Primus Tracks

Primus invaded Europe to throngs of joyous concert-goers who couldn't seem to get enough of the band, which stands to reason as it's been heaps of time since Primus last played the continent. They hit some places from the past, including returning to a venue for the first time in 35 years, and performed in some new cities across 15 shows in 11 countries. We have all the details!

WERE YOU THERE? If you went to a show in Europe, please share your review with us! primustrackspod@gmail.com

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In this Primus Legacy subseries episode, Kevin Comeau of the impressive, progressive duo Crown Lands gets to talk Primus! Kevin discusses his fandom, how finding grainy videos of Les Claypool playing bass on Youtube in the mid 00s influenced his bass playing and opened doors to other influences (Rush!), and he survives our gauntlet of fandom questions. Great talk!

Find Crown Lands @crownlandsmusic on all the socials, and:www.crownlandsmusic.com

Crown Lands on Youtube

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The "A Handful of Nuggs" 12" is out in the world, finally! We discuss the new material and dig into The Ol' Grizz, which serves as a teaser for a forthcoming Primus LP in 2027. If this is the direction they're taking, we're all for it! Plus, some new information about an older Primus song. 

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That's right! Perm Parker, the very first Primus drummer (Linn drum machine is officially number zero) joins the podcast! Perm went to De Anza High School alongside Les Claypool, Kirk Hammett, Bryan Kehoe, Marc Biedermann, the list goes on. He recollects his time in the music room with Les, getting Primus off the ground, and where his music career took him. Plus, Perm has some interesting connections to John Hoffman and Tim Alexander. Enjoy this one, and be funky!

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Primus made numerous radio appearnces throughout the 90s and into the 21st century. Two standout radio appearances are the 1989 KZSU at Stanford University and 1990 at VPRO in the Netherlands. The Stanford performance is well-known for the accompanying video footage, and the VPRO performance also has two of the songs performed on video as well. Perhaps someday we'll see and hear both performances with pristine audio quality. For now, we treat them as companion pieces to Suck On This (KZSU) and Frizzle Fry (VPRO). 

KZSU: https://youtu.be/iIMh_2KH6MY

VPRO: https://youtu.be/OoUqOFtLeFQ

We recap the madness of the Claypool Gold tour, from the stage production to the lineups and songs, sit-ins, cross-pollination, and all the little tidbits that made the tour special. Did you attend? How was it? Let us know!

Les at Berklee: https://vimeo.com/1199432977

Hoffer Grizz drum cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3LrE4BsE-o


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Former Primus manager David Lefkowitz makes his long-overdue return to Primus Tracks to discuss the Tales From the Punchbowl album cycle, whic pushed the band to their highest heights in terms of popularity, airplay, and a massive supporting tour. Dave and Soya take us behind the scenes to document seminal moments from the album promotion, live dates, and the wackiness along the way.  

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CLD gave us an EPPP of four cover tunes in 2017, three of which had been performed live on the previous tour. We sample the originals, discuss some of the circumstances of the bands being covered, and compare to the CLD effort. Overall, it's a rewarding piece that might expand your musical pallette. If you're already familiar with Flower Travellin' Band, more power to you!

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We conclude our Monolith of Phobos discussions with the album closer, in which we ride stardust to the furthest edges of known space. We also debate the song title and dig into the undergarments of astronauts. 

Note: we discuss the mysterious appearance of HEllbound 17 1/2 at the first Claypool Gold show, and behold! There is audio evidence: https://youtu.be/unlrRsnkZGk?si=i3kzl7-u2lPT0Ld2&t=6872

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NEW PRIMUS MUSIC. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I mean, it's mostly new. Handful of Nuggs is already out there on Youtube and other streamers, with a vinyl edition on the way. Collecting four tracks: a new studio song, a studio cover of Holy Diver with Puddles, and previously-released Little Lord Fentanyl and a performance of Duchess, the EP will tide us over until an announced Primus album in 2027.We get into the details of the release and what it means for the upcoming tour, and the future of all these Claypool projects. Go buy stuf!

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The penultimate track on Monolith gainded the most notoriety for its music video and demo bonus track. Sean Lennon tells the tale of hanging with Michael Jackson and his chimp Bubbles at Neverland Ranch, and Sean has a lot to say about that portrayal, which we sample from a 2016 NPR interview. Most childhood odes wouln't sound or read anything like this, so it's a fascinating glimpse inside the weirdness. Plus, the music is good, too!

Sean Lennon on NPR's All Songs Considered: https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/06/03/480451184/all-songs-1-sean-lennons-surreal-ode-to-michael-jacksons-pet-chimp-bubbles

The Screwups - Bubbles Burst: https...

Thanks for the downer, CLD! This tale of addiction (and another anti-pharmaceutical anthem) is possibly the saddest set of lyrics we've ever gotten from Les Claypool, but boy, does the song-writing, with it's catchy "so blue" repeptition and that heavy Sabbath-like riff in the middle, really make the words palatable. We now see why this one's buried in the back half of the record. 

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Sam Stewart of Flagman returns to Primus Tracks Towers to discuss Ohmerica, which he labels as possibly his top track from Monolith of Phobos, putting him in the vast minority. However, Sam espouses on the merits of this tune, and we all get misty-eyed nostalgia for those halcyon days of the post-9/11 Bush administration, when times were simpler. 

Find Sam @flagmanband anywhere and everywhere, including your local chili cookoff. 

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Captain Lariat is a mysterious figure; a legendary carouser, or so he'd have you believe. Josh's pal Jeff Roscher, a recent CLD convert, drops by to discuss the finer points of the characterization of the "Captain," what the world sounds like when you're on nitrous, and learns some new words. 

Find Jeff at https://bluebirdsmusic.org/ and make a new friend. 

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The great Bret Crow of TikTok fame joins the pod to discuss CLD's Breath of a Salesman. You've likely seen Bret's creations even if, like me, you've never used TikTok, likely because a friend or internet stranger has posted his videos all over creation. Bret digs into the songwriting details of Breath, and we find numerous connections to the tune via the Arthur Miller pun, annoying salespeople, hangers-on who try to get in with celebrities, and even Tales From The Crypt. 

Find Bret @thebretcrowshow on the socials.



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Frequent guest Anthony Garcia joins the pod to discuss Boomerang Baby, a Lennon brainchild that is disarmingly charming in its time signature and slow build to a flourish that calls home those lost in the sea of smartphone culture, using an ironic term in the process. Anthony's keen ear catches some details we may have otherwise missed, and Frankie educates us on other invectives used against young people. 

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We resume our Monolith of Phobos coverage with Mr. Wright, which contains a very Beatle-esque bass lick that drives a lyrical story about a distasteful voyeur. Kello Gonzlez zjoins us to model the bass part and to explain Les Claypool's singular talent in terms of writing strong licks that can carry a four-minute track, and remarks about the Lennon-Claypool connection. 

Find Kello @kellogc just about anywhere, including instagram and youtube. 

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We pause our nascent Monolith of Phobos episodes yet again due to irrational excitement for the forthcoming CLD record, and this time the great Rich Ragsdale joins the podcast to talk about how the visual components of the album came to be. Rich directed the CLD video Blood & Rockets, and returned to the fold to create the comic book that accompanies The Great Parrot-Ox album; he also directed the Golden Egg of Empathy video, which provides a glimpse of the overarching narrative. 

Rich discusses the creative and collaborative processes for the comic book, including some abandoned concepts, and h...

The Claypool Lennon Delirium's The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy is a really long album title, but it serves the purpose of what we can only imagine is a modern-day fable told in a retro style that may or may not end up with all of humanity being turned into paper clips. We have tracked down all the available information about the forthcoming CLD record and packaged it here, so you won't miss a thing. Plus, rampant speculation on what we don't know, because it's fun. 




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It's a double dose of delirium! We've packaged both the Cricket and the Genie tracks together, as they were released as one to promote the release of Monolith of Phobos, and these two tracks have always been performed together at every single CLD show thus far. Josh's longtime pal Jerry Roscher drops by the pod to discuss why these tracks and this album as a whole speak to him so deeply; for him, it's the sense of melody and songwriting that Sean Lennon brings and how it incorporates with all things Claypool. Great talk about the musical influences and the...

What do you get when you put on the early Pink Floyd, pair it with Carl Sagan's Cosmos, and throw Buzz Aldrin in for fun, then drink loads of red wine with Sean Lennon and Les Claypool? You get the title track to The Monolith of Phobos, a journey of whimsy and wonder. Get ready for psychedelic delights of all sorts!

Buzz Aldrin on CSPAN

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In 2016, Les Claypool had some time away from Primus and invited Sean Lennon to Rancho Relaxo; Sean had guested on some Primus encores during their 2015 summer tour and jammed backstage with Les, where a connection was born. They fished, drank pinot, discussed nuggets from newspapers and periodicals, in the process birthing The Claypool Lennon Delirium. We get into the details of how these two got together and give an album overview of Monolith of Phobos, a proggy/psychedelic album name if there ever was one. 

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Tim Slowinkski, the man behind the excellent Oysterhead album cover art, tour poster and iconography, joins Primus Tracks to talk about his dinstinctive art style and subject matter, as well as the entire Oysterhead experience, which brought him some notoriety and remains a project that earns recognition. What does he think of all of it, 25 years down the line? Give a listen to find out!

Find Tim at www.slowart.com and on Instagram.

You can also visit Limner Gallery in Hudson, NY!

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The Duo de Twang album is a fun listen, but the shows were where the guys really let loose and silliness reigned. Soya and frequent Twang contributor Wylie Woods drop by to talk about their experience on the road with DDT, including a show that Josh attended which they described as one of the worst of the tour, lousy conditions at Jam Cuirse, and an unexpected success in Europe. The big question: Who drank the most beer? Find out in this episode!

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We turn our attention to Duo de Twang, the "vacation fuck-off band" that Les Claypool started after a couple special California gigs gave away to a full-blown vision for a sit-down campfire acoustic project. We chart the project's logisitical and inspirational origins, and discuss the album track-by-track. Grab some cowboy beans and don't squat with yer spurs on!



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WE WERE THERE at the Fox Theater on December 30 & 31, 2025, to witness Primus send in the clowns over two nights of inspired musical madness. We detail how it all went down, and preview what we already know for 2026: Claypool Lennon Delirium record, Claypool Gold tour, and Primus in Europe. 

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This week on the podcast we welcome Robi Bean, who drummed with Primus for about half of 1986. Although he doesn't appear on any demo tapes, and live footage of his playing with Primus is scarce, Robi played an important part in the formation of many early Primus songs that would become fan favorites, including Tommy The Cat. Robi details how he first worked with Les Claypool in a band called Manx, and how a visit to psychic presaged his later involvement in Primus, and recalls some choice moments with Les and Todd. 

If you're in the Bay Area, y...

For our next entry in the Primus DNA sub-series, we swing for the fences by daring to take on the mighty Rush as a major component of the Primus makeup. Gerry Schramm of the Something For Nothing podcast joins us to make sense of it all, including where to hear elements of each band's hallmarks in the music of the other, the enduring friendship between the two bands, and their commonalities, including killing the party by putting on their albums. 

Rush fans: Where should Primus fans unfamiliar with the band start?

Primus fans: Where s...

We end our Of Fungi And Foe review with Ol' Rosco, who may be one of the more abhorrent characters in the Claypool lyrical universe, perhaps for being all too real. This is the final "fungi" track in the sense that it was initially written for the Mushroom Men video game; Les later added vocal and percussion tracks for the OFAF record. Frankie provides a loving sendoff to this record, which he holds in high regard. Get your skin care routine ready. 

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This week, we cover tracks 10 and 11 from Of Fungi and Foe: Pretty Little Song with guest Bryonn Bain, as well as the title track. These tracks are buried on the back end of the record and have never been performed live, so they're obscure nuggets in the catalog. Wail and gnash your teeth along with us as we explore the agony of Pretty Little Song and what the title tracks tells us about the whole album experience. 

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Primed By 29 has a fetching title for a Primus fan exploring the solo works of Les Claypool. Although the lyrics don't necessarily refer to anything Primus-related, they're certainly in the wheelhouse of Claypool, who pens another cautionary tale about going too far with recreational drugs in an attempt to create excitement from the mundane. It also happens to be Frankie's favorite track on the album, and we wonder why it didn't make the cut for Duo de Twang a few years later. 

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This lounge jazz number is an ode to the dog, in particular, Les Claypool's hound, Kazoo. It's another musical departure for the man, and it sounds like Skerik wasn't available, so Sam Bass filled in on cello. It's not the deepest track, but we don't have to get deep with our dogs, right? They love us, we love them, now let's go for a walk, a run, or a ball toss. 

For another great story about a dog, read The Mixer by PG Wodehouse.

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Do you know a boy who's taken a bite out of life? I suppose that description qualifies guest performer Eugene Hutz, a man of fire and energy whose work with Gogol Bordello has delighted audiences the world over. Eugene brings a jolt to the side two opener of Of Fungi And Foe in the form of guitar strumming (the only guitar on the record!) and unintelligible wailing mixed with what might be Ukranian phrases. Put some pep in your step with this track, and do something fun/wacky/thrilling. 




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This week, we tackle a track that could easily appear on a Tom Waits record, most notably Real Gone, which Les Claypool actually guested on. There's something about the percussive backbeat and dirty upright that screams Waits, but Les puts his own spin on it with tripped-out high register upright and clean vocals. Josh and Frankie agree that this is one of the more memorable tracks from the record so far, and the lyrical story, while a variation on the standard Claypool lyrical themes, are engaging and delightful because of how the story is told. 

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