Jul 05 2024, 11.05am / Features
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Radically reinventing and starting over, the 90’s were an earth-shattering time for rock music.
Bands emerging in the west coast of the U.S. from Seattle to San Francisco and Los Angeles produced incredible music that would take the rock template and create completely fresh and innovative albums and songs.
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San Francisco pioneers Primus were amongst the trailblazing bands of the 90’s creating experimental and timely compositions such as My Name is Mud and Jerry Was a Race Car Driver. The band released their first studio album Frizzle Fry in 1990 and it shaped the sound of the 90’s and 00’ combining a hybrid of metal and funk with the sophistication of progressive rock: “When we made that album, my only goal was to just put out crazy music because at the time the idea of someone releasing Primus music seemed pretty far-fetched. There was really no market for that type of music or radio station that was going to play our music; it was like putting out an underground Dead Kennedy’s record” says Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde.
Primus’s home city of San Francisco is renowned for producing bands that have gained cult followings from counterculture greats The Grateful Dead to avant-garde prodigies The Residents. When Primus was just starting out Faith No more and Metallica were also making strident steps in the music business and gave the city its metal credentials. If you listen to Primus you clearly hear that rich San Francisco heritage but the group had their sights on creating their own legacy and used their home city foundations to launch themselves far beyond: “I think one of the reasons why the city produced so many creative bands and great music was because the people that lived around San Francisco at the time really loved weird and new music. At the same time there were all these studios around where local bands like Jefferson Starship, The Grateful Dead and Journey were recording their music”.
Despite a 12-year hiatus between 1999’s Anti-Pop and 2011’s Green Naugahyde that saw front man and bass player Les Claypool release and tour solo material and Larry Lalonde play guitar on Tom Waits album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards and tour with Serj Tankian’s band The Flying Cunts of Chaos, Primus are still putting out new albums and touring around the globe. Their latest release The Desaturating Seven was a concept album inspired by a children’s book: “Les and I were talking about what we were going to do for the next record and we didn’t have an exact idea but then he said: I’ve had a concept for a while from this book that I use to read to my kids a long time ago called The Rainbow Goblins and then he said he always thought it would be a great theme for a record. So he told me about the book and I thought Yes! this would be really great and the artwork should be really cool as far as visuals for live shows”.
For us it was like going to some land that got us, Australia has always been one of our favourite places probably because of that.
[ Larry LaLonde ]
Alongside Les Claypool’s signature bass lines, Larry has crafted some starkly original guitar riffs and has never been conventional when it comes to playing solos. Yet he is a humble musician that plays his instrument in order to serve the Primus unit that refuses to be pigeonholed. The canvas is truly wide open and where inspiration strikes and how it all melts together can be quite spontaneous and unpredictable: “Usually I try to go with really no thought of what’s going to happen, but I’m always going back and listening to lots of old Rush, Yes and Frank Zappa and music that’s just floating around. Once I start listening to the bass parts, that is what will give me the inspiration of what the song is going to be. These things take a life of their own because the music isn’t really in any set key, it’s like a crazy puzzle that comes together, if that makes any sense (laughs)”.
In 2018 Primus’s schedule is already quite full with Australia being the band’s next point of destination and their first visit to the country since 2014 followed by a US tour with Mastodon. Throughout the years they have toured down under many times and Larry recalls some of his earliest memories playing here and why the band has always had a soft spot for Australian audiences: “I remember when we first got there we had no idea about anything to do with Australia because back then there was no Internet so it’s just what you see in books. When we got there we thought is was amazing, super warm, there were beaches, it was the most amazing place ever and then when we did the shows the fans were like insane, right of the bat they got the music. For us it was like going to some land that got us, Australia has always been one of our favourite places probably because of that. You guys are definitely known to most bands as the country that loves music”.
The trio’s longevity boils down not only to their impeccable musicianship and organic live performances but their need to always stay true to their art and not worry about what other bands are doing or what music industry trends are in or out: “ I think unknowingly we never really gave attention to what the trends were or what was popular, we just did our own thing which for a long time a lot of industry types and record companies were a little frustrated with because they didn’t know what to do with us but in the long run when these different trends like grunge came and went, we didn’t come and go with them”.
For the fans who have sailed the seas of cheese with Primus from the beginning or for recent converts who have indulged in their re-imagining of the Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory soundtrack, there’s always a piece of music history that young and old can come on board with and take a ride on the crazy musical train that is Primus.
Primus Australian Tour Dates:
Friday April 6, The Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
Sunday April 8, Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane QLD
Wednesday April 11, Thebarton Theatre Adelaide SA
Friday April 13, Metro City, Perth WA
Sunday April 15, Palais Theatre, Melbourne VIC
