Is this the WEIRDEST bass line of the 1990s?!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- It was on Primus’s major-label debut, Sailing The Seas of Cheese, that Les Claypool first recorded with his legendary 6-string fretless bass, made by famed luthier Carl Thompson. “At first it was like wrestling an octopus,” said Claypool. “I started banging on it and tapping on it, and before you know it I'd written the riff to Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.”
In today’s NEW video, you’ll learn what makes this Les Claypool bass line one of the greatest ever. Plus, you'll get playing examples & sheet music so you can understand every note - and decide for yourself if Les Claypool deserves the title of bass genius.
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Video Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
01:54 - How to Tap on Bass
02:37 - Lesson - Part 1 (Plucking Hand)
04:25 - Lesson - Part 2 (First Phrase)
04:25 - Lesson - Part 3 (Second Phrase)
07:55 - Lesson - Part 4 (The last bit!)
10:20 - Lesson Recap
12:22 - Summary
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What was really mind blowing for me is how Les plays these weird, tricky lines and then sings over them at the same time. 🤯
ikr?
Sings and dances like a maniac! 😅
you can't call most of that singing, though... 🤣
@@jorgeletra3902 Might not necessarily be good singing, but I still can't replicate it lol
Absolutely the hardest thing😝
Les Claypool was a huge fan of Tony Levin's Chapman Stick playing. Jerry Was a Racecar Driver was a huge nod to Elephant Talk by King Crimson (off the album Discipline from 1981). Not exactly new information as it was in Bass Player magazine in 1993/1994 time, just when I started playing the Chapman Stick itself. I'm sticking to the Stick. Great video gents, keep up the great work.
Yup, Tony Levin.
Today I learned something.
I LOVED those 3 king crimson albums with Tony and Adrian Belew.
100%
Definitely try to play "to defy the laws of tradition"
Not just his bass lines but also his bass tones on all those Primus albums were just out there, sounding like creaky wooden floor boards, rubber bands, cardboard boxes, balloons etc..
100% great description
yesssss, great way of describing it. I always simply said Claypools playing sounds "ocean bubbly" and I didn't really know what I meant either
I’d love to see you guys break down Tommy the Cat from that same album. Incredibly quirky and challenging slap groove, Les at his best.
It's got to be Tommy the Cat
Has to be Tommy the Cat the Live version from Rhinoplasty though. Or it won’t officially be a Big Rock Show
Tommy the Cat from Primus Sucks!
aw but who's gonna do Tom Waits part lol
Frizzzle Fry. No one ever does a vid on Frizzle Fry and it is so slippery and fun.
I found this format to be particularly instructive: learning something in "real time."
Scott proving that he's human just like the rest of us 🙂
We need “Tommy the Cat” next. And Scott has to “sing” it too 😂
Not even a Bass player. I just come here to watch you two have the absolute best of times. Thanks for the cool vibes fellas 🙌🏻
Thanks for watching!!
When I first heard the South Park Theme and heard nothing but parallel diminished chords delivered without apology I thought to myself, "That's it. That's the Primus sound I could never quite describe." I studied classical theory in college and parallel fifths were a big no-no in times of antiquity. I'm pretty sure parallel flat fifths were an even bigger no-no, meaning Primus breaks all of the rules of 600 years of established music theory. It's like I always say, music theory is not a theory of how music works, it's just a history of standards and practices. Primus laughed at all of it, and managed to be catchy regardless. Rules are meant to be broken.
Les is an absolute mad genius! First time hearing Primus was off-putting because it was so outside the box but then I stepped out of my boxed in mindset and fell in love!
If you want to stay on the Primus trip AND melt Scott's mind (and possibly fingers) I would definitely recommend looking at DMV next. Also I'd love to see a breakdown of Is It Luck? That bassline is an absolute nightmare...
Les himself doesnt even like playing DMV thats cruel 😂😂😂
I've been to hell, I spell it.... spell it DMV
🔥🔥🔥
I can’t listen to DMV without Bob
Or American life, professor nutbutters house of treats, Lee van cleef, frizzle fry, laquer head…. Any of them really
As a young black kid growing up hearing rhis riff on THPS is one of the reasons i explored more genres of music
I'm loving this so much! Been playing bass for 23 years, and Primus and Jaco were the cats keeping me playing for this long.
That bassline sounds a lot like Elephant Talk by King Crimson, played by Tony Levin !!
chapman stick
@@babayaga1767 Yep, played on the bass side of the stick :-)
Thank you! I knew I heard it before! I saw King Crimson live a few times, but you couldn't pay me to see Primus!
Because Les was actually inspired by Tony for this song
@MrChopsticktech why???
I love Les, and it's the first time I've ever seen Scott finding anything difficult! I thought he could play everything effortlessly! Ah the humanity.
The PRIMUS pinnacle of the mountain has got to be Tommy the Cat. That groove is luscious, and vicious!
I have watched a lot of SBL content. And I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt, these sessions where they teach each other how to play a riff are my favourite. Keep them coming!
Always felt that those notes weren't pull offs. They sound independently tapped but so damn fast it gives the feeling of a pull off. Seeing how Les plays it live I still live by it.
on a fretted bass it's a lot easier (and sounds better imo) to just do pull offs. Les does seem to hammer on, like you suggest.
The entire riff is hammer first then pull offs aside from the right hand tapping
I always thought the second phrase was a tap tap slide
One of your in depth interviews, with Les Claypool would be amazing, there's so little out there. Love the rhythmic feel of his music and the wild stories in the lyrics......genius. Cheers.
We would LOVE to have Les on the channel for an interview!
Do it!!!@@devinebass
@@devinebass might have to take him fishing to bribe him.
I love so much the way to have a breakdown of a riff by you two guys. I think that a discussion is way better than a lesson.
Watching you guys struggle BUT still having a good time was the best part of the video/lesson.
Seeing Scott struggle makes me feel sooo much better leaving new techniques 😂😅
So glad to see some Claypool and Primus love. Les was the reason I picked up the bass in the 90s and I can hardly express how happy I am for you to cover this riff.
I remember when this album came out. I had literally NOTHING like it before.
PLEEAASSEE DO MORE PRIMUS!! I loved seeing you try and learn this absolute nightmare of a bassline and there are just so many more that Primus has. i would love to see these: DMV, Tommy The Cat, Hamburger Train, Lacquer Head, My Name Is Mud, Is It Luck, and Frizzle Fry!
And American Life!
Scott shouldn't be so down on his tapping, I thought he did great. And kudos to you for always continuing to learn and thanks for letting us see some of that.
I really enjoyed seeing how much fun you guys had making this
Im so glad to see more primus content in the shed
I play nothing, i watch you all the time and the 2 of you are the bomb. Awesome episode
this is kinda hard honestly but it really doesnt take long to start learning some of ur fav songs, it might be worth while trolling 2nd hand marketplaces because someone is always giving away a free instrument if u can pick one up!
Thanks a lot guys. Les has been one of my favourites for dec&des, now. Glad to see you try some of his stuff.
Love it. Thanks for the share. Loving that the only thing better than the deconstruction of the bassline is the joy of watching you guys doing your thing and nerding out. The world needs this. Will happily sell my children to finance more of it.
Keeping with the theme of unconventional and "different" basslines, I'd love to hear you guys tackle some Steve Digiorgio riffs from Death.
ah, a connaiseur
I liked Steve Di Giorgio's fretless bass line on the Death song "The Philosopher". Definitely deserves a SBL lesson!
Les in Primus was THE SHIT!!! So creative!!! And so out there.. atonal, polytonal shit they were doing, always blew my mind how a band like that became so popular during that time. More Primus please🙏🙏🙏 there’s so many cool lesser known bass lines of his that could make for a great episode! Really enjoyed this one! 🥰🦑
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Seeing you guys teach eachother and struggle to learn is actually really encouraging for us beginners
Thank you guys! Really love this kind of content, not only you helped me master the riff, digging into Primus, the song and Claypool was really fun.
So glad to finally see primus here 😂
I would love to see you guys doing Maxwell Murder by Rancid. It's an aggressive fast walking line and there is a solo that's deceptively tricky
I second this!
Third, YES!!!!! Get it bassed young Scott!
why is this one entering all the bass related channels atm?^^
yes please!
THIS. Any Matt Freeman lines are welcome. That dude is a legend and a true inspiration to me.
I’m a guitarist who happens to love you guys videos. I think Lalonde has the coolest guitar job available. They seem to have so much fun.
I guess I’m old enough to get all the memes… lol😂😂you guys are awesome! Keep it up!!
Let's face it, Ian, if you can get Scott to play just about anything else Primus, it would be awesome. I think, as others have mentioned, "Is it Luck?," "DMV," "To Defy the Laws of Tradition," and of course "Tommy the Cat." Seeing that Scott's not a fan of tapping, can you get him to play "Terminal Beach" by Stu Hamm? Or even his version of "Linus and Lucy"?
“Tommy the cat” might be the next best song for bass, a lot of people consider it a “hard” bass line, I don’t know if it’s hard though because I’m just that bad.
OMG, this is awesome! Thank you guys :) I just started learning this with my sensei but hearing you explain it in English is a bit more helpful. You guys rock!!!
Great lesson! And you did so well, Scott! 😊
Les has some weird but really great bass lines, Is It Luck? it’s a good example and the chord stuff from Groundhog’s Day
Is It Luck? always gets me, that middle hammer-on is the bane of my existence
Yes! My band played Groundhogs day and quite a few other Primus tunes, because we all loved that bass chord stuff. But Is It Luck is the one Claypool song I could never play right. He somehow uses the tremolo to detune that part as he's playing it, and it seems physically impossible to me. I've never seen anybody play it the way he played in on the album. A lot of people get the left hand figure right, but I haven't seen anybody use the tremolo while doing it.
@@NautilusGuitarsIndeed and who else has a bass with a tremolo bar ? I don’t think I have ever seen one myself except on a Primus concert. I was thinking about this bassline as well btw, it seems a bit ‘weirder’ even than ‘Jerry’. To be fair Sgt Baker is out there too…. The whole album come to think of it😂
@@klapsigaarenbasgitaar1931 Yeah, it's an incredible album full of incredible bass lines! Is It Luck has to be one of the weirdest of all time and I wish more people would talk about it.
As a young man, I got obsessed with bass and all the mods you could do, and after seeing Claypool and Wooten, I had to get Kahler trems on my basses (I actually have what, as far as I can tell, is the only 6-string Kahler bass trem that's actually installed on an instrument. I had to custom order it, and it was not cheap haha. ). It's what really kick started my guitar building career. Les' Thompson basses are what made me want to build basses and guitars.
All of that said, even with the trem and tons of practice, I could never get close to playing that part right. I can play it without the trem, but I'm dumbfounded by how it's even possible to do it with a trem. It seems so impossible, that I've honestly wondered if he used a Whammy Pedal instead and just never mentioned it. It actually seems physically impossible.
Do "Is it Luck?" from the same album.
I think it's the hardest Claypool line out there.
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Primus "Is It Luck".
These latest videos are great! Please, keep them coming!!!
Just got interested in tapping and last month I bought my first fretless so it’s like you guys read my mind! Thanks so much for the lesson😊😊😊
Have fun with this one!!!
Other nightmare bass lines? Like the whole Sailing the Seas of Cheese album? 😅
Sean Malone (Cynic,Gordian Knot),perfect bassist for the next episode.
Scott, you and Ian are the dopest. Two guys teaching in the clearest way and with fun and character thrown in for good measure. Great stuff, thanks.👊🏾
🧡🧡🧡
I just found your channel. Have played in bands for 20 years but late to Primus. I love both Primus and your channel! Subscribed. Please just do more Claypool. My name is mud!
Let me go look for my fretless 6. I must admit it’s a bit dusty
Go to it! 😃
It's indeed THE if not one of the weirdest bass lines ever, it's melodically/harmonically ugly as hell, but somehow it is really great and amazing, I don't know how to explain this phenomenon 🤔
Thank you for doing this! So much fun. Les was why I asked for a bass at age 13! Jaco, Larry Graham, Jameson etc came after but ‘twas Les that gave me the original bass desire
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Best chemistry on TH-cam, I'd watch for the laughs and Police Academy references alone
Odds are good that I'm not going to be a better bass player after watching this.... but it sure made me smile... you guys are great entertainment!!!
I've seen a lot of Primus vids this year and I hope they never stop
Great video, guys!! Thanks!
Favorite Primus album ever!
Have had it in my car for a month on repeat, my gf finally said something...
Ian did a great job here. Well played and well explained!
Guys, you have such great chemistry. Ian gave this channel a breath of fresh air. It's not like I don't like Scott, it's just the combo of Scott and Ian is so amazing. I could watch you two for hours.
Loved this song since Tony Hawk Pro Skater!! Thanks for the 4 string tabs!
For me it was Rock Band 3 and it's still one of my favourite songs to play, such a fucking banger
I wish this was my job, so much fun watching you guys.
I saw Primus in 1995 at WHFS in Washington DC I have always been a huge fan. This bass line was one of the reasons I wanted to learn the bass. Les’s playing while weird is extremely talented and complex. Great video explaining the riff
I'm learning this riff on a fretless uke bass ,thanks guys!!!
Brilliant!
Les is a local boy to my town, that guy was born to play bass on a stage.
This was great, guys. I mean, you started it, you can pretty much pick anything from Les and Primus's catalog to tackle next. I don't think Primus has any "normal" sounding songs!
Is it even possible to transcribe the insane section after he yells "Go!"??
Nice job as always guys, I love the 'Scott and Ian Show'!
This was great. Please make a little add on video showing us how to play that last wild bass part on a 4 and on a 6. Would be great!
This was very enjoyable. Thanks!
👍👍👍
Class guys !! ❤
Mr Bungle's first album had a song called "Dead Goon". The bassline is insane, with a descending run in the chorus(?) that is so insane that it still leaves me reeling.
So stoked to see you guys talking about primus.
Also you should totally try Tommy the cat
At 10:24 mark when Ian plays it slow, it has a bossa nova vibe to it. Very cool, too.
Loved this!
Great lesson, gents!
If we're talking crazy bass lines from Primus, you've got Tommy the Cat, The Scheme, Eleven (when played properly as hammer-on chords), Hamburger Train.... Just to name a few
On a side note, that Black F Bass is absolutely gorgeous! Love that natural headstock with the black hardware!! Long love the BanANa bass
Seeing Scott struggling like that to play a bassline soothes my impostor syndrome a little bit 😂
Sailing The Seas Of Cheese was the first album I learned on base. Claypool is an absolute hero of mine. I would love to hear you guys break down Is It Luck? from that same album.
Best thing about it is Claypool is singing over this bloody thing. Absolutely unique talent. Writing it in the first place and having the chops to play it whilst also singing. Grade-A legend.
Broke that one down sweet!
Thanks!
You guys rock, I love Primus.. going to see them in a few weeks.
Would love to see you do
Descendents - Caught
Tommy the Cat should be on the list!!Its arguably the hardest bassline from Primus especially if played originally how it was done.
eFantastic, Man when this first came out I was at Breklee, and this whole record just F'ked me up, I spent all summer trying to learn these riffs, I got my slapping/Tapping skills from this record, well actually I almost broke my thumb on Tommy the Cat, But so right "is it Luck" just stopped me in my tracks....I've seen them like 5 times over the years, Absolutely phenomenal Live.
Oh and you two Guy's are the Best.... Thank you
This album is absolutely amazing, everything is just perfect.
You could go over Tommy, the cat in another video. I guess it is just as difficult and weird as this one. 😍
I had the luck to visit San Francisco in 1993 AND Primus wasn't there. 😞We had to rent a car and move to Petaluma in the northern Bay Area, but there we've seen a whole arena screaming “you suck”, and so they did. It was great. Today I'm 59 and my fingers are still aching from trying to manage “Tommy The Cat”. We don't had TH-cam or any cool teachers - like you guys - that time.
I saw Primus at a big show called “That Damn Show” just before Antipop came out, so maybe 1999. They actually got booed off stage at first and somebody threw a bottle and hit Les, so they walked off. Then they came back and FUCKING ROCKED IT. Still one of the top 3 shows I’ve ever seen.
To help with the power on the descending pull offs I like to land the first tap on the first note with my ring finger, pull off to my index finger and then ‘pull off slide’ the index finger down one fret
It's really interesting to me that Scott didn't already have this down going into this video. I have always felt that Primus songs, and specifically Jerry was a Racecar Driver, was almost a right of passage for bass players of a certain age. I know for me two of the best days of my bass playing life were the days that I finally was able to nail Jerry Was a Racecar Driver and Tommy the Cat at speed.
I was 14 years of age when I talked my dad into getting me a 6 string fretless just so I could play everything from Sailing the Sea of Cheese exactly as Claypool did.
3 weeks later I had a 6 string Warwick Thumb.
I played that bass every day for 3 years, until it was stolen from the dressing room at a 6000 seat arena.
Dream stealers suck, but it sounds like you were well on your way by that point..
Great video, love Les, love primus, and hey I still rock a flannel shirt.🤘
was just watching old Top Gear, so, good on that Stig appearance lol 9:27
The main riff of "Firewater" originally by Jimsaku (Tetsuo Sakurai - bass, Akira Jimbo - drums). This video is with Dennis Chambers drumming while on the Gentle Hearts tour (Greg Howe there too, just not playing for this song). Main part starts at 0:19
th-cam.com/video/IBMuV6zAw2o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_v151q9sX8p2TZwU
I love you Les. Fish on!
I did not think I was going to see a Bobcat Goldthwait reference today. I was wrong. 😂
Ler's playing is the best compliment to these weird bass lines too
Watching Claypool live is mind melting.
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Brilliant guys. ❤
Les claypool uses so many different and arkward techniques. One of my favorites bass players ever. Professor nuttbutter, dmv, etc.etc. are my favorites songs, keyword is etc here...
Ian reminds me so much of AnthonyCSN. He's like the little brother of learning bass.
The most Primus epic bass line . . .
My name is mud live in an indoor arena
Go over not only the bass line
Go into the equipment and what it sounds like with 2 stacks
I grew up with them in so cal Saw them since the college tours
But this song in a closed arena shook the place
Best with sir T Alexander.
GENIUS!!
Just bought the Primus pack of songs for Rocksmith. Super fun.
I love this channel and PLEASE do Therapy's bass line from Infectious Grooves, one of my favorite bass line Rob ever created.