March 24, 2025 • 35 mins
Les Claypool followed up his Electric Apricot jaunt with a collection of taut, focused tunes in 2006's Of Whales And Woe record, which largely sees Les on his own in the studio, laying down bass, guitar, drums, percussion, and vocals for these tracks, and guest turns from the mighty Mike Dillon, Skerik, and Gabby La La. We discuss the album's backdrop, the physical releases, the Fancy touring band to spawn from this record, and turn some attention to the album opener, Back Off Turkey, an ambient track in which Les got to goof around with his children. Climb aboard!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Josh Freaky with a couple of dump shits. Hello Primates,
you found Primus Tracks. Congratulations. There are so many places
(00:24):
to find Primus Tracks, it is getting a bit out
of a hand. We are at Primus Tracks on Threads
and Instagram. There is a Facebook page called you Guessed
It Primus Tracks, and we have an email address. Do
you remember email? It's Primustracks pod at gmail dot com.
If you're feeling lonely and want to drop Frankie a
(00:45):
line speaking to people that run this podcast, I am
Josh and he is coming to you from the thirty
ninth floor of Primus Tracks Towers in Mexico City. It's
Frankie Bearstein. Hey Josh, Hey Frankie. We have finally made
it to an album that you've wanted to talk about
for weeks and I have for a post years. I
(01:05):
have proposed all kinds of episodes, inner album episodes, to
delay the inevitable and irritate you. But here we are
finally talking about two thousand and six'es of Wales and Whoe.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
When I met Adam, he said, what you guys do
is beautiful, but have you run out of material yet?
And I said, Actually we're about to embark on Wales
and Woe the following year.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So Adam was worried about us to a degree.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Wow, but we still have a generous share of releases
to go through.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
That's right, Adam. If you're listening, and I know you are,
we're going to be fine. We should certainly give this
record a pretty thorough overview, but I know that you
have some miscellaneous debris.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Primus is undertaking a tour after they wrap up Santa
two point zero, not count not taking into accounts of Santa.
It will be their first tour with with Hoffman on drums,
and they will be joined by Thy Siegel. Is that
is that correct? Yep, and mon On Neon. I'm really
(02:22):
intrigued about you know, which classics they will be playing,
but I'm intrigued about which gyms they will be dusting
off for the Hoffman debut.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
I think there's a lot of anticipation for what Hoffman
is gonna dig up from the catalog and lobby for what.
You know, what the jam says with the three of
those guys will resurrect.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
When he posts stuff about hanging with Jay Lane. I
just comment Handy pin Crawler on all his posts, and
when he posts the stuff related to brain, I just
post Camelback Cinema on all his posts.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh great, you're already harassing Hoffman. This is this Bud's
really well for getting him on the podcast, and I
will I will make mention of it so he realizes
that you're that guy the other one following me around
saying na bin Crawler, what the uh? And also we
would assume they're going to play their new song that yes,
(03:23):
they wrote together as part of the finals for the
Interstellar drum Derby I believe.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So now I'm wondering if that song will be released
as a physical record. A Keen to the Way published
Hippos was part of the epp P, so it might
be a standalone premise thing, or if may are the
recording stuff again, then that could be a follow up EP.
(03:51):
And then we're getting a variant every night.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Oh my god, you're just thinking about your bank account
dwindling again. Yes, so.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Is the tior rating.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
So a second e PPP. Would that be called e
p P P P or EPPP two. I would say
EPPP two point zero, of course, because that's the name
of the tours. I was just hoping they had to
add another p to it to make it difficult to say.
We yeah, we're not entirely certain what this new song entails.
(04:26):
We we just know it's Lesler and John and I'm exciting.
That's right, new song to toss out. There a short
tour following Sasanta for these three, and we should credit
the Ryan Rissillo podcast. That's where Less revealed that there
would be a short tour following Sasanta. So a lot
(04:47):
to look forward to in the world of Primus. But
today our focus, Frankie, is the two thousand and six
release by Les Claypool called of Whales and Whoe. This
two thousand and six record was his first studio record
on his own, essentially, or at least with his name
on it as the main artist, since two thousand and
(05:08):
two's Purple Onion. And there's an interesting pattern happening here
with these Less Claypool solo releases. We had we had
the Colonel Less Claypool's Fearless Flying Fraud Brigade in two thousand,
the Less Claypool Fraud Brigade for the Purple Onion release,
and now it's just Less Claypool. What is going on
(05:29):
where they running out of ink? Over there, Frankie, what's happening?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Interesting? Right? How this is the first less Claypool release
without any kind of backing band, and I believe that
makes the record a statement because with the other projects
it was less saying Okay, so this is not Primus,
this is not like, this is not the kind of
(05:54):
stuff that I would inflict upon the guys from Primus.
But he still had the safety net of a band.
But here, I mean, he did have the fancy band.
But just the fact that it's a less Clipble record
without any kind of band name, I think it's It's both.
It's a statement that says, this is Less Clipple on
(06:16):
his all on his own for the first time ever.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, nobody else to blame, right, he could have blamed
he could have blamed the fro Brigade for some missteps,
and now it's all on his shoulders.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
There's there's kind of a mystery surrounding the artwork. I
don't know. I don't know if it's true or not,
because we know that it's a soul Tron layout and design. However,
I recall somebody saying that that illustration was actually taken
(06:54):
from some kind of uh product, canned product. Do you
recall what it was, like sardines or eels or.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yes, it was some kind of canned seafood, the contents
of which I don't recall, however, But this illustration is
lifted straight from that. It's altered a bit, but the
pose of the man at the wheel and everything is
directly from that illustration.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yes, So what is that product? I guess we'll have
to We'll have to dig to find what it is.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
We'll have to find it. It's been it's been discussed before, yeah,
out there on the internet, So we just have to
go find it.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And it's a really cool illustration. I got to say.
It fits the music very well, the vibe, and it
just screams less clipful when you look at it.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, the seafaring element of it. Of course, with along
with the title of Wales and Woe, it certainly has
a vibe of sea like I feel when I should say,
and I got this album, looking at the cover art
and the title, I was thinking, oh, we're going to
get a record of sea shanties, and there really aren't
(08:09):
any on here, but but it certainly it certainly gave
off that vibe, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.
Don't necessarily get any Sea shanties, but we get a
lot of great music.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
That's in terms of the artwork on the front cover.
But the booklet is quite interesting as well because we
get some Cage and Lina contributions.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
They're credited with the illustrations throughout the interior of your
CD release.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
And not the first or last time they would contribute
something to a cliple.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Release, that's right, So their illustrations are all over the inside. Now, Frankie,
you have we're talking about the CD release. Are those
same illustrations present on the vinyl release from two thousand
and six or two thousand and nine or whatever year
that was?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Interestingly enough, I've never seen a two thousand an alleged
two thousand and six release. The photo on this cocks
is just a stock copy photo. It's not an actual record.
Every time the item comes up for sale, it's a
two thousand and nine pressing. Now, how can you tell
that you have a two thousand and nine pressing because
(09:25):
of the bar code? But it's really strange. I mean,
this is one of those cases where I've never even
seen a picture of the actual record from two thousand
and six, and the fact that the two thousand nine
pressing is just the CDR work blown up and the backsleep.
That's why the backsleep reads two thousand and six, even
(09:47):
though it was released in two thousand and nine. It
just makes it makes me wonder if the two thousand
and six record is is actually something to be trusted.
I mean, just going by the information on dis coss,
the two thousand and six release allegedly has PSR double
(10:07):
eleven two on the spine, while the two thousand and
nine version is PSR double ow one eight one. Make
of that what you will, but I'm assuming that if
there really was a two thousand and six pressing, it
was incredibly limited in order to never come up for sale.
(10:29):
I mean that's insane.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
At some point it would have come up and you
would have found it.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah. So yeah, it's it's very strange that it's never
been widely available. I mean, other records have become rare
with time, like the first pressing Purpoloni on a first
pressing Fungi Info, but they were readily available at some
point and they are still easy to I mean, it's
easy to find pictures, but not with this one. It's
(10:56):
quite a mystery. Now that's in term of the vinyl.
Really you get this blown up artwork which was lifted
from the CD. The vinyl is black. Then you get
the adversary ob pressing, which it's exactly the same but
with an inner sleeve. It features the design from Agent. Oh,
(11:18):
and of course it's navy blue vinyl. The CD is
quite interesting because while the vinyl releases are smooth, the CD, well,
the digipack is it's rough, it's wrinkled. Yeah, and it's
very it's very nice to the touch.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I'm glad you mentioned the tactile nature of this CD
digipak because it feels like it was printed on recycled
cardboard or heavy stock paper or some nature and exactly, yeah,
it has that I'm going to call it a ruddiness,
like it has this sturdiness to it that you would
expect from an old boat or something like that. Just
(11:59):
to just to you know, take this of Wales and
Woe and nautical theme further and on your CD itself
you have some of the artwork here. This is of
course the steering wheel of the ship that also is
on the underside of your tray, so that is what
(12:21):
adorns the inside of your CD. And then of course
the Cajun Lena illustrations on the inside cover as well,
and I and they're are throughout the lyric book as well.
And I got to say, those are some talented kids,
because they draw a lot better than I would if
my dad said, hey, I got a song called back
Off Turkey, draw me a turkey, you know? Or what
(12:42):
is that you know? Or whatever? The prompt was right.
They're showing their artistic skills and he's given them a medium,
and it's pretty cool to.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Involve them now. I got I got this CD around
two thousand and eight, I think two thousand and eight
or two thousand nine, and I just obsessed over one better.
A few years later, come twenty eleven, I revisited the
(13:10):
album and I fell in love with it completely. It
was love at first listen, I guess, even though I
had already listened to it, but I guess I wasn't
really listening. Perhaps I had just heard it in the background.
But when I really dug into the record for the
first time, it went straight to the top as one
(13:33):
of my all time favorites. I would listen to it daily,
particularly on my walks, and it was just this really
relaxing but at the same time compelling records to listen to.
I don't know if it's instrumentation, the lyrics, or the vibe,
but it was just something very pleasant to listen to,
(13:55):
but at the same time challenging. It was not easy
listening at all, and I had very fond memories of
that record for that reason. And then when I met
Less for the first time and I brought over records
for him to sign backstage, had my Wales and Woe booklet.
(14:16):
On that first encounter, I was incredibly nervous, so I
could barely speak, but I did muster enough courage to
tell him that Whales and Woe was one of my
favorite records of all time. He said thank you, and
then he signed the front of the booklet. So it's
one of my most treasured possessions.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Nice man. Yeah, this record, what I recall, is two
thousand and six, and I spoke about this last time.
I was moving into graduate school and moving a couple
thousand miles away from where I previously was, so I
wasn't paying too much attention. However, I and I'm using
(15:00):
air quotes, acquired the album, listened to it and really
enjoyed it, and it did take a while for me
to finally acquire the CD directly from a club Isstarto,
I think a number of years later. So this album
resonated with me. There are many factors for that. The
one thing that amused me was I believe in the
(15:23):
descriptions of it. The promotional language that came with it
did say that it harkened back to the Frizzle Fry era,
and that's become or at least for a little while
in the aughts into the tens, that became kind of
a running joke that every release was compared to Frizzle Fry.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
For some reason, the best since Frizzle Fry.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Yeah, it brings brings to mind the aggression of Frizzle
Fry or the musicianship in it. Anyhow, this record sounds
nothing like Frizzle Fry to me. However, I will say
that it was well received on the Bullboard and by
Claypool fans casual and hardcore, and I think the reasons
for that are it has complete songs. They're pretty compact.
(16:09):
You know, there's there's some jamming but none of these
tunes meander overstay there, welcome. The songwriting is pretty tight,
the ideas are inspired, and the production is very clean
and lively, and those are I think the contributing.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Factors to that, and he's very cohesive.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
I agree. Yeah, absolutely, these these songs.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Fits shown sound, musicianship, themes. An incredible collect it's a
very solid, incredible collection of songs we had.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
We had mentioned that lesser done electric Apricot, and so
maybe that maybe that these records for one, perhaps, Yeah,
for one, it certainly inspired him being the primary drummer,
I think, the drummer on the record. But I think
it also he'd scratched that itch one for making a film,
of course, but two for those long, meandering songs. And
(17:02):
so when he went back into the studio, he kept
it brief but was really laying down some tight songs.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
And it's worthwhile highlighting that because that Liss is playing
two instruments, and the bass on the album is very complex.
He's very elaborate on all the tracks, but the drums
are the drums are not as complex as a Primus release,
for example, And that's where you notice that Liz is
(17:33):
I mean, when it comes to drumming, he's a lot
more concerned about the drums serving the songs and providing
a solid groove and pocket instead of flashy yeah, you know,
overly technical compositions. From a percussive perspective, he.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Is playing some cool patterns, though he's not just playing
very dry four on the floor No.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
I mean, yeah, he's doing some interesting things in some
of the tracks. But but the drums serve the songs
more than show off. Oh sure, but it does. But
at the same time, they don't sound simple because they
are complimented by by Mike Dillon with the percussion. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I think what's cool about the drumming too, is that
Less has said every time he plays drums, he's impersonating
Jay Lane, and I hear that a lot on this record,
and it works out really well because he's he's connecting
with himself, you know, between bass and drums. Uh And
and you're right bringing in guest musicians to round out
(18:42):
these tunes, there are a handful on this record, so
Less is playing a lot of different instruments on this record, Frankie,
He's he's guitar, drums, bass, vocals, percussion, guitar, drums, bass, banjo, Mike.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Oh yeah, I own guy, of course you bet. Iowen Gal,
Mike elaneous instruments on Chicken.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Robot, Chicken.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Uh, Mike Dylan shows up on marimba and tabla and
drums on a bunch of and everybody's favorite the viaba
and berry sacks on LUs Stings. Gabby Lala plays thereman
and sitar and Uh Cage and Lena guest not only
(19:35):
in the illustrations Frankie, but on Back Off Turkey, the
lead track. Cage plays some percussion and Lena plays around
on the marimba. This you had mentioned the term fancy band,
and so Scarick, Mike, d Gabby and of course somebody
on drums because less is busy playing bass. That's and
it turned out to be Paulo Baldi again, that's your
(19:57):
fancy band.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Yeah, So these bands plus paul A Baldi on drums
because let's couldn't play both instruments on stage. That's I mean,
what you get on the record is the exact band
that you got during the tour, the fancy band, which
based on interviews that we've done with the guys before,
and also what you can see and you can hear
(20:19):
by yourself on the assorted recordings.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Is that this is one of the one of Lesson's groups,
one of Less's most technically driven, well rehearsed, well oiled.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Groups that he ever have. So instead of parting and
hanging out and just you know, chilling, they were actually
practicing and rehearsing because what Let's demanded from them on
stage was superb musicianship. Because some of these songs I'm
(20:53):
looking at Filipino Ray, I'm looking at one better, they
were very difficult songs to perform for everybody.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Both absolutely, and so he was really picking it up
a notch on this record with the effort that he
went through to create these tunes, leaving space for guys
like Skerriic and Mike d to lay down some parts
and of course Gabby as well. So he's everything is
firing away on this one. And I would actually be
(21:23):
curious to put up a pole and to see who
and it's it'd be a tough one. But who favors
purple onion or who favors of wales? Of whales? And
woe you know, if you had to choose one, which
one are you choosing? And I would guess it hazard
to guess that the results will be pretty close to
(21:44):
fifty to fifty, you know, pretty close to even.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yes, because there are both superb records and what an
exciting time for Liz as an artist. A new solo album. No,
I mean no backing band in the sense that he
had before these times. These were his loan creations and
at the same time he was also promoting a book,
(22:09):
and at the same time he was touring with a
very exciting band. Two thousand and six must have been
a wonderful year for this.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, he was also trying to distribute electric Apercat so
it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but certainly he was
certainly a busy guy and having a good amount of success.
I think his hit rate was really high in this era.
So he's yeah, doing a lot of stuff here, and
this of Wales and Woe is is quite a recording.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I forgot to say that on this record we get guitar, bass,
percussion by abraphone, marimba, tabla, assorted saxophones. We also get
a guitar and we also so go at the thermine.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So quite a variety for sure. Yeah, well we should
run down the album credits. I think we've mentioned most
of them, but this is produced and engineered by Les Claypool.
All songs written by Claypool via Longcorn Publishing, of course,
his publishing name. Interestingly, Robot Chicken is published by ten
(23:23):
to fifty Music, and I'm sure that has to do
with the affiliation with the television show. We'll talk more
about that when we get to that track. The whole
thing was recorded at Rancho Relaxo and mastered by Stephen
Marcuson in Hollywood, California. Design and layout, as you mentioned,
Frankie by Zultron, Illustrations by Cajun Lena Claypool, project project
(23:44):
supervisor Leanne Lejoy. We've mentioned her name from time to time. Hi,
Lienn and David Lefkowitz management. Is I debut credited here?
I think this is one of the last projects that
less Day while Lefkowitz was still managing, So a lot
of familiar names there. Let's talk some back off Turkey, Frankie,
(24:09):
I was gonna.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Play off Turkey. Okay, back off Turkey.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Hold on, let me play a little bit of it. Oh,
we start on fire. Pretty fun stuff happening here at
the beginning Frankie, we get some loop and bass.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
And interesting piece because it harks back to Purple Onion
in the sense that the.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Opening is a loop, right. The Purple Onion track certainly
had similar elements to it. So it's a bit more
ambient and uh, some repetition in the vocals as well,
and a really brief message I suppose, but it certainly
(24:57):
sets the tone for the record, I think, because this
is it's loopy, but a bit more aggressive and a
bit more strange.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Curiously enough, just like Purple Onion. It did get performed live,
but extremely infrequently. It's been teased a few times, but it.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Was only performed as per the album twice oh wow, okay, yeah,
and the rest other times it was just a tease.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I can kind of see why, because if you're actually performing,
I mean, if you use the recording on the PA
as the intro, it makes sense like Claypoleno de Lrium
used to do with There's No Underwear in Space. But
if you're actually taking time to perform the song, then yeah,
(25:50):
I guess you better make it quick because people don't
want to hear back of Turkey being jammed out right.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
It certainly did serve to kick things off in an
interesting way. Yeah, replicating it live maybe not in their
best interest, but it certainly does start that trend. And
then it continues on through a bunch of records, including
Green Naga Hyde so on itself. I know I'm going
(26:19):
to miss a few, but there's plenty of records where
this is the pattern.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, it's It's interesting because with Primus the pattern is
that the opening track is the closing track.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah, looping it sure, And.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
With Liz you get you don't get the same, but
I mean because there's no replication during the closing, but
you do get these loopy ambient pieces as the intro
purprolongum comes to mind. Back of Turkey and the four
foot check of course.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Oh sure, absolutely. I wanted to play just a little
part because there's a there's a fun little bass solo
here in the back off Turkey that I think can
be lost if you're just becoming hypnotized by the looping
that surrounds it. But there's some cool stuff happening a
little over halfway through, so it's a there we go,
(27:28):
So it's a bit more ambient, but he's doing some
pretty cool stuff high up on the neck there and
giving us something to chew on in this ambience that
lasts a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
So and uh in terms in terms of gear, Oh yeah,
you do get we do get the upright base on
Vernon the Company Man. But for the rest of the tracks,
correct me if I'm wrong, we just get the four
string classic Carl. Is that? Do you think that's right?
Speaker 1 (28:04):
I believe so. I think we're on the Carl four
string Carl the entire time, other than the one upright instance.
So yeah, the four is prominent on this record, just
like Frizzle fry So. Lyrics wise for back Off Turkey,
like I said, a lot of repetition, but it's certainly
(28:25):
I think it's the lyrics that make it sound more aggressive,
I suppose because our narrator is saying, back off Turkey.
I think I'm coming around again, come around again. There's
that coming round repetition, which means look out, because I'm
on my way.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Turkey is often a term that is used to describe
somebody who is not very brave, or somebody who's not
acting in the way that they're expected to. So there's
an element of that here. The narrators come around with
vengeance on my chin, bristles on my hide, hair dyed,
(29:00):
eyes wide. There's some really nice rhyming here. But when
somebody bristles, that means they are standing in opposition to
something too, so bristles on my hide. So it could
be that his you know, his spikes are up metaphorically,
or the you know, the hair on the back of
his neck is standing up, that sort of thing. The
other lines that get me. Or you can sit and
(29:22):
smell me sweat, that's quite visceral. You can sit and
watch me spin. I'm coming around again with both barrels blazing.
That's a pretty common phrase while cows are grazing and
glasses crazing around the edges. Not sure what that means.
Then he says, damned if I'll smoke them Benson and Hedges.
And I had to look that one up, Frankie. It
(29:42):
is a brand of cigarettes from the UK. I'm gonna
guess somebody on the young ones was smoking Benson and Hedges,
which is why he's got that in his arsenal here.
I'm not even sure if they're available in the United States.
So there's some good stuff going on here. To open
this record, it's It certainly sets the stage for one better,
(30:03):
which we're going to talk about in detail next time.
That really gets the album into high gear. But he
eases us in with back Off Turkey and has fun
with his kids in the process, which what's better than that.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
I don't know about you, Josh, but I'm truly looking
forward to discussing this record. It's one of my favorites.
I think it's incredibly compelling. It's a force to be
reckoned with in the less Claypoul catalog, considering primus as well,
considering everything he has recorded, this one stands out for
me definitely.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
So you're holding this one in extremely high regard.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
I adore this album, yes.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
And you know, running down this track list too, Frankie,
I think that Lesson Company do as well, because so
many of these tracks were live staples and then come
back around. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Yeah, they became live staples absolutely read over from Whale
from Wales to fung Guy, and then they found their
way to to Frougrigate. I mean some of them even
were performed by by doing the trunk. So yeah, that
just goes to show that Liss is very fond of
these compositions. Himself and as he should be. He should
(31:19):
be proud because he made a truly great album.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Well, back off, Turkey, smoke him. If you've got him,
you've been tracked. We're about to take off into the
world of Wales. And will Frankie what before we re
examine this record? You mentioned Philippin and Oray and one Better?
What is what is the track you always go back
(31:44):
to on this record.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
That's a tough one. But if I had to pick
one track, I would pick the Biceps as Less described it.
Which is one Better? It's the bibyle. Yeah, whether it's
the studio track or it's one of the many, many
(32:07):
live recordings, one Better is always a showstopper.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I have this vague memory that Phantom Patriot is as
a tune that I kept going back to. That's a
pa Or release. Yeah, that was anyone.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Anyone who got that during the twenty twenty three for
a Brigade tour was very very fortunate.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
So just by virtue of looking at this track list,
yeah we are. We're in for a number of episodes
that are just going to be quite a joy. So
I'm looking forward to yes as well.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I'm going ahead of myself, but I can't hold this
any longer. Josh, did you know? You know that Phantom
Patriot is a pinky song, a pinky song, It's a
pinky track. Yes. So there's a live show where Liz
introduces Phantom Patriot. The kick drum begins playing, providing the backdrop,
(33:07):
and then Les tells the audience that they had removed
Phantom Patriot from the set lists for a few dates
because while he was recording Pickhunt, a method actor got
carried away by his role. He wrangled less a bit
and he broke his pinky and he required his pinky
(33:30):
finger to perform Phantom Patriots. So after the doctor gave
him the green light to use that finger again, they
reincorporated Phantom Patreon the set lists and prior to the
first performance since his finger had been broken, Lez says,
pinky do your stuff, and then he jumps into Phantom Patriots.
(33:53):
So that's a pinky song for you right there.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's correct. I'm reminded of the pinky during pig Hunt incident.
That so, once again, busy guy, he's also starring as
a preacher in horror movies in this era, He's doing
a lot. He's having a great time. I think we're
gonna have a great time too with a Whales and Woe.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
We should. Yeah, I think at some point we'll have
to discuss Pig Hunt as well. I've watched it, but
at the moment I think the only thing I recall
is Lez yelling something like shut the fuck up, Arleen
or something like that.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
To this day, I haven't seen the film, so I'm
gonna have to search it out and give it a look.
Sounds good, well, sorry, Arleen, sounds like funny, all right, brianmates, thanks,
thank you for listening. Uh and uh, maybe I'll put
that pull up on good old Instagram. If you can
(34:55):
only choose one, is it Whales and Woe or is
it purple Onion? It's a tough one. We'll have the
results next time. Maybe I shouldn't promise anything later days
with the mace.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Hmm,
It's Josh Freaky with a couple of dump shits. Hello Primates,
you found Primus Tracks. Congratulations. There are so many places
(00:24):
to find Primus Tracks, it is getting a bit out
of a hand. We are at Primus Tracks on Threads
and Instagram. There is a Facebook page called you Guessed
It Primus Tracks, and we have an email address. Do
you remember email? It's Primustracks pod at gmail dot com.
If you're feeling lonely and want to drop Frankie a
(00:45):
line speaking to people that run this podcast, I am
Josh and he is coming to you from the thirty
ninth floor of Primus Tracks Towers in Mexico City. It's
Frankie Bearstein. Hey Josh, Hey Frankie. We have finally made
it to an album that you've wanted to talk about
for weeks and I have for a post years. I
(01:05):
have proposed all kinds of episodes, inner album episodes, to
delay the inevitable and irritate you. But here we are
finally talking about two thousand and six'es of Wales and Whoe.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
When I met Adam, he said, what you guys do
is beautiful, but have you run out of material yet?
And I said, Actually we're about to embark on Wales
and Woe the following year.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So Adam was worried about us to a degree.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Wow, but we still have a generous share of releases
to go through.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
That's right, Adam. If you're listening, and I know you are,
we're going to be fine. We should certainly give this
record a pretty thorough overview, but I know that you
have some miscellaneous debris.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Primus is undertaking a tour after they wrap up Santa
two point zero, not count not taking into accounts of Santa.
It will be their first tour with with Hoffman on drums,
and they will be joined by Thy Siegel. Is that
is that correct? Yep, and mon On Neon. I'm really
(02:22):
intrigued about you know, which classics they will be playing,
but I'm intrigued about which gyms they will be dusting
off for the Hoffman debut.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
I think there's a lot of anticipation for what Hoffman
is gonna dig up from the catalog and lobby for what.
You know, what the jam says with the three of
those guys will resurrect.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
When he posts stuff about hanging with Jay Lane. I
just comment Handy pin Crawler on all his posts, and
when he posts the stuff related to brain, I just
post Camelback Cinema on all his posts.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh great, you're already harassing Hoffman. This is this Bud's
really well for getting him on the podcast, and I
will I will make mention of it so he realizes
that you're that guy the other one following me around
saying na bin Crawler, what the uh? And also we
would assume they're going to play their new song that yes,
(03:23):
they wrote together as part of the finals for the
Interstellar drum Derby I believe.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So now I'm wondering if that song will be released
as a physical record. A Keen to the Way published
Hippos was part of the epp P, so it might
be a standalone premise thing, or if may are the
recording stuff again, then that could be a follow up EP.
(03:51):
And then we're getting a variant every night.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Oh my god, you're just thinking about your bank account
dwindling again. Yes, so.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Is the tior rating.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
So a second e PPP. Would that be called e
p P P P or EPPP two. I would say
EPPP two point zero, of course, because that's the name
of the tours. I was just hoping they had to
add another p to it to make it difficult to say.
We yeah, we're not entirely certain what this new song entails.
(04:26):
We we just know it's Lesler and John and I'm exciting.
That's right, new song to toss out. There a short
tour following Sasanta for these three, and we should credit
the Ryan Rissillo podcast. That's where Less revealed that there
would be a short tour following Sasanta. So a lot
(04:47):
to look forward to in the world of Primus. But
today our focus, Frankie, is the two thousand and six
release by Les Claypool called of Whales and Whoe. This
two thousand and six record was his first studio record
on his own, essentially, or at least with his name
on it as the main artist, since two thousand and
(05:08):
two's Purple Onion. And there's an interesting pattern happening here
with these Less Claypool solo releases. We had we had
the Colonel Less Claypool's Fearless Flying Fraud Brigade in two thousand,
the Less Claypool Fraud Brigade for the Purple Onion release,
and now it's just Less Claypool. What is going on
(05:29):
where they running out of ink? Over there, Frankie, what's happening?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Interesting? Right? How this is the first less Claypool release
without any kind of backing band, and I believe that
makes the record a statement because with the other projects
it was less saying Okay, so this is not Primus,
this is not like, this is not the kind of
(05:54):
stuff that I would inflict upon the guys from Primus.
But he still had the safety net of a band.
But here, I mean, he did have the fancy band.
But just the fact that it's a less Clipble record
without any kind of band name, I think it's It's both.
It's a statement that says, this is Less Clipple on
(06:16):
his all on his own for the first time ever.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, nobody else to blame, right, he could have blamed
he could have blamed the fro Brigade for some missteps,
and now it's all on his shoulders.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
There's there's kind of a mystery surrounding the artwork. I
don't know. I don't know if it's true or not,
because we know that it's a soul Tron layout and design. However,
I recall somebody saying that that illustration was actually taken
(06:54):
from some kind of uh product, canned product. Do you
recall what it was, like sardines or eels or.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yes, it was some kind of canned seafood, the contents
of which I don't recall, however, But this illustration is
lifted straight from that. It's altered a bit, but the
pose of the man at the wheel and everything is
directly from that illustration.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yes, So what is that product? I guess we'll have
to We'll have to dig to find what it is.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
We'll have to find it. It's been it's been discussed before, yeah,
out there on the internet, So we just have to
go find it.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And it's a really cool illustration. I got to say.
It fits the music very well, the vibe, and it
just screams less clipful when you look at it.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, the seafaring element of it. Of course, with along
with the title of Wales and Woe, it certainly has
a vibe of sea like I feel when I should say,
and I got this album, looking at the cover art
and the title, I was thinking, oh, we're going to
get a record of sea shanties, and there really aren't
(08:09):
any on here, but but it certainly it certainly gave
off that vibe, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.
Don't necessarily get any Sea shanties, but we get a
lot of great music.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
That's in terms of the artwork on the front cover.
But the booklet is quite interesting as well because we
get some Cage and Lina contributions.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
They're credited with the illustrations throughout the interior of your
CD release.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
And not the first or last time they would contribute
something to a cliple.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Release, that's right, So their illustrations are all over the inside. Now, Frankie,
you have we're talking about the CD release. Are those
same illustrations present on the vinyl release from two thousand
and six or two thousand and nine or whatever year
that was?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Interestingly enough, I've never seen a two thousand an alleged
two thousand and six release. The photo on this cocks
is just a stock copy photo. It's not an actual record.
Every time the item comes up for sale, it's a
two thousand and nine pressing. Now, how can you tell
that you have a two thousand and nine pressing because
(09:25):
of the bar code? But it's really strange. I mean,
this is one of those cases where I've never even
seen a picture of the actual record from two thousand
and six, and the fact that the two thousand nine
pressing is just the CDR work blown up and the backsleep.
That's why the backsleep reads two thousand and six, even
(09:47):
though it was released in two thousand and nine. It
just makes it makes me wonder if the two thousand
and six record is is actually something to be trusted.
I mean, just going by the information on dis coss,
the two thousand and six release allegedly has PSR double
(10:07):
eleven two on the spine, while the two thousand and
nine version is PSR double ow one eight one. Make
of that what you will, but I'm assuming that if
there really was a two thousand and six pressing, it
was incredibly limited in order to never come up for sale.
(10:29):
I mean that's insane.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
At some point it would have come up and you
would have found it.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah. So yeah, it's it's very strange that it's never
been widely available. I mean, other records have become rare
with time, like the first pressing Purpoloni on a first
pressing Fungi Info, but they were readily available at some
point and they are still easy to I mean, it's
easy to find pictures, but not with this one. It's
(10:56):
quite a mystery. Now that's in term of the vinyl.
Really you get this blown up artwork which was lifted
from the CD. The vinyl is black. Then you get
the adversary ob pressing, which it's exactly the same but
with an inner sleeve. It features the design from Agent. Oh,
(11:18):
and of course it's navy blue vinyl. The CD is
quite interesting because while the vinyl releases are smooth, the CD, well,
the digipack is it's rough, it's wrinkled. Yeah, and it's
very it's very nice to the touch.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I'm glad you mentioned the tactile nature of this CD
digipak because it feels like it was printed on recycled
cardboard or heavy stock paper or some nature and exactly, yeah,
it has that I'm going to call it a ruddiness,
like it has this sturdiness to it that you would
expect from an old boat or something like that. Just
(11:59):
to just to you know, take this of Wales and
Woe and nautical theme further and on your CD itself
you have some of the artwork here. This is of
course the steering wheel of the ship that also is
on the underside of your tray, so that is what
(12:21):
adorns the inside of your CD. And then of course
the Cajun Lena illustrations on the inside cover as well,
and I and they're are throughout the lyric book as well.
And I got to say, those are some talented kids,
because they draw a lot better than I would if
my dad said, hey, I got a song called back
Off Turkey, draw me a turkey, you know? Or what
(12:42):
is that you know? Or whatever? The prompt was right.
They're showing their artistic skills and he's given them a medium,
and it's pretty cool to.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Involve them now. I got I got this CD around
two thousand and eight, I think two thousand and eight
or two thousand nine, and I just obsessed over one better.
A few years later, come twenty eleven, I revisited the
(13:10):
album and I fell in love with it completely. It
was love at first listen, I guess, even though I
had already listened to it, but I guess I wasn't
really listening. Perhaps I had just heard it in the background.
But when I really dug into the record for the
first time, it went straight to the top as one
(13:33):
of my all time favorites. I would listen to it daily,
particularly on my walks, and it was just this really
relaxing but at the same time compelling records to listen to.
I don't know if it's instrumentation, the lyrics, or the vibe,
but it was just something very pleasant to listen to,
(13:55):
but at the same time challenging. It was not easy
listening at all, and I had very fond memories of
that record for that reason. And then when I met
Less for the first time and I brought over records
for him to sign backstage, had my Wales and Woe booklet.
(14:16):
On that first encounter, I was incredibly nervous, so I
could barely speak, but I did muster enough courage to
tell him that Whales and Woe was one of my
favorite records of all time. He said thank you, and
then he signed the front of the booklet. So it's
one of my most treasured possessions.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Nice man. Yeah, this record, what I recall, is two
thousand and six, and I spoke about this last time.
I was moving into graduate school and moving a couple
thousand miles away from where I previously was, so I
wasn't paying too much attention. However, I and I'm using
(15:00):
air quotes, acquired the album, listened to it and really
enjoyed it, and it did take a while for me
to finally acquire the CD directly from a club Isstarto,
I think a number of years later. So this album
resonated with me. There are many factors for that. The
one thing that amused me was I believe in the
(15:23):
descriptions of it. The promotional language that came with it
did say that it harkened back to the Frizzle Fry era,
and that's become or at least for a little while
in the aughts into the tens, that became kind of
a running joke that every release was compared to Frizzle Fry.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
For some reason, the best since Frizzle Fry.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Yeah, it brings brings to mind the aggression of Frizzle
Fry or the musicianship in it. Anyhow, this record sounds
nothing like Frizzle Fry to me. However, I will say
that it was well received on the Bullboard and by
Claypool fans casual and hardcore, and I think the reasons
for that are it has complete songs. They're pretty compact.
(16:09):
You know, there's there's some jamming but none of these
tunes meander overstay there, welcome. The songwriting is pretty tight,
the ideas are inspired, and the production is very clean
and lively, and those are I think the contributing.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Factors to that, and he's very cohesive.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
I agree. Yeah, absolutely, these these songs.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Fits shown sound, musicianship, themes. An incredible collect it's a
very solid, incredible collection of songs we had.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
We had mentioned that lesser done electric Apricot, and so
maybe that maybe that these records for one, perhaps, Yeah,
for one, it certainly inspired him being the primary drummer,
I think, the drummer on the record. But I think
it also he'd scratched that itch one for making a film,
of course, but two for those long, meandering songs. And
(17:02):
so when he went back into the studio, he kept
it brief but was really laying down some tight songs.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
And it's worthwhile highlighting that because that Liss is playing
two instruments, and the bass on the album is very complex.
He's very elaborate on all the tracks, but the drums
are the drums are not as complex as a Primus release,
for example, And that's where you notice that Liz is
(17:33):
I mean, when it comes to drumming, he's a lot
more concerned about the drums serving the songs and providing
a solid groove and pocket instead of flashy yeah, you know,
overly technical compositions. From a percussive perspective, he.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Is playing some cool patterns, though he's not just playing
very dry four on the floor No.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
I mean, yeah, he's doing some interesting things in some
of the tracks. But but the drums serve the songs
more than show off. Oh sure, but it does. But
at the same time, they don't sound simple because they
are complimented by by Mike Dillon with the percussion. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I think what's cool about the drumming too, is that
Less has said every time he plays drums, he's impersonating
Jay Lane, and I hear that a lot on this record,
and it works out really well because he's he's connecting
with himself, you know, between bass and drums. Uh And
and you're right bringing in guest musicians to round out
(18:42):
these tunes, there are a handful on this record, so
Less is playing a lot of different instruments on this record, Frankie,
He's he's guitar, drums, bass, vocals, percussion, guitar, drums, bass, banjo, Mike.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Oh yeah, I own guy, of course you bet. Iowen Gal,
Mike elaneous instruments on Chicken.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Robot, Chicken.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Uh, Mike Dylan shows up on marimba and tabla and
drums on a bunch of and everybody's favorite the viaba
and berry sacks on LUs Stings. Gabby Lala plays thereman
and sitar and Uh Cage and Lena guest not only
(19:35):
in the illustrations Frankie, but on Back Off Turkey, the
lead track. Cage plays some percussion and Lena plays around
on the marimba. This you had mentioned the term fancy band,
and so Scarick, Mike, d Gabby and of course somebody
on drums because less is busy playing bass. That's and
it turned out to be Paulo Baldi again, that's your
(19:57):
fancy band.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Yeah, So these bands plus paul A Baldi on drums
because let's couldn't play both instruments on stage. That's I mean,
what you get on the record is the exact band
that you got during the tour, the fancy band, which
based on interviews that we've done with the guys before,
and also what you can see and you can hear
(20:19):
by yourself on the assorted recordings.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Is that this is one of the one of Lesson's groups,
one of Less's most technically driven, well rehearsed, well oiled.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Groups that he ever have. So instead of parting and
hanging out and just you know, chilling, they were actually
practicing and rehearsing because what Let's demanded from them on
stage was superb musicianship. Because some of these songs I'm
(20:53):
looking at Filipino Ray, I'm looking at one better, they
were very difficult songs to perform for everybody.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Both absolutely, and so he was really picking it up
a notch on this record with the effort that he
went through to create these tunes, leaving space for guys
like Skerriic and Mike d to lay down some parts
and of course Gabby as well. So he's everything is
firing away on this one. And I would actually be
(21:23):
curious to put up a pole and to see who
and it's it'd be a tough one. But who favors
purple onion or who favors of wales? Of whales? And
woe you know, if you had to choose one, which
one are you choosing? And I would guess it hazard
to guess that the results will be pretty close to
(21:44):
fifty to fifty, you know, pretty close to even.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yes, because there are both superb records and what an
exciting time for Liz as an artist. A new solo album. No,
I mean no backing band in the sense that he
had before these times. These were his loan creations and
at the same time he was also promoting a book,
(22:09):
and at the same time he was touring with a
very exciting band. Two thousand and six must have been
a wonderful year for this.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, he was also trying to distribute electric Apercat so
it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but certainly he was
certainly a busy guy and having a good amount of success.
I think his hit rate was really high in this era.
So he's yeah, doing a lot of stuff here, and
this of Wales and Woe is is quite a recording.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I forgot to say that on this record we get guitar, bass,
percussion by abraphone, marimba, tabla, assorted saxophones. We also get
a guitar and we also so go at the thermine.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So quite a variety for sure. Yeah, well we should
run down the album credits. I think we've mentioned most
of them, but this is produced and engineered by Les Claypool.
All songs written by Claypool via Longcorn Publishing, of course,
his publishing name. Interestingly, Robot Chicken is published by ten
(23:23):
to fifty Music, and I'm sure that has to do
with the affiliation with the television show. We'll talk more
about that when we get to that track. The whole
thing was recorded at Rancho Relaxo and mastered by Stephen
Marcuson in Hollywood, California. Design and layout, as you mentioned,
Frankie by Zultron, Illustrations by Cajun Lena Claypool, project project
(23:44):
supervisor Leanne Lejoy. We've mentioned her name from time to time. Hi,
Lienn and David Lefkowitz management. Is I debut credited here?
I think this is one of the last projects that
less Day while Lefkowitz was still managing, So a lot
of familiar names there. Let's talk some back off Turkey, Frankie,
(24:09):
I was gonna.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Play off Turkey. Okay, back off Turkey.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Hold on, let me play a little bit of it. Oh,
we start on fire. Pretty fun stuff happening here at
the beginning Frankie, we get some loop and bass.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
And interesting piece because it harks back to Purple Onion
in the sense that the.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Opening is a loop, right. The Purple Onion track certainly
had similar elements to it. So it's a bit more
ambient and uh, some repetition in the vocals as well,
and a really brief message I suppose, but it certainly
(24:57):
sets the tone for the record, I think, because this
is it's loopy, but a bit more aggressive and a
bit more strange.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Curiously enough, just like Purple Onion. It did get performed live,
but extremely infrequently. It's been teased a few times, but it.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Was only performed as per the album twice oh wow, okay, yeah,
and the rest other times it was just a tease.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I can kind of see why, because if you're actually performing,
I mean, if you use the recording on the PA
as the intro, it makes sense like Claypoleno de Lrium
used to do with There's No Underwear in Space. But
if you're actually taking time to perform the song, then yeah,
(25:50):
I guess you better make it quick because people don't
want to hear back of Turkey being jammed out right.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
It certainly did serve to kick things off in an
interesting way. Yeah, replicating it live maybe not in their
best interest, but it certainly does start that trend. And
then it continues on through a bunch of records, including
Green Naga Hyde so on itself. I know I'm going
(26:19):
to miss a few, but there's plenty of records where
this is the pattern.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, it's It's interesting because with Primus the pattern is
that the opening track is the closing track.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah, looping it sure, And.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
With Liz you get you don't get the same, but
I mean because there's no replication during the closing, but
you do get these loopy ambient pieces as the intro
purprolongum comes to mind. Back of Turkey and the four
foot check of course.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Oh sure, absolutely. I wanted to play just a little
part because there's a there's a fun little bass solo
here in the back off Turkey that I think can
be lost if you're just becoming hypnotized by the looping
that surrounds it. But there's some cool stuff happening a
little over halfway through, so it's a there we go,
(27:28):
So it's a bit more ambient, but he's doing some
pretty cool stuff high up on the neck there and
giving us something to chew on in this ambience that
lasts a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
So and uh in terms in terms of gear, Oh yeah,
you do get we do get the upright base on
Vernon the Company Man. But for the rest of the tracks,
correct me if I'm wrong, we just get the four
string classic Carl. Is that? Do you think that's right?
Speaker 1 (28:04):
I believe so. I think we're on the Carl four
string Carl the entire time, other than the one upright instance.
So yeah, the four is prominent on this record, just
like Frizzle fry So. Lyrics wise for back Off Turkey,
like I said, a lot of repetition, but it's certainly
(28:25):
I think it's the lyrics that make it sound more aggressive,
I suppose because our narrator is saying, back off Turkey.
I think I'm coming around again, come around again. There's
that coming round repetition, which means look out, because I'm
on my way.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Turkey is often a term that is used to describe
somebody who is not very brave, or somebody who's not
acting in the way that they're expected to. So there's
an element of that here. The narrators come around with
vengeance on my chin, bristles on my hide, hair dyed,
(29:00):
eyes wide. There's some really nice rhyming here. But when
somebody bristles, that means they are standing in opposition to
something too, so bristles on my hide. So it could
be that his you know, his spikes are up metaphorically,
or the you know, the hair on the back of
his neck is standing up, that sort of thing. The
other lines that get me. Or you can sit and
(29:22):
smell me sweat, that's quite visceral. You can sit and
watch me spin. I'm coming around again with both barrels blazing.
That's a pretty common phrase while cows are grazing and
glasses crazing around the edges. Not sure what that means.
Then he says, damned if I'll smoke them Benson and Hedges.
And I had to look that one up, Frankie. It
(29:42):
is a brand of cigarettes from the UK. I'm gonna
guess somebody on the young ones was smoking Benson and Hedges,
which is why he's got that in his arsenal here.
I'm not even sure if they're available in the United States.
So there's some good stuff going on here. To open
this record, it's It certainly sets the stage for one better,
(30:03):
which we're going to talk about in detail next time.
That really gets the album into high gear. But he
eases us in with back Off Turkey and has fun
with his kids in the process, which what's better than that.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
I don't know about you, Josh, but I'm truly looking
forward to discussing this record. It's one of my favorites.
I think it's incredibly compelling. It's a force to be
reckoned with in the less Claypoul catalog, considering primus as well,
considering everything he has recorded, this one stands out for
me definitely.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
So you're holding this one in extremely high regard.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
I adore this album, yes.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
And you know, running down this track list too, Frankie,
I think that Lesson Company do as well, because so
many of these tracks were live staples and then come
back around. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Yeah, they became live staples absolutely read over from Whale
from Wales to fung Guy, and then they found their
way to to Frougrigate. I mean some of them even
were performed by by doing the trunk. So yeah, that
just goes to show that Liss is very fond of
these compositions. Himself and as he should be. He should
(31:19):
be proud because he made a truly great album.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Well, back off, Turkey, smoke him. If you've got him,
you've been tracked. We're about to take off into the
world of Wales. And will Frankie what before we re
examine this record? You mentioned Philippin and Oray and one Better?
What is what is the track you always go back
(31:44):
to on this record.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
That's a tough one. But if I had to pick
one track, I would pick the Biceps as Less described it.
Which is one Better? It's the bibyle. Yeah, whether it's
the studio track or it's one of the many, many
(32:07):
live recordings, one Better is always a showstopper.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I have this vague memory that Phantom Patriot is as
a tune that I kept going back to. That's a
pa Or release. Yeah, that was anyone.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Anyone who got that during the twenty twenty three for
a Brigade tour was very very fortunate.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
So just by virtue of looking at this track list,
yeah we are. We're in for a number of episodes
that are just going to be quite a joy. So
I'm looking forward to yes as well.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I'm going ahead of myself, but I can't hold this
any longer. Josh, did you know? You know that Phantom
Patriot is a pinky song, a pinky song, It's a
pinky track. Yes. So there's a live show where Liz
introduces Phantom Patriot. The kick drum begins playing, providing the backdrop,
(33:07):
and then Les tells the audience that they had removed
Phantom Patriot from the set lists for a few dates
because while he was recording Pickhunt, a method actor got
carried away by his role. He wrangled less a bit
and he broke his pinky and he required his pinky
(33:30):
finger to perform Phantom Patriots. So after the doctor gave
him the green light to use that finger again, they
reincorporated Phantom Patreon the set lists and prior to the
first performance since his finger had been broken, Lez says,
pinky do your stuff, and then he jumps into Phantom Patriots.
(33:53):
So that's a pinky song for you right there.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's correct. I'm reminded of the pinky during pig Hunt incident.
That so, once again, busy guy, he's also starring as
a preacher in horror movies in this era, He's doing
a lot. He's having a great time. I think we're
gonna have a great time too with a Whales and Woe.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
We should. Yeah, I think at some point we'll have
to discuss Pig Hunt as well. I've watched it, but
at the moment I think the only thing I recall
is Lez yelling something like shut the fuck up, Arleen
or something like that.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
To this day, I haven't seen the film, so I'm
gonna have to search it out and give it a look.
Sounds good, well, sorry, Arleen, sounds like funny, all right, brianmates, thanks,
thank you for listening. Uh and uh, maybe I'll put
that pull up on good old Instagram. If you can
(34:55):
only choose one, is it Whales and Woe or is
it purple Onion? It's a tough one. We'll have the
results next time. Maybe I shouldn't promise anything later days
with the mace.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Hmm,
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