Les Claypool, sometime bassist and frontman for the band Primus as well as bands such as Oysterhead, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, Sausage, Frog Brigade, and Holy Mackerel, will roll through Austin in July supporting the release of
Of Whales And Woe on Prawn Song.
Hard to peg in terms of genre, one word keeps consistently popping up in reviews of his works; that word is WEIRD, and it's accurate, although other adjectives such as bizarre, sick and twisted have merit. Kind of a rural version of S.F.'s late 70s experimental band The Residents, Les has a streak of dark humor that runs through his soul, appearing in his music with songs about things like fishing, beavers, and burying your dead buddy.
Some of his songs are so basic and annoying that they immediately grate on the ear ("Barrington Hall"), others are ethereal and engaging and take the listener on a weird audio voyage of musical exploration. It's no doubt that his work with the bass guitar is some of the best and his ability to transcend genres is amazing. On "Capt. Les Claypool's Flying Frog Brigade Live Vol 1" he slides from a cover of King Crimson's "Thela Hun Gingeet" with an almost superhuman bass riff, to his own cryptic "Riddles are abound tonight," to a tremendous cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Amazingly. Vol. 2 is a cover of Pink Floyd's album
Animals.
Incredibly talented, and musically more prolific than a rabbit, Les Claypool will be at La Zona Rosa in Austin on June 21.