History Music / Primus

* ProgressiveRock: Primus's music is often categorized as this, but a more accurate description would probably be the subgenre Post-Progressive, as Primus was heavily influenced by both Prog Rock and PostPunk, and their style can be seen as a fusion of these two genres with other influences.

+ Music/TheResidents, Music/FrankZappa, Music/KingCrimson, Music/{{Rush}}, Music/PinkFloyd, Music/RedHotChiliPeppers

Primus landed in a bizarre, [[UnknownRival one-sided]] feud with Dave Pirner of Music/SoulAsylum in 1995, due to their absurdist single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Les went to great lengths to point out that [[AlmostFamousName the song is not, emphasis '''''not''''', about]] Creator/WinonaRyder - the spelling and pronunciation are different, not to mention the fact that the lyrics make no sense. Ryder didn't mind, but her boyfriend Pirner did, and even renamed one of his songs "Les Claypool's a Big Fucking Asshole" in concert. The correct title should have been "Dave Pirner Doesn't Know What the Hell He's Talking About".

Primus landed in a bizarre, [[UnknownRival one-sided]] feud with Dave Pirner of Music/SoulAsylum in 1995, due to their absurdist single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Les went to great lengths to point out that the song is not, emphasis '''''not''''', about Creator/WinonaRyder - the spelling and pronunciation are different, not to mention the fact that the lyrics make no sense. Ryder didn't mind, but her boyfriend Pirner did, and even renamed one of his songs "Les Claypool's a Big Fucking Asshole" in concert. The correct title should have been "Dave Pirner Doesn't Know What the Hell He's Talking About".

* GenreBusting: They're the only band with their own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp. Les Claypool jokingly referred to their sound as "[=Psychedelic Polka=]". This is what you get when you take a bassist who was into JazzFusion, ProgressiveRock, and Funk who also loved Music/TheResidents, a guitarist who played in Thrash Metal bands but was also obsessed with Frank Zappa, and a Jazz drummer (Jay Lane) who was later replaced by another jazz drummer who was also heavily into African folk (Tim Alexander).

* GenreBusting: They're the only band with their own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp. Les Claypool jokingly referred to their sound as "[=Psychedelic Polka=]". This is what you get when you take a bassist who was into JazzFusion, ProgressiveRock, and Funk who also loved Music/TheResidents, a guitarist who played in thrash metal bands but was also obsessed with Frank Zappa, and a Jazz drummer (Jay Lane) who was later replaced by another jazz drummer who was also heavily into African folk (Tim Alexander).

* GenreBusting: They're the only band with their own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp. The band themselves famously refer to their sound as "[=psychedelic polka=]". This is what you get when you take a bassist who was into JazzFusion, ProgressiveRock, and Funk who also loved Music/TheResidents, a guitarist who played in thrash metal bands but was also obsessed with Frank Zappa, and a Jazz drummer (Jay Lane) who was later replaced by another jazz drummer who was also heavily into African folk (Tim Alexander).

Primus' music is incredibly hard to describe, to the point that it is the only band to have its own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp[[note]]Not that this is saying much, given Winamp's notorious inaccuracy with genre tags[[/note]]. Les Claypool jokingly suggested calling the band "psychedelic polka", and is very adamant that Primus is ''not'' a FunkMetal band, saying that he is the only member of the group who was influenced by {{Funk}}. Primus's main influences include Music/TheResidents, Music/FrankZappa and Music/{{Rush|Band}}. Additionally, their initial fans came from the Bay Area thrash scene due to opening gigs for Music/{{Testament}} and [[Music/ExodusBand Exodus]], among others, and Larry [=LaLonde=] was previously in seminal thrash metal bands Music/{{Possessed}} and Blind Illusion, the latter of which also included Claypool.

* RockTrio: Every lineup of the band consists of only three members, though they've also done shows with a DJ scratching as the band played.

* RockTrio: Or "Alternative/Funk Metal Trio" if you prefer.

Primus' music is incredibly hard to describe, to the point that it is the only band to have its own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp[[note]]Not that this is saying much, given Winamp's notorious inaccuracy with genre tags[[/note]]. Les Claypool jokingly suggested calling the band "psychedelic polka". Their main influences include Music/TheResidents, Music/FrankZappa and Music/{{Rush|Band}}. Additionally, their initial fans came from the Bay Area thrash scene due to opening gigs for Music/{{Testament}} and [[Music/ExodusBand Exodus]], among others, and Larry [=LaLonde=] was previously in seminal thrash metal bands Music/{{Possessed}} and Blind Illusion, the latter of which also included Claypool.

The dominant songwriter and Most Valuable Player is Les Claypool, he of the incredible bass talent and silly voice. For this reason, Primus subvert the general alignment of heavy metal and rock bands, having the bass as the lead instrument and the guitar on the backseat. Larry himself generally complements Les' riffs with distorted noise and going on atonal tangents, but can bash out a heavy metal riff in lockstep if it's required. Alexander and Mantia generally both play incredibly complicated drum patterns that anchor the songs, acting as the [[Music/JimiHendrix Mitch Mitchell]] or [[Music/TheWho Keith Moon]] of the band.

Les Claypool holds the distinction of being the only bassist to ever audition for Music/{{Metallica}} and be turned down because he was too good, according to James Hetfield. [[note]]For the record, Claypool himself [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS6gwp6SeXM thinks]] the "too good" explanation is BS and the real reason was that Hetfield thought Claypool was too weird and said he was "too good" just to be nice.[[/note]] His FunkMetal style also didn't match the band, as he jokingly asked the others after his audition to "jam on some [[Music/TheIsleyBrothers Isley Brothers]] tunes".

Primus landed in a bizarre, [[UnknownRival one-sided]] feud with Dave Pirner of Music/SoulAsylum in 1995, due to their absurdist country-funk-metal single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Les went to great lengths to point out that the song is not, emphasis '''''not''''', about Creator/WinonaRyder - the spelling and pronunciation are different, not to mention the fact that the lyrics make no sense. Ryder didn't mind, but her boyfriend Pirner did, and even renamed one of his songs "Les Claypool's a Big Fucking Asshole" in concert. The correct title should have been "Dave Pirner Doesn't Know What the Hell He's Talking About".

* FunkMetal: One of the genre's key bands. It's both an accurate and somehow completely inadequate description of their sound...
* GenreBusting: They're the only band with their own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp. The band themselves famously refer to their sound as "[=psychedelic polka=]". This is what you get when you take a bassist who was into jazz fusion, progressive rock, and funk who also loved Music/TheResidents, a guitarist who played in thrash metal bands but was also obsessed with Frank Zappa, and a jazz-funk drummer (Jay Lane) who was later replaced by another jazz drummer who was also heavily into African folk (Tim Alexander).

Primus' music is incredibly hard to describe, to the point that it is the only band to have its own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp[[note]]Not that this is saying much, given Winamp's notorious inaccuracy with genre tags[[/note]]. The closest general description would be "alternative rock/funk metal" or the band's own suggestion of "psychedelic polka", with main influences including [[Music/GeorgeClinton Parliament-Funkadelic]], Music/TheResidents, Music/FrankZappa, Music/{{Metallica}} and Music/{{Rush|Band}}. Additionally, their initial fans came from the Bay Area thrash scene due to opening gigs for Music/{{Testament}} and [[Music/ExodusBand Exodus]], among others, and Larry [=LaLonde=] was previously in seminal thrash metal bands Music/{{Possessed}} and Blind Illusion, the latter of which also included Claypool.

The result is a weird, compelling fusion of HeavyMetal, FunkRock, ProgressiveRock and RuleOfFunny.

''Primus'' is a cult favourite AlternativeMetal[=/=]FunkMetal band from El Sobrante, California.

+ Music/{{Incubus}}, Music/{{Deftones}} Music/{{Korn}}, Music/LimpBizkit

* ProgressiveRock: Primus's music was heavily influenced by both Prog Rock and PostPunk, and their style can be seen as a fusion of these two genres with other influences.

Primus' music is incredibly hard to describe, to the point that it is the only band to have its own [=ID3=] tag in Winamp[[note]]Not that this is saying much, given Winamp's notorious inaccuracy with genre tags[[/note]]. The closest general description would be "alternative rock/funk metal" or the band's own suggestion of "psychedelic polka", with main influences including [[Music/GeorgeClinton Parliament-Funkadelic]], Music/TheResidents, Music/FrankZappa, Music/{{Metallica}} and Music/{{Rush}}. Additionally, their initial fans came from the Bay Area thrash scene due to opening gigs for Music/{{Testament}} and [[Music/ExodusBand Exodus]], among others, and Larry [=LaLonde=] was previously in seminal thrash metal bands Music/{{Possessed}} and Blind Illusion, the latter of which also included Claypool.

** The band played the intro of "[[Music/{{Metallica}} Master of Puppets]]" live, and the intro from "YYZ" by Music/{{Rush}} at the beginning of "John the Fisherman" on ''Suck on This'' and "To Defy the Laws of Tradition" on ''Frizzle Fry''.

* FakeOutOpening: "To Defy The Laws Of Tradition" functions as this for both ''Frizzle Fry'' and the ''They Can't All Be Zingers'' compilation. It starts with the same cymbal riff of [[{{Music/Rush}} "YYZ"]] that opens Primus' debut album, ''Suck On This'', before suddenly LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand and beginning the real track.

* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: Happens at the start of ''Frizzle Fry'' with "To Defy The Laws Of Tradition", which opens with the same cymbal opening of the [[{{Music/Rush}} "YYZ"]] quotation that opens ''Suck On This'', before suddenly dropping out and starting the real track.

** The beginning of "To Defy the Laws of Tradition" includes a bit from their previous live album ''Suck on This'', with Alexander playing the intro of Music/{{Rush}}'s "YYZ" to great audience approval.

** "Year Of The Parrot" is allegedly a veiled swipe at Music/ToriAmos and [[Music/CountingCrows Adam Duritz]], as the lyrics mention 1994 and unnamed artists ripping off Music/KateBush and Music/VanMorrison (which the previous two respectfully sounded like).

The dominant songwriter and [[FaceOfTheBand Most Valuable Player]] is Les Claypool, he of the incredible bass talent and silly voice. For this reason, Primus subvert the general alignment of heavy metal and rock bands, having the bass as the lead instrument and the guitar on the backseat. Larry himself generally complements Les' riffs with distorted noise and going on atonal tangents, but can bash out a heavy metal riff in lockstep if it's required. Alexander and Mantia generally both play incredibly complicated drum patterns that anchor the songs, acting as the [[Music/JimiHendrix Mitch Mitchell]] or [[Music/TheWho Keith Moon]] of the band.

* GenreBusting: They're the only band with their own ID3 tag in Winamp. The band themselves famously refer to their sound as "[=psychedelic polka=]". This is what you get when you take a bassist who was into jazz fusion, progressive rock, and funk who also loved Music/TheResidents, a guitarist who played in thrash metal bands but was also obsessed with Frank Zappa, and a jazz-funk drummer (Jay Lane) who was later replaced by another jazz drummer who was also heavily into African folk (Tim Alexander).

Primus landed in a bizarre, [[UnknownRival one-sided]] feud with Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum in 1995, due to their absurdist country-funk-metal single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Les went to great lengths to point out that the song is not, emphasis '''''not''''', about Creator/WinonaRyder - the spelling and pronunciation are different, not to mention the fact that the lyrics make no sense. Ryder didn't mind, but her boyfriend Pirner did, and even renamed one of his songs "Les Claypool's a Big Fucking Asshole" in concert. The correct title should have been "Dave Pirner Doesn't Know What the Hell He's Talking About".

* LetsMeetTheMeat: One possible interpretation of "Shake Hands With Beef", the other being ADateWithRosiePalms. Les says it was the catchphrase of a vegetarian friend of theirs who'd occasionally eat meat.

* CircusOfFear: The music video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOdo7dhvSwg Mr. Krinkle]]" has this going on in the background while Les (in a pig mask and dark green fat tuxedo) is playing an upright double bass in the foreground.

* CircusOfFear: Implied by the music video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOdo7dhvSwg Mr. Krinkle]]".

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Les Claypool has a nice ring to it. Larry Lalonde gets bonus points as AlliterativeName.

* NiceShoes: The protagonist in "My Name Is Mud" is excessively proud of his patent leather shoes. The altercation that leads to him committing murder was initiated by someone stepping on them.