But through his myriad of musical and creative projects, Claypool has also become a favorite of metalheads, jam banders, funk connoisseurs and pretty much everything in-between.

"Let's put it this way. I think, with Primus and without, I've played every music festival in the last ten years, except Lilith Fair," he says, laughing. "You could say I'm the guy who doesn't fit in anywhere, but a little bit everywhere."

For the first time in his musical history, he can just call it simply "Les Claypool." Of Whales and Woe is the first album by the bassist that bears his name and his name alone. No Primus, Frog Brigade, Holy Mackerel, Oysterhead, Sausage, Bucket of Bernie Brains or any other of the man's nom de plums. "It was mainly due to my agent," he says, with a small chuckle. "I think he got tired of being offered shows and him having to call me and ask, 'who's it going to be this time?' So this collection of tunes is something I worked on over the past couple of years. I'd just assemble material in my studio and work on it when I wasn't busy with other projects."

Remarkably, Whales might be the most coherent and focused sounding release in Claypool's history. It's certainly one of the heavier ones; not heavy as in metal but heavy as in power, rawness and deep funk.

"It wasn't a plan to be more 'in your face,' it just kind of ended up that way," he explains. "It's more driving, grooving, and most importantly, it's a lot of just me and my four-string bass thumping along." Whales may be stripped down in a sense, but it's also the most propulsive record Claypool has fashioned since Primus's landmark Sailing the Seas of Cheese. And it's oddly diverse, too. The biting social commentary "One Better" features distorted saxophone, deep bass and an allegory to Khrushchev and the Cold War. The title track brings up a lighter, jazzier side, while "Iowan Girl" might best be described as twisted bluegrass featuring a romp on Les's infamous bass-banjo. Then, on the opposite side of the spectrum comes the raucous, Looney Tunes-ish "Phantom Patriot," which would have been right at home on the last Fantomas record.

Like the best of Claypool's endeavors, an assortment of memorable characters populate the album, including Filipino Ray, Robot Chicken, Conrad Smith and Vernon the Company Man. "I've been doing a lot of writing lately. I have a film and a novel coming out, and, in the process, it's brought me to this point where I'm writing about characters that I've experienced; composites of some people I've known," explains Claypool. "It's folky in a way, like a demented version of Woody Guthrie."

Movie? Book? Yep. Claypool's recent creative renaissance is now paying off in other mediums. His debut novel, South of the Pumphouse, will be released this summer through Akashic Books. The book, originally conceived as a screenplay, can best be described a character study revolving around three guys on a fishing trip. Les explains, "It's sort of an Old Man and the Sea meets Deliverance."

Adding to Claypool's busy schedule is the release of Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo, a "mockumentary" about four head strong musicians and their desire to make a big splash on the jam band scene. Filmed over the summer of 2005, it proved quite a challenge. "It was like we were building a house with a bunch of apprentice carpenters and all the building materials were on fire," he says laughing, "But you know what? We ended up building a cool little house." Claypool compares the film's comedic style less to Spinal Tap and more to Ricky Gervais's seminal BBC comedy The Office. "Very, VERY dry," he says. "A few people that have been to the screenings didn't know it was a joke."

Having won Best Comedy at the Tiburon Film Festival and audience choice for Best Feature at the Malibu Film Festival, the film shows strong promise and should get a limited theatrical release and DVD distribution later in the year all coinciding nicely with Claypool's solo summer tour. "It's odd how all these things are coming together at the same time, it wasn't planned that way," Claypool admits. He pauses, then laughs. "Ah, but what the hell do I know? All I know is, when you get inspired, you try to document it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's the basis for everything I do."