Les Claypool

Primus frontman Les Claypool has reflected on his audition to become Metallica's new bass player following the tragic passing of Cliff Burton in 1986. During a conversation with Goldmine to discuss Primus's current Rush tribute tour and upcoming new EP Conspiranoid, Claypool is questioned on whether he thinks being rejected by Metallica for the role was ultimately a blessing in disguise, considering that he then went on to play on projects more suited to his playing style and taste.

Last night, Billy Strings closed out his three-night run at the fabled Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The musician began the first set with just his band ahead of a five-song sit-in with mandolinist Ronnie McCoury. Then, he welcomed Les Claypool up for a couple of tunes to cap off the show’s first half. Set two brought more surprise guests, including Marty Stuart, and the second appearance by Bobby Weir in two days. Strings kicked off the first set with a pair of tunes off 2021’sRenewal, “Secrets” and “This Old World,” before pulling out the first cover of the night, a take on Doc Watson’s folk song “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town” into the traditional number, “Black Mountain Rag.” Next, the band continued with the Renewal theme and performed “Love & Regret.”

Billy Strings was greeted with the warmest of welcomes this past weekend at Nashville TN’s Ryman Auditorium, where nights two and three of his weekend run were loaded with special guests including Bob Weir, Les Claypool, Ronnie McCoury, and Marty Stuart. Saturday night saw Billy play an entire set of Grateful Dead songs with Weir, while Sunday featured a pair of Primus debuts with Les.

Billy Strings closed out a three-night stand of sold-out concerts at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Sunday with help from special guests Les Claypool, Bob Weir, Ronnie McCoury and Marty Stuart. The guest-filled finale came after Strings welcomed Bryan Sutton for a mini-set on Friday and Weir for a “Dead Set” on Saturday.

Primus leader and bass guitar legend Les Claypool has joined forces with Eugene Hütz – the Ukrainian-born frontman of American punk rock outfit Gogol Bordello – for a new tribute single dedicated to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Dubbed Zelensky: The Man With the Iron Balls, the track...

Primus‘ Les Claypool and Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz have shared a tribute song to Eukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. You can listen to it below. Called ‘Zelensky: The Man With The Iron Balls’, the charity track also features The Police’s Stewart Copeland on drums, John Lennon’s son Sean on guitar and vocals, Hütz’s bandmate Sergey Ryabtseb on violin and Billy Strings on acoustic guitar.

Big-name artists have come together in support of Ukraine and its President, Volodymyr Zelenksy, putting together a new tribute song, “Zelensky: The Man With the Iron Balls.”. The new song was written by Les Claypool (of Primus) and features Stewart Copeland on percussion, Sean Lennon, Billy Strings, and more.

This is the role Primus was born to play. The jammy metallic Northern California trio is talented and weird enough to convincingly play Rush music. And that’s what they’re doing for “A Tribute to Kings.” The tour finds Primus performing - in its entirety - “A Farewell to Kings,” the sprawling 1977 album by Rush, the prog-metal trio of all prog-metal trios.

Les Claypool is keeping plenty busy this month. He’s currently on tour with Primus for their “A Tribute to Kings” tour, plus the trio unveiled a brand new EP for this month. Now he’s unveiled a set of tour dates with his Bastard Jazz project featuring Stanton Moore, Mike Dillon, and Skerik.

Les Claypool, the virtuosic bassist/vocalist who fronts Primus and several other ventures, has revealed the five albums he couldn’t live without. He revealed the list as part of a recurring feature over at Spin, but added a timed caveat to his choices. He explained:. “Because I’ve done some of...