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Frydee Primus

Somebody’s gotta be with me on this one. I know it’s been a long time, and when they came back in the middle part of the last decade, they hit the jam-band circuit pretty hard, but especially when they first got going, and even up to 1999’s Antipop, uneven though it was, Primus could be pretty heavy when they wanted to be. They always jammed, and I guess Les Claypool decided he wanted to focus on that side of it, but even a song like “Frizzle Fry” in the video above — shot in Sacramento in 1989 — which was more of a psychedelic groover, has a real plod. They were never metal, and I think a lot of people wanted them to be, much to their chagrin, but they were heavy.

I’ve been on a day-long Primus kick since hearing Reign of Zaius play that “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” riff last night, and Yakuza reminded me of Primus earlier this week as well in that Beyul album reviewEggnogg‘s funky affinity has some of that to it too, and I’ve been grooving on their Louis EP a lot lately, and plus I put Primus on the cover of The Aquarian a couple weeks ago — so in any case, I was due a session with the bass-led trio. They were a band who hit at just the right time for me, and I can’t say that about a lot of bands. I was 10 when Sailing the Seas of Cheese landed, and I’ve always had an affection for them, channeling or at least wishing I could channel my awkwardness into the delight for being weird they seemed to advocate with everything they did. Pork Soda hasn’t held up as well, but it blew my mind at the time. I got a copy of last year’s Green Naugahyde but never really dug into it. Seems they’ve got Jay Lane from Sausage in the lineup now on drums with Claypool and guitarist Larry LaLonde. Fair enough.

Last time I saw them was when they came through doing all of Frizzle Fry — which they do a good portion of in the video above — and it was a little more on the jammy side than I was looking for. I get into that stuff sometimes, but you can cross a line and you end up losing the original dynamic of the song. If the song is a jam, that’s one thing, but to add a seven-minute solo in what used to be a 15-second bridge — well, you get the point. Anyway, I hope you dig the video even if you don’t watch the whole hour or you put it on and do something else. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but Primus is like macaroni and cheese for me. Comfort food.

And apparently I could use it. I didn’t mean for that live review to be quite so glum. I was trying to play up the spiritually healing power of fuzz and got lost in some of the gallows humor, but I can see where you might read that and either wonder what the fuck is up with this guy or be turned off entirely. Whatever, it is what it is and the grammar’s right so far as I know, so I’m not changing it. No regrets, and so forth.

Much to come next week, so stick around. Monday I’ve got more Scion Rock Fest footage going up first thing — or maybe second thing, but early either way — and a track premiere from Norwegian prog classicists Tusmørke, and that’ll be fun. Reviews are forthcoming for Blue Aside, Drug Honkey and Seven Planets as well, among others. I was all set to see Hour of 13 tonight, but I got the heads up that the show’s canceled, so there goes that. Nonetheless, I’ve got interviews in the can (heh) from Curse the Son and Alunah, so I’ll have those up throughout the week, a brand new column from none other than Ben Hogg, and a bunch of other stuff that I either don’t know about yet or can’t remember. It’ll be good times.

Speaking of, I don’t know if you’ve been on the forum this week, but it’s a hoot. I’ve been kind of in and out (heh) as time has permitted, but if you get a minute and feel like lurking or posting a goofy picture of some hairy armpits, it’s all good fun.

Alright y’all. Have a great and safe weekend. Catch you on the aforementioned forum and back here Monday.

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5 Responses to “Frydee Primus”

  1. obnox says:

    Oh man, primus…
    Their last album is a slow burner
    cheers!

  2. terabyte23 says:

    Primus sucks!

  3. My name is Mud says:

    Jerry was a race car driver…25 years old.

    Hellyeah –

    Mike H

  4. Nice you include some Primus here… I’m a big fan of them too… Fish on!

  5. Milk K. Harvey says:

    Hail Claypool and his boys!! Yes, they were heavy and unique, BROWN ALBUM, FRIZZLE FRY, ANTIPOP and the new with that LEE VAN CLIFF tune they are constants in my music diet.

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