Bassist extraordinaire, vocalist and songwriter are just a few of the roles Les
Claypool has taken on over the years with Primus. Producer, video director, cartoonist/animator,
screenwriter, record label owner, and interactive design artist are all part of
the panoply of talents and interests this unique multimedia adventurer has explored.
Claypool has always kept his musical hands wet outside the Primus waters with
side projects including Sausage (featuring Jay Lane of Rat Dog) and Les Claypool
& the Holy Mackerel (which included the talents of Jay Lane, Charlie Hunter,
and Henry Rollins). More recently he has toured and put out an album with Oysterhead
(which also features Trey Anastasio of Phish and Stewart Copeland, formerly of
the Police) and collaborated with Buckethead and Bernie Worrell in Col. Claypool's
Bucket of Bernie Brains. His playing can also be heard on albums by Tom Waits,
Rob Wasserman, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jerry Cantrell (Alice
In Chains), and the latest Gov't Mule release The Deep End, Volume 2.
Two live Frog Brigade CD's were released in 2001 on Les' own Prawn Song Records
label, Live Frogs Set 1 and Live Frogs Set 2. While Set 1 contains
versions of originals and covers, Set 2 is a complete performance of the Pink
Floyd classic album, Animals. Musicians included in this recorded line-up
of the Frog Brigade included Todd Huth on guitar (Primus, Sausage), drummer
Jay Lane (Sausage, Rat Dog), and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (Rat Dog, Pharoah
Sanders).
Tuesday, September 24, 2002 marked the release of the first ever Les Claypool
Frog Brigade studio recording - Purple Onion. The album's 12 all-new
songs are sometimes light, sometimes dark, lyrically thought provoking, and
rhythmically compelling. While the Brigade regulars are consistent on much of
the record (eenor, Skerik, and new percussionist Mike "Tree Frog"
Dillon), many special guests grace the album as well. "D's Diner"
features sitar player Gabby Lang in addition to the triple-bass onslaught of
Claypool, Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) and Lonnie Marshall (Weapon of Choice).
Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh) handles guitar on the
psychedelic hillbilly stomp of "Buzzards of Green Hill" and Fish Fisher
(Fishbone drummer) guests on "Whamola," a live show staple named after
the unique instrument Les employs -- a one-string bass played with a drumstick.
Original Frog drummer Jay Lane (Ratdog, Sausage) appears on four songs, while
Bay Area monster Dean Johnson also makes an appearance.
The Les Claypool Purple Onion tour is kicked off on July 5th at the High Sierra
Music Festival in Quincy, CA. Spanning both coasts, the tour includes dates
in the Midwest and on the East coast. The Frog Brigade includes Les Claypool
(bass, guitar, percussion, vocals), Mike Dillon (vibraphone, marimba, percussion,
tabla baya, pandiero), Bryan Kehoe (guitar), Skerik (saxophones), and Paolo
Baldi (drums).
