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The Latest Breaking News from Les Claypool

“I was instantly in a band because nobody wanted to play bass back then”: How Eddie Van Halen led to Les Claypool picking up the bass – and how he nearly joined Kirk Hammett’s band

The Primus bassist and Metallica lead guitarist attended the same high school – and very nearly ended up in the same band

Guitar World

“Paul Reed Smith sent me two amazing guitars because I lost all but one of my PRSs. That’s been one of the upsides”: Larry LaLonde lost his home in the LA wildfires, but Primus' new drummer, and two new PRSs, are keeping him focused

As a player who always wanted to be weird, LaLonde is in the right band. Recent adventures include saving the guitar Alex Lifeson gave him from a wildfire, dealing with 7,000 drummer applications, and raiding a Guitar Center when Primus' gear got stuck in snow

Guitar World

"I wish I'd took some mushrooms." Bill Burr on how teaming up with Primus and Tool members helps his stand-up

Comedian Bill Burr reflects on performing Too Many Puppies with Primus in Los Angeles

Metal Hammer

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I Just Learned Something Wild About South Park's Theme Song, And How Primus Recorded It

Come on down to South Park and learn about some studio tricks

Cinemablend

“The guy everyone is so serious about, it all started with ‘not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin’”: How a novelty 90s comedy song gave Tool’s Maynard James Keenan his first hit

Before Tool broke big, Maynard James Keenan was squealing like a pig on a 90s hit

Metal Hammer

"One of the most versatile baritone guitars I’ve ever played": Orangewood Del Sol Baritone review

Orangewood and TreeTone guitars come together to mix acoustic guitar building nous with retro styling, resulting in a baritone guitar that will suprise people

Guitar World

“It got stuck in the snow. We were like, ‘The truck’s not making it, the gear is not making it”: Primus’ Larry LaLonde on how he and Les Claypool ended up with off-the-rack gear from Guitar Center right before a show

The guitar and bass behemoths eventually auctioned off the Strat and P-Bass they bought at the last minute for charity

Guitar World

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“The biggest challenge was not to come off like Tenacious D. It could easily be interpreted as some form of parody”: How Primus made an album about goblins and rainbows while trying not to mention goblins and rainbows

2017’s The Desaturating Seven was Les Claypool’s bid to explore the darkness of a 1970s children’s story, harnessing the influences of King Crimson, Tool and Sean Lennon

Louder

“Slapping was a matter of natural evolution”: 21 slap bass legends who made thumpin’ and pluckin’ their own

From the godfather of thumpin’ and pluckin’ to Victor Wooten’s game-changing slap technique, we bring you the players that you must know if you want to call yourself a true bass aficionado

Guitar World

“It’s great to tap like Les Claypool and thump like Marcus Miller, but the world of a studio bassist is different”: Having graced hits by OutKast, TLC, and Usher, LaMarquis Jefferson carved a niche in a scene long dominated by synthetic low-end

LaMarquis Jefferson reveals what it takes to set the pace in today’s studio scene

Guitar World

“The guys were like, ‘Just go for something crazy, and then make it crazier.’ They just couldn’t stop me, man!” The wildest bass solo you’ve never heard? Robert Sledge cranked the fuzz for this Ben Folds Five classic

Sledge describes the Big Muff as an extension of his hands – and he put it to good use on this searing solo

Guitar World

“I don’t really listen to Primus. It amazes me that we wrote like that”: Les Claypool looks back on the stomach-churning grooves of Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Primus’ major-label debut and the moment he became a bass superstar

The heralded Tour de Fromage saw the classic Primus lineup reunited – and Les Claypool rediscover the fretless 6-string that made him famous

Guitar World

“The loss overall is awful and unspeakable”: Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith and Primus guitarist Larry ‘Ler’ LaLonde among thousands who have lost homes in L.A. wildfires

Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan and Anthrax’s Scott Ian share their first-hand experience of the devastating impact of one of the biggest natural disasters in Los Angeles’ history

Guitar World

Primus guitarist Ler LaLonde's home decimated by California fires

Primus man just one rock star impacted by devastating fires – with Anthrax, Rage Against the Machine and Smashing Pumpkins members affected

Metal Hammer

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Guitar World

“I wrote that bassline when I was 16. I saw this dude slapping the hell out of a bass at a music store – the tumblers clicked in my head. I took a bus home, picked up my bass, and I was doing it!” Fishbone’s Norwood Fisher names his 10 best basslines

The most iconic bass riffs in Fishbone’s catalog, according to Norwood Fisher himself

Guitar World

The 20 greatest slap bass songs of all time

These masterful slap basslines chart the evolution of the quintessential bass technique, from Larry Graham to today's YouTube heroes

Guitar World

“The bass has been given the nickname ‘Momoa’s Koa’”: Jason Momoa is auctioning off a collection of Gibson and Fender Custom Shop guitars and handmade bass builds, including signed Slash and Billy Gibbons Les Pauls

The instruments are all being sold to raise money for a host of charities, having featured in the actor’s On The Roam series

Guitar World

“It was an insane, bare bones show”: Primus's Les Claypool and Ler LaLonde were just forced to play a gig with brand new gear from Guitar Center – and yes, they still sounded exactly like Primus

The instruments the band purchased and played onstage are now set to be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to St. Judes Children’s Hospital

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Louder

“We weren’t even talking for a while. Creatively it was just a mess. I didn’t like the scene we were part of and I wanted away from it all”: Where Primus went in 2000 and how they came back

Les Claypool brought his main band to London ahead of Green Naugahyde’s launch and revealed the tribulations he’d undergone in the 14 years since his previous visit

Guitar World

“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

Guitar World

"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...

Louder

Les Claypool on Pink Floyd, working with superstar offspring, and "one of the stupidest things I ever decided to do"

After a gap of two decades, Primus mainman Les Claypool has reactivated one of his many other projects, the Pink Floyd-friendly Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Louder

Watch Adrian Belew and Les Claypool tackle King Crimson's Thela Hun Ginjeet live

Former Crimson musician Adrian Belew jams with Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade on their Summer Of Green tour package

Guitar World

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

Guitar World

The Lowlist: Primus' Sailing The Seas Of Cheese – a weird mix of twisted basslines, warped lyrics and general weirdness

For the second Primus album, Les Claypool decided that he was bored with the 4-string and his playing needed something to "blow it wide open". Cue 6 string fretless mania…

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