For The Heads

Abstract US rockers Primus have become a cult institution over their 30-year voyage, the Californian trio carving out a distinctive niche with their inimitable sound and penchant for the surreal. Their uniquity largely stems from the inimitable outpourings and warped worldview of founding member and frontman Les Claypool, although the legendary bass-player believes it stems more from what emits from his vocal chords than his four strings.

“From a pure vocal perspective, that's just what I'm stuck with,” he chuckles. “I'm just making do with the voice that comes out of my face, and I try and manipulate it so that it suits the character of whatever I'm trying to convey. For many years I wouldn't even consider myself as singer, I was just the narrator of the band – the only reason we didn't have a singer is because I didn't like the way that a lot of guys tried to sing my shit throughout the years, so I became that guy by default. I'm much more secure with it now because I did so many different things when Primus went on hiatus [in the early 2000s] – doing so many other things and playing with all those different people really built my confidence.

“As far as the bass-playing goes, in the early days I played in old R&B bands, a lot of blues and shuffles and the hillbilly twang stuff and you add that to the funk and the more obscure experimental stuff and I just became what I became. And having a bass that looks like a piece of driftwood, that's a pretty unique-sounding instrument unto itself, so there were a lot of elements that helped mold that. But it's all in the fingers – it's all in how you approach your instrument. And with Primus I've always worked with more textural guitar players, so I've tended to fill more space trying to play rhythm guitar and bass parts at the same time.”

While they're ostensibly returning to Australia for the Big Day Out, Sydney fans are also being treated to An Evening With Primus – two complete sets of their weird and wonderful aesthetic.

“It's going to be more Primus than you would potentially ever want to experience,” Claypool laughs. “A shitload of Primus – that's how it should be billed. We've been doing that in the States for years, because we have such a huge repertoire of material that people want to hear certain tunes and we don't always get to them, so with two sets you're more apt to keep people happy. We always mix up the shows so it's never the same show. It keeps the stuff fresh and it keeps you on your toes, it's more of an adventure and more spontaneous. The shows are never the same because that doesn't interest me, and if I'm not having fun who the hell else is going to have fun?”