn't even try writing serious lyrics.

After a while, you get tired of playing stuff nobody hears or cares about, in the background, on an instrument which automatically make you the butt of all jokes, while some jerkoff is singing about weed, masturbation and the devil.

Singing feels so much better 'cause it never feels pointless. =)

[sociopathix]

yeah, thats why i sing and play bass XD

[Dhakadice]

That's one way to do it.

Personally, I feel that singing is more important so since my singing sounds less good when I have to play at the same time, I'd rather have someone else do it. Guitar is a bit easier, since you can be quiet and leave it up to the bass player (and to the other guitarist, if you're two guitarists in the band) to provide the music during verses for example.

That's the reason I switched back to guitar in my old band (plus you're more likely to get stuck with the bass).

[sociopathix]

I prefer playing bass over guitar, ilove the deep sound and slaps and pops, Plus all the music i write is bass driven rather then guitar (I write the guitar and the bass, my wife plays guitar) and i play bass and sing.

I used to have a problem singing and playing but now it just naturally comes out, took awhile to get the sync down though.

Bass is my weapon of choice, though i do get what your saying with bass being boring, in like 90% of cases bass only keeps the beat, which sucks.

[Dhakadice]

Yeah, but guitar's pretty boring too most of the time.

Also, it's easy to do too much on the guitar.

You play along with the bass and all of a sudden, it's guitar music.

You can do a lot on the bass and still it's not necessarily "bass music".

[Epicbad]

les claypool = epic bass

[lonelywan]

Bass is overrated. My band rarely uses bass. Check out any of my vids to see how if you are good enough players, guitar and drums is all you need.

[thedoorsareopenx]

that has to be the most ignorant opinion i have ever read in my life. you'll find that your comment was not only incorrect but nullified by the worthlessness of yourself and the opinion you have expressed. in fact guitar is much easier then bass... if you think about it in a technical way.yes you've got your easy ways of playing both instruments... but the bass, see, the bassist is kind of like the silent gardener, planting preseason buds to bloom into beautiful flowers during season

[thedoorsareopenx]

if you don't understand that, then take it this way: the bassist is more of a visionary for the band because he is always thinking one step ahead of where everyone else is to take the song to another level or for change ups. the bassist is setting up for patterns way before you'll even realize it... then that pattern hits and all is realized and wow.. everyone thinks the improvised guitar is fantastic, but if it wast for the bassist takin it in that direction there would have been nothing

[thedoorsareopenx]

I'm not ripping on guitarists', i love buckethead, hendrix and loads more, but never forget the bassist and the importance of which he exists' for.

[thedoorsareopenx]

oh and larry lalonde....one of the most under rated guitarists'...don't forget geddy lee for bass.. damn i could go forever.

[KungFuSnail]

what the hell man! every1 says larry is great!

[Bassmanonmasa]

AMEN!!!! so very true brotha!!! plus dude! if I feel like going because the jamming is going well I go and put an imp bass solo and then come back and give the guitarist his 5 seconds of fame that is the power of bass unlimited choise!!

[TheCommenter7]

the white stripes kick ass

no bass

but he uses the effects for bass

but no bass

[DEXTROAMPHETA]

your band sucks! Primus owns you!

[racecarjerry]

overrated? Bass is the most underrated instrument in music today thanks to pop rock crap. A bassist playing running basslines makes the song sound okay depending on the skill of the rest, but get a skilled bassist and the song really takes off.

[ninjast4r]

The only thing a band really needs is a set of drums. All else are details.

[vivaelrock34]

les claypooolllllllllll

[ButtlumFem]

Aint seen this one before.

Thanks for uploading!

Long live Les!