Speaker 1: Hello, Primates.
Speaker 2: You found Primus Tracks. Congratulations. There are so many places
Speaker 2: to find Primus Tracks. The podcast is probably the best.
Speaker 2: I am doctor Josh bald I am one of the
Speaker 2: hosts of Primus Tracks. He is coming to you from
Speaker 2: the thirty ninth floor Primus Tracks Towers Encyclopedia. Frankie Beristein,
Speaker 2: He's going fine. It's just it's going fine. While I
Speaker 2: have great news for you. Frankie, your day is about
Speaker 2: to improve dramatically because we are talking about mister Wright
Speaker 2: from the Monolithophobos record as we continue our deep dive
Speaker 2: into the first CLD effort and we have help. He's
Speaker 2: fresh off the road from a brief tour of North America.
Speaker 2: He is a base wizard that we call upon numerous
Speaker 2: times for his insights. The Funky Diva himself, Ko Gonzalez,
Speaker 2: welcome back to Primus Tracks.
Speaker 3: I'll add to that I was fresh before going on.
Speaker 2: Oh tour did not freshen you up. You were pure
Speaker 2: driven snow before and after. That is wonderful.
Speaker 3: But thank you for the for the Funky Diva, the.
Speaker 2: Title is yours just this, so tell us about the
Speaker 2: tour you were just a part of.
Speaker 3: It was a very great weather infused journey through the US.
Speaker 3: So went through I guess all seasons in these three weeks. Uh,
Speaker 3: some snow, some snow in uh in New York, rain
Speaker 3: in Dallas, some humid, windy climates in Orlando. I was
Speaker 3: also in the mid of a cartel uprising.
Speaker 2: Like yeah, I was worried about you when I heard
Speaker 2: about that.
Speaker 3: So it was lots of things happened. Everyone's safe, but
Speaker 3: it was a great overall tour. Is the composer for
Speaker 3: the music Silent Hill, right, and I was fortunate enough
Speaker 3: to be invited to be a bass player doing this
Speaker 3: tour and fingers crossed Huron right. Yeah, So we have
Speaker 3: we have talks of more dates coming in. We'll do
Speaker 3: some Mexico City later in the year. We'll do some
Speaker 3: other US Europe Asia dates later. So it'll be nice.
Speaker 3: It'll be a nice trip, a nice journey through his music,
Speaker 3: and uh, we'll see what comes next. But it was
Speaker 3: great in regards to wed all sold out dates.
Speaker 1: Kay, I am, I am flabbergasted. So you you're you're
Speaker 1: heavily on the road. You also record uh solo albums,
Speaker 1: You also record with Parasit. You perform a ton of shows,
Speaker 1: So when do you even engineer.
Speaker 3: In between wow, in between all that. So it's yeah,
Speaker 3: it's it's a it's a juggling as as I call,
Speaker 3: it's a juggling effort between family, work, music.
Speaker 1: And all the the care that goes towards your facial
Speaker 1: hair as well.
Speaker 4: That takes care of itself. Actually it takes care of me.
Speaker 4: I mean, and I see Josh is.
Speaker 3: On his way working on it.
Speaker 1: Indeed, I saw Chaos interview. One quote that stood out
Speaker 1: for me particularly is that Chaos said if there were
Speaker 1: a top one hundred bass players list from Mexico, he
Speaker 1: wouldn't even be there. And I was like, get the
Speaker 1: hell out.
Speaker 3: Of here, Like, technically speaking, I'm not the best bass player.
Speaker 3: That's the thing, technically speaking, Because I think we talked
Speaker 3: about this, but when I when I was in the
Speaker 3: San Diego Primus Masterdon tour, I did the VIP thing, right, So,
Speaker 3: and we're talking and someone asked them and in between
Speaker 3: everything that Lass said, one of the things that I
Speaker 3: noticed from his comments is he didn't see himself as
Speaker 3: a very good bass player, right, And I think I
Speaker 3: relate to that because I'm also a self learned bass player. Yes,
Speaker 3: and we learned from our heroes listening emulating playing organically.
Speaker 3: So that's how I feel like about my playing. I
Speaker 3: love what I do. I like that I can basically
Speaker 3: make those sounds inside my head a reality. But it's
Speaker 3: not as I'm not your what would you would? You
Speaker 3: would say, a common, basic, normal bass player.
Speaker 1: You know, I could equate that to an artist or
Speaker 1: an illustrator who is very technically proficient, but they're only
Speaker 1: good at doing what people ask them to do or
Speaker 1: copying something, whereas some illustrators might not have the most
Speaker 1: refined or the best technique ever, but their imagination is
Speaker 1: mind blowing like less. Yeah, certainly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but now now I appreciate your comment, Frankie, and
Speaker 3: I thank you for that. In the end, it's about
Speaker 3: doing what we love, how we love doing it right.
Speaker 3: So here we are, beautiful.
Speaker 2: Let's amend the list. Then let's put you at number
Speaker 2: one oh one. Okay, easy, there you go.
Speaker 3: You made it here on the list.
Speaker 2: You're one of one, that's for sure.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: Well, it's great to have you back talking mister Wright today.
Speaker 2: This is track four of the Mono Phobos record. It's
Speaker 2: four minutes twenty one seconds music by Claypool Lennon. Of course,
Speaker 2: lyrics by Claypool. Less is on vocals, bass and melotron.
Speaker 2: Sean Lennon is on vocals, guitar and drums and Frankie.
Speaker 2: I have a feeling you know all about this tune.
Speaker 1: Mister Wright is a Lenom Delirium staple. It's always performed
Speaker 1: live at their shows and you can tell it's one
Speaker 1: of their favorites. They really enjoy playing it, mostly because,
Speaker 1: whereas other tracks they tend to stay within the norm
Speaker 1: of the record. With mister Writer, there's always that little
Speaker 1: space for jamming and improvisation, which you can tell Les
Speaker 1: really enjoys. I get some Mister Wright trivia here courtesy
Speaker 1: of a friend of the podcast, Matt Weinegar, who was
Speaker 1: there for the creation of monolitha Phobos. Matt confirmed the
Speaker 1: song was called Creeping in the early stages when it
Speaker 1: was being demoed. He said that Les pretty much arrived
Speaker 1: with the song finished and it was just a matter
Speaker 1: of recording it. Now, this makes perfect sense to me
Speaker 1: because it harks directly back to that comment Let's made
Speaker 1: recently about how Sean tends to make these beautiful songs,
Speaker 1: and then let's brings the words into the records. You
Speaker 1: can totally tell this is a Lescliple song.
Speaker 3: Agree, well, this could have this could have been in
Speaker 3: any of his solo records.
Speaker 1: Exactly Yes. I asked Matt what his reaction was to
Speaker 1: the lyrics, and he said he was cracking up. He said,
Speaker 1: as disturbing as the subject matter is, hearing less sing
Speaker 1: the word p is hilarious. Here's something that I didn't know,
Speaker 1: and it was highlighted by Matt. They were having conversations
Speaker 1: about Chuck Berry being posted for setting off cameras and
Speaker 1: that seems to be some of the inspiration for this song. Now,
Speaker 1: Jock Berry was accused of secretly videotaping women with cameras
Speaker 1: installed in the restrooms of his restaurant, The Southern Air
Speaker 1: in Missouri in the late nineteen eighties. Lawsuits and settlements
Speaker 1: from nineteen ninety said that over two hundred women filed
Speaker 1: actions against him allegend they were filmed using the restroom.
Speaker 1: While the charges were never proven in court, Chuck settled
Speaker 1: a class action lawsuit with fifty nine different women for
Speaker 1: one point two million dollars plus legal fees.
Speaker 2: Wow, so that's possibly the impetus for that's.
Speaker 1: Possibly the real life mister right. Yes, Matt said that
Speaker 1: showplay drums along with Les playing bass live in the studio.
Speaker 1: That's how this song was recorded. Then vocals and guitars
Speaker 1: were overdubbed. He didn't remember if the song had metotron
Speaker 1: or not, which it does now. Musically, I think one
Speaker 1: of the reasons this song stands out well. Of course
Speaker 1: the baseline, that galloping, amazing bassline, which is center and
Speaker 1: front stage on the song. But some people have highlighted
Speaker 1: that it's also very melodic and very very musical for
Speaker 1: less standards, and some people even compare it to tax
Speaker 1: Men by the Beatles. Another small piece of trivia for you,
Speaker 1: Josh and Ko, if you, if you would please open
Speaker 1: your monolitha Phobos gatefold, you can see mister Wright right
Speaker 1: there in the collash.
Speaker 2: Here's my monolitha Phobos gatefold.
Speaker 1: Let's see if you can spot mister Wright. Is it?
Speaker 2: Is it this unsavory character right here?
Speaker 1: That right there is mister right yeah, top middle on
Speaker 1: your gatefold on the image page.
Speaker 2: Very nice. You sure it's not the guy in the
Speaker 2: glasses holding that piece that makes it's really confused, but.
Speaker 3: Not fair enough, you know, it could be that the
Speaker 3: melodic element is brought in by the pairing Less with Sean,
Speaker 3: you know, because if you strip it away again going
Speaker 3: back to it, it is a clipbal song, right. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's not like he's singing more or less yeah than
Speaker 3: any other Less clippal song. It's more the how the
Speaker 3: Lennon Clappole pairing adds melody to to Less weird the music, you.
Speaker 1: Know, That's exactly their dynamic. Less pushes Sean to be
Speaker 1: more technically proficient, whereas Sean pushes Less to be more
Speaker 1: musical and more melodic.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we get a lot of elements in that
Speaker 2: and of that in this tune, certainly. And it's only
Speaker 2: the fourth track, like we've really seen.
Speaker 3: It, and this this first album is very psychedelic. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 3: but this song is the more reminiscent of.
Speaker 2: Less work certainly. Yeah, Frankie, when you said the it
Speaker 2: was essentially brought fully formed by Less, like that didn't
Speaker 2: surprise me one bit, No, because this is one of
Speaker 2: those tunes where Less likes to tell the story of
Speaker 2: Sean joining them on stage for the first few times
Speaker 2: on that tour in twenty fifteen, and Sean saying what
Speaker 2: do I do And let's say, let's make whale sounds.
Speaker 2: There's some whale sounds on this one, this one feeling
Speaker 2: more fully formed by you know, Claypole bringing to the table.
Speaker 2: It's one of those where all right, I'm going to
Speaker 2: fill in around the edges. And I think that's what
Speaker 2: Sean decided to do with this one.
Speaker 3: I mean from experience, I can tell you it's not
Speaker 3: the same to compliment already complete song than to add
Speaker 3: to it. So I can see where songs as Sean
Speaker 3: probably brought brought in less had to exercise a different
Speaker 3: way of working with someone because he's very much used
Speaker 3: to bring it in everything right, right, I mean, Prime
Speaker 3: is his his own stuff any other project, I mean
Speaker 3: he's basically he does most of the compositional work right,
Speaker 3: So here there will be instances when he'll need to
Speaker 3: add base, add vocals, harmonies to something that's already done,
Speaker 3: which is for him different than what he's used to doing.
Speaker 2: And I don't want to ask you, Ko, I would
Speaker 2: imagine for him it's somewhat refreshing, and so for you
Speaker 2: because you are there the heart and soul of so
Speaker 2: many bands. When when when your band members or bandmates
Speaker 2: are bringing bringing stuff in, or you're working with somebody
Speaker 2: new and finding new pathways. How's that for you?
Speaker 3: It exercises a different creative area from your brain. I
Speaker 3: can see from less perspective. It basically takes him out
Speaker 3: of his comfort zone and it'll exercise a different creative development,
Speaker 3: which I think I'll appreciate. I use that as a
Speaker 3: resource to not repeat myself, right, because otherwise I'll enter
Speaker 3: into like a auto pilot. Yeah, we're working creatively. But
Speaker 3: if you work different areas of how you can compose
Speaker 3: or or trigger creativity, then it may catch you off guard.
Speaker 2: Oh I love that. I love that way of saying it.
Speaker 2: You catch yourself off guard because you're doing something you
Speaker 2: wouldn't normally do.
Speaker 3: And you react, you react to it differently. Now, this
Speaker 3: is another Claypal quote from from this v P San
Speaker 3: Diego Get Together. But someone asked me, how how do
Speaker 3: you how do you do it to sound different primus
Speaker 3: than you do with lenin than you do with everything
Speaker 3: you do?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 3: And what he said, you don't talk the same way
Speaker 3: to your mom than you do to your boss, and
Speaker 3: you do to your girlfriend or your dog. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 3: depending on who you're talking to dot. Conversation's different, the
Speaker 3: way you talk, with the inflection in your voice, the
Speaker 3: I mean, everything changes. So when I play with Lair
Speaker 3: is different than when I played with Sean, than what
Speaker 3: I played with each and every member from the different bands,
Speaker 3: because it's a conversation, so the conversation goes differently.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I'm Frankie's boss, so you
Speaker 2: can imagine how I talk to him. Well, you do
Speaker 2: have that beautiful bass there and this this track is uh,
Speaker 2: you know, the foundation of this track is that really
Speaker 2: cool lick that that starts things off. I'll play it
Speaker 2: from the record and then I would love to hear
Speaker 2: your rendition of it, Ko and what you're hearing in
Speaker 2: there besides tax Man of course, because everybody hears that.
Speaker 2: That's a nice opening right there.
Speaker 3: From from a bass perspective, it's classic Claypoo song where
Speaker 3: you have the same lick over Robert the whole song,
Speaker 3: but he adds small things to spice it up. And
Speaker 3: let's the vocals on the on the melody that he
Speaker 3: goes through with with the lyrics guide the song, right.
Speaker 3: But if you listen to it, it's basically the same
Speaker 3: lick over and over again, even through verses and choruses.
Speaker 1: It sounds like a very complex bassline.
Speaker 3: Is it the tricky part on the bassline or the song?
Speaker 3: It's it's the the metric element on it, because if
Speaker 3: you see his his he starts off and then everything enters,
Speaker 3: So it's it's kind of it's kind of crooked, right,
Speaker 3: it's crooked and and and the bass like kind of
Speaker 3: it's kind of swerving through through the four four uh
Speaker 3: time signature in the song, So it makes it it's
Speaker 3: it's one of those psychedelic pragy elements that that are
Speaker 3: infused in the song. But it's really a four by
Speaker 3: four song. Just the way it is approached to make
Speaker 3: it makes it sound like it's more complex than it
Speaker 3: actually is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they do some sneaking to make it sound and
Speaker 2: feel off kilter, like coming in on the and as
Speaker 2: opposed to the.
Speaker 3: One correct correct, but only he does it. Yeah, right,
Speaker 3: So that that's what kind of gets you kind of
Speaker 3: a little bit what happened there or or makes you
Speaker 3: think that it is from a from a metric perspective,
Speaker 3: a little bit more crooked than it is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a nice illusion just to like you shift
Speaker 2: one thing and then everything feels like it's falling apart.
Speaker 3: So that's that's that's that's the leck.
Speaker 2: Right there in the box.
Speaker 3: And then he does some.
Speaker 1: So there's some when you well you'll hear it life.
Speaker 1: It goes all over the place.
Speaker 3: It does, which but it but it makes sense because
Speaker 3: the song structure is so straightforward that it keeps way
Speaker 3: to being able to kind of open it up because
Speaker 3: it's all I mean, it's pretty basic and it's in
Speaker 3: its structure, so it allows for that openness and I
Speaker 3: can see and I can see that, yeah.
Speaker 2: Uh. And then with the pattern there, it's it's largely
Speaker 2: in a box. We've talked about. He keeps some of
Speaker 2: his riffs in a box physical box. Uh. And it's
Speaker 2: kind of looking you know, it looks a bit peditonic,
Speaker 2: and then there's the chromatic uh shift downwards. There's some
Speaker 2: cool stuff going on there. But it's it's bouncy. Of course,
Speaker 2: it's so reminiscent of tax Man, but it's its own thing.
Speaker 2: It's it sounds like a lot of fun to play,
Speaker 2: It looks like a lot of fun to play.
Speaker 3: It is it is a lot of fun. And now
Speaker 3: he's singing on top of this.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's the hard part, right, the hard part.
Speaker 1: And it's one of it's another of another, one of
Speaker 1: those songs that have a chance to breathe new life.
Speaker 1: On the second leg of the tour, when Liz finally
Speaker 1: decided to start playing the pachyderm because on the record
Speaker 1: and on the first leg he used to play mister
Speaker 1: Wright on the resonator.
Speaker 2: That would sound strange. I don't think I've heard any
Speaker 2: of those first leg recordings of them playing any of
Speaker 2: these tunes on the resonator with money Mark.
Speaker 3: I don't think it's strange. If you listen to the original,
Speaker 3: you can see the mid rangee timber from banking.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll buy that.
Speaker 1: It's worth highlighting that Liz has introduced this song multiple
Speaker 1: times on stage as a song absolutely despised by his daughter.
Speaker 2: That's right, Yes, that's right. She says she really doesn't
Speaker 2: like this one for the lyrical content it is. It
Speaker 2: is pretty creepy, and so that it was called creeping,
Speaker 2: and that the word creeping is used numerous times through
Speaker 2: the song. I mean, it's it's very much like the
Speaker 2: that bass lick ko that the word creeping and that
Speaker 2: bass lick are probably they occur so often in this
Speaker 2: tune that now I cannot extricate them from one another.
Speaker 3: It's a creeper, creeper riff. It's a creeping riff.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: You can just you can just see the guy setting
Speaker 2: up the little cameras everywhere in his airbnber whatever in
Speaker 2: his rental property. And with that, you know that he's
Speaker 2: just jaunting through the house because with that bouncy bass
Speaker 2: riff behind him going, he's setting up these cameras. I'm
Speaker 2: a pervert.
Speaker 1: I just want to mention that before this album dropped,
Speaker 1: I did hear Creaking and the Genie because I was
Speaker 1: just too curious about the collaboration. I couldn't help it.
Speaker 1: So I heard that song many times. But then, yeh,
Speaker 1: before the record, they also released Mister Wright as another
Speaker 1: teaser for the album, and I remember hitting the plate
Speaker 1: bottom and I heard just the opening bars of the
Speaker 1: song and I stopped it because I thought, this is
Speaker 1: too good. I need to I need to save this
Speaker 1: for when the album is released so I can hear
Speaker 1: everything back to back. I didn't want to spoil any
Speaker 1: more tracks. So the opening grief of Mister wright was
Speaker 1: so compelling I decided to wait for the record.
Speaker 2: I am impressed that you demonstrated such restraint, Frankie, because
Speaker 2: we know that if you are given a morsel, you'll
Speaker 2: take the entire cookie. So you'll just you'll just gobble
Speaker 2: up whatever's put in front of you. That's that's impressive
Speaker 2: And and something so inviting as this lick that starts
Speaker 2: the tune that Kao is just hammering away on in
Speaker 2: the background.
Speaker 3: Man, I mean, I tell you something, the more I
Speaker 3: play it, the more it flows, you know.
Speaker 2: Oh certainly, yeah, So you're getting some practicing while we
Speaker 2: While we speak, I'm going to forward to about a
Speaker 2: minute and a half into the tune because there it
Speaker 2: wants it's going. I will say, like in the first
Speaker 2: minute we get what we're going to get. There are
Speaker 2: no dramatic shifts, and that's totally fine. We've talked about
Speaker 2: the all A songs and Kay you mentioned it. There's
Speaker 2: the foundational lick. We get that for about four minutes
Speaker 2: with some variations. It's I think it's solid enough to
Speaker 2: carry carry through. But it is a pretty cool groove.
Speaker 2: As the tune is well established, I'll just play a
Speaker 2: little bit more here weal sound Less was getting ready
Speaker 2: for that Tribute to Kings tour with that melodar.
Speaker 3: I need to do something, not just because.
Speaker 2: Frank, are you grabbing your melotron? I'm grabbing excellent, We're
Speaker 2: going to hear it on the resonator. That sounds just
Speaker 2: like that sounds much rounder. Yeah, fascinating, It does sound
Speaker 2: more more like it. I almost prefer that. Now, bring
Speaker 2: back the resonator, CLD, let's do it. That's that's fascinating
Speaker 2: because we are so used, of course to the packet
Speaker 2: term basis. Now it's been many years that he's been
Speaker 2: exclusively using those with the resonator sprinkled in for Primus
Speaker 2: shows and of course on due to Twang, but we
Speaker 2: just haven't seen it since that first leg of the
Speaker 2: Cold I know where you're going with that one. So
Speaker 2: uh so, the musicality on display, it's really cool to
Speaker 2: hear them because we're you know, Less kind of dominates
Speaker 2: this tune, and he plays that melotron part too, and
Speaker 2: so Sean's making those whale sounds pretty cool. Whale sounds,
Speaker 2: by the way.
Speaker 1: I just find it. I just find it really mind
Speaker 1: blowing that Liz was playing that riff with his right
Speaker 1: hand whilst playing the melotron with his left hand.
Speaker 2: What are you talking about, Sun, Come on now.
Speaker 3: I mean I could see him do that Getty style.
Speaker 2: Yeah right, yeah, he could be hammering on that lick
Speaker 2: and playing the melotron with his right hand. That's that's
Speaker 2: not too bad.
Speaker 1: It's doable.
Speaker 2: Workshop it a little bit and then make sure you
Speaker 2: grab your your little keyboard and go crazy. But it's
Speaker 2: fun to hear. It's a fun groove. It certainly is
Speaker 2: what carries us through four minutes, and certainly the lyrics.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of space for the lyrics and the vocals.
Speaker 2: They are on full display. Are I appreciate the chorus,
Speaker 2: though I do like the repetition of creeping. The rhyme
Speaker 2: scheme in our chorus is A B A C, and
Speaker 2: then in our verses it's a B A A. So
Speaker 2: like the first versus dance pants dance dance, which is
Speaker 2: fun to say on its own, dance pants dance dance, sleep,
Speaker 2: peep shower flower p glee. Yeah, it is kind of
Speaker 2: fun to hear less single word P. Matt Weininger, you
Speaker 2: are correct, uh, And it's all about setting up the
Speaker 2: cameras and watching people go about their business when they
Speaker 2: think they have privacy. And he does call him, he
Speaker 2: does say, good old find upstanding mister, right, so he's
Speaker 2: upstanding pillar of community. Actually pervert. That's the headline. Creeping
Speaker 2: through the night doing that stuff, peeping on people.
Speaker 3: It's a topic.
Speaker 1: It's a current topic.
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely it is. It just goes right back to
Speaker 2: those privacy concerns. Everybody has has those cameras everywhere, and
Speaker 2: now the newest problem now is those damn smart glasses.
Speaker 2: So people are wearing those all around and you do
Speaker 2: not know when they're recording. Now. They are designed, they
Speaker 2: are designed to have a little led light that's turned
Speaker 2: on on the frame when the camera's activated. But of
Speaker 2: co course people have already found workarounds to that. There's
Speaker 2: little laquers that you can paint on there to cover
Speaker 2: the light. So you have no idea if somebody's wearing
Speaker 2: smart glasses and recording you anymore unintended consequence. I don't
Speaker 2: know about you, guys, but when I enter an Airbnb rental,
Speaker 2: the first thing I do is look for cameras. No, nope, okay,
Speaker 2: all right, so you got you guys, Just give him
Speaker 2: the full show. Yeah, okay, what the hell? Hey, you
Speaker 2: know I got a deal, throw the guy up both.
Speaker 2: I don't have a ton to say about the lyrics.
Speaker 2: I mean they tell the story pretty well. There's a
Speaker 2: lot of sensory detail, like putting a twitch into his pants.
Speaker 3: That's that's nice.
Speaker 2: Uh, The exhilarated by the peep calling the girl he
Speaker 2: watches in the shower such a pretty little flower that
Speaker 2: is disturbing. Uh. And the the trembling with glee, creeping
Speaker 2: through the night to ease his lust full play. Obviously,
Speaker 2: something's gone wrong with mister Right. And by the way,
Speaker 2: that something's wrong with mister Wright. I don't want to
Speaker 2: call a low hanging fruit. But I made the same
Speaker 2: pun in like fourth grade.
Speaker 3: I know I did, But you know what, I think
Speaker 3: that lines that basically, that's why it's called mister right.
Speaker 2: It's yes, it's there to serve that Like, that's exactly
Speaker 2: why it's there.
Speaker 3: It serves it serves that line. Some of the best
Speaker 3: lyrics from from Less are storytelling lyrics, you know those
Speaker 3: the goal go and tell story about something. And this
Speaker 3: is even though it is a somewhat peculiar and disturbing
Speaker 3: story it is taking you through that piece of news,
Speaker 3: right right. Less knows how to tell story.
Speaker 2: Yes, and he does this. He does it really well here,
Speaker 2: and it is it's certainly creepy. I don't think it
Speaker 2: else is the line, but it's creepy.
Speaker 1: And what is, at least, at least for me, what
Speaker 1: is really spectacular about his songwriting skills is that Less
Speaker 1: has brought forward so many tragic and sometimes on savory
Speaker 1: characters like this one, but never loathsome. Even if what
Speaker 1: mister Wright is doing in the narrative is completely despicable,
Speaker 1: you do not walk away from the track with at
Speaker 1: least I don't walk away from it with negative feelings.
Speaker 1: I just find it really quirky and compelling without being
Speaker 1: without being something straight out loathsome.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's not a downer exactly. It's the music's too fun.
Speaker 2: But certainly it gave I'm sure it gave me pause
Speaker 2: when I first read these lyrics back in twenty sixteen,
Speaker 2: and and and certainly now I think, wow, this is
Speaker 2: this is something else, but that you know, this reflects
Speaker 2: the world around us, and I think that's the most
Speaker 2: disturbing element. I want to hear your summation of this
Speaker 2: this track, and you're interested at ko because we have
Speaker 2: the we have the lick that takes us through there's
Speaker 2: some interesting musical moments. But what does it do for you?
Speaker 3: What type of question is that you know? It's it's
Speaker 3: it's I think only only Less can make something like
Speaker 3: this work. I think that's does for me because it's
Speaker 3: you know, it's funny. Because I was, I was, I
Speaker 3: don't know if I should be talking about this, But
Speaker 3: as we were recording some stuff, the topic of Primus
Speaker 3: Claypole's composed in arrangement was discussed with with in the studio,
Speaker 3: with the person that I normally record and mix with,
Speaker 3: and and he listened and he said, that's Primus, right,
Speaker 3: And I'm like, yes, it's not Primus, but I mean
Speaker 3: it's Less. He's like, I knew it because I mean
Speaker 3: all the song is basically the same lick that was.
Speaker 3: That was his comment, and I was. I started thinking
Speaker 3: about it. And when you when you were used to
Speaker 3: listening to this music, you oversee that, you oversee some
Speaker 3: details because it's it's part of the adventure, right. But
Speaker 3: then I started thinking about songs and I said, yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 3: then think about this. How hard it is for a
Speaker 3: common and I put it on this in less warning
Speaker 3: for the common folk to kind of come about songs
Speaker 3: that work in its simplest form, you know, yea, because
Speaker 3: it's one brief to rule them all. You know, it's
Speaker 3: one song, one driff, and and and and you can
Speaker 3: walk through the catalog how many great songs he's done
Speaker 3: with one lick? Yeah, yeah, absolutely, And that's not an
Speaker 3: easy task, you know. And this this one is a
Speaker 3: great song. It works, that the the all in the
Speaker 3: song in the song works, but the lick stands for itself.
Speaker 3: You know, even the the full loop of the of
Speaker 3: the lick is it's good enough. You know.
Speaker 2: Oh, you make a great point, like it's it would
Speaker 2: be a massive challenge for anybody to come up with
Speaker 2: a lick and a melody that they can carry for
Speaker 2: four minutes and and keep people's interest.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and and and that makes you think of how
Speaker 3: many great rifts and licks let's just come up with, yeah,
Speaker 3: that stand on their own just being looked for several minutes,
Speaker 3: and they work. Yeah, because they're they're great drifts.
Speaker 2: That's a great point. And that's that would work as
Speaker 2: I would say, that would function as an excellent counter
Speaker 2: argument to anybody who listens to it and says it's
Speaker 2: just the same thing. It's the same thing over and
Speaker 2: over again. Of course it's more subjective.
Speaker 3: And think about this like and I think, like, I mean,
Speaker 3: we're talking about mister right right now, but my name
Speaker 3: is mud Oh certainly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, their biggest song.
Speaker 3: It's one drift.
Speaker 2: It's yeah, it's that lick for four and a half
Speaker 2: minutes and it works, and it works. Yeah, it's incredible.
Speaker 1: But but you can't forget the ghost notes just.
Speaker 3: Leads some reinterpretation of the riff within the song. But
Speaker 3: I but again, I mean, it takes a lot of
Speaker 3: genius to make that work, and make it work in
Speaker 3: a song that stands the test of time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, that makes perfect I think.
Speaker 3: I think that's why it works. And also because it's
Speaker 3: a great riff. Let's not forget that.
Speaker 2: Certainly, Well, it didn't make sense, but Ko fixed it.
Speaker 2: You passed the task. Congratulations, that was your Kobashi maru.
Speaker 3: And you caught me like in the in the post
Speaker 3: tour foggy mindset, so I kind of had to do
Speaker 3: some work there. A.
Speaker 2: Yes, we've talked about it enough, so it's time for
Speaker 2: Primemates Takes. If you want your take on the track
Speaker 2: up for discussion, read right here on the podcast. All
Speaker 2: you have to do is go to Patreon dot com.
Speaker 2: Ford's Lash, Primus tracks and the universal constant over there
Speaker 2: is Primeates Takes amongst all the tears of support for
Speaker 2: Josh and Frankie. So let's hear from our pals a guy.
Speaker 2: Frankie says, I don't think there's a He's a Hello guy.
Speaker 2: He says, I don't think there's a week song on
Speaker 2: the album. But if I would rank them, mister Wright
Speaker 2: might come in last. With its position between two of
Speaker 2: my album's favorites, and with more evolvement in the lyrics
Speaker 2: rather than the music, it doesn't really leave a real
Speaker 2: mark like so many of the other songs do. And
Speaker 2: of course it is another one of the uplifting, catchy
Speaker 2: Claypoolian songs that hide underneath a dark and disturbing story.
Speaker 2: Anthony del preet go Bills says, this tune always sounded
Speaker 2: like a bastardized tax man to me. Joined the club, Anthony,
Speaker 2: and and he says, besides Duchess, I'm not sure that
Speaker 2: less it has ever done so much with a single repetitive
Speaker 2: riff minus the mini low end call down. He doesn't there,
Speaker 2: that's so he's comparing it to Duchess.
Speaker 3: Now, it could be that as he was working on
Speaker 3: this rift he did borrow some inspiration from tax men.
Speaker 3: It's quite just because he was working with John.
Speaker 2: There there had to be that subliminal connection without without.
Speaker 3: Question, someone someone will have to ask less that's right,
Speaker 3: But I think I think at this time we can
Speaker 3: just assume that that was the case. Yeah, Oh, certainly
Speaker 3: they were probably jamming. I mean, if you're if you're
Speaker 3: playing with them, you might as well just spice up
Speaker 3: some goodles stuff and probably jamming one thing took them
Speaker 3: to another. And he was like, I like this as
Speaker 3: their dies tax men, so I'll I'll bring it in.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that'd be a nice litmus test. See if Sean
Speaker 2: is willing to put up with it. And of course
Speaker 2: they've covered tomorrow never knows. The CLD has many a
Speaker 2: time our pal Mickey Waters says atmospheric song about horrible
Speaker 2: and desperate men and the depths they'll go just to
Speaker 2: see some women at their most vulnerable, or to try
Speaker 2: to get a little action. Obviously, it's a great bassline
Speaker 2: lyrics are repetitive. I'm guessing just to really emphasize the point.
Speaker 2: Johnny Pirona says, I typically skip over this one. The
Speaker 2: main group is fine, but it isn't interesting enough to
Speaker 2: be the whole song in my opinion. The lyrics are creepy,
Speaker 2: but they make me laugh. Similarly, Ryan Rashan says one
Speaker 2: of the catchiest and creepiest songs I've ever heard. Eric
Speaker 2: in Australia says, we've reached the peak of the record already.
Speaker 2: This is by far my favorite track. Absolutely ripping bass
Speaker 2: riff and brilliant lyrical flow, repetitive yet ingenius. I do
Speaker 2: enjoy Lennon elements on the record, but perhaps Chiner's almost
Speaker 2: non vocal contributions elevate this one. I do love the
Speaker 2: two of them. With the creeping, creeping, creeping part that
Speaker 2: Sean contributes to. It's great.
Speaker 3: Brooks breaks him down.
Speaker 2: Theme song by Kao Gonzalez. Brooks is about to take
Speaker 2: our jobs, as he says, the baseline and the A
Speaker 2: part groove so hard, there's no need for a B part.
Speaker 2: If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
Speaker 1: That's it, Let's go home, that's it. Wrap it up yeps.
Speaker 2: Oh Man, Edwin Allen Richards, the fourth our Landed Gentry says,
Speaker 2: this song makes me deeply uncomfortable. It's got a great
Speaker 2: groove with the subject matter, just gets under my skin.
Speaker 2: Tends to be a track I'll skip more often than not.
Speaker 3: But you know, if you see a common topic here
Speaker 3: is I guess for most of the people that either
Speaker 3: it's not a top song or they prefer not to
Speaker 3: go through it is because of the lyrical content.
Speaker 2: Yes, it does justice to the creep Yes, yes, certainly, Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2: We have one more, John Shreeve. There are a lot
Speaker 2: of ones on this one, a lot of opinions. We'll
Speaker 2: wrap it up with John Shreeve, who says the inspiration
Speaker 2: for the lyrics is something that I probably don't need
Speaker 2: to know as a proud girl dad. The music songs
Speaker 2: lyrics comes off as evil carnival music, which only heightens
Speaker 2: the ick factor of the character of mister Wright. That's
Speaker 2: the primates takes. Thank you for your takes.
Speaker 1: Art will not always be loved. So I think if
Speaker 1: a piece if a piece of art is making people
Speaker 1: feel uncomfortable and ikey, it is serving a purpose.
Speaker 2: So just doing its job.
Speaker 1: Art will be great as long as it generates our reaction,
Speaker 1: whether it be positive or negative. If it leaves you
Speaker 1: feeling indifferent, then it was not well executed at all.
Speaker 1: So I think this is a testament to mister Wright
Speaker 1: being very compelling, and not necessarily because it will be
Speaker 1: a beloved song, but because it does generate quite a
Speaker 1: reaction in people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, and it's not transgressive in any way,
Speaker 2: but it's certainly there's enough there to elicit an emotional response,
Speaker 2: and that's not a bad thing. It's time for Frankie's
Speaker 2: favorite part of the show, Live cuts, a GM vehicle,
Speaker 2: Live cuts from the GEM vehicle, Live cuts.
Speaker 1: What's going on here?
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what's going on here? To somebody voice
Speaker 2: of Tim sayan, it's the Ko Gonzales remix. We have
Speaker 2: a few live cuts of mister Wright, all of them,
Speaker 2: by the way, between five minutes and fifty seconds and
Speaker 2: six minutes, so they really dialed it in. Frankie, that's
Speaker 2: very interesting that they're all very close. The precision here
Speaker 2: is impressive.
Speaker 1: It's a whale oiled machine.
Speaker 2: We have clearly not talking about this whale oil machine.
Speaker 2: Yeah oil. I was gonna say, well, Oiled Machine. You're
Speaker 2: not talking about this podcast. Frankie did provide three live
Speaker 2: cuts today. The first is from Columbus, Ohio. Is this
Speaker 2: the Heart of the Sunrise show again?
Speaker 1: Yes, So we're going to hear show.
Speaker 2: So what's gonna happen is we're gonna end up hearing
Speaker 2: every live Sorry, we're gonna end up hearing every song
Speaker 2: that was played at this show except for Heart of
Speaker 2: the Sunrise because it's not on any of the albums.
Speaker 2: Oh man, all right, So this is Columbus, Ohio twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2: Let's hear some, mister Wright. It's a nice groove, it
Speaker 2: sounds good, it's a nice recording to Let's move it
Speaker 2: up to the keyboard part. Remember this is not less
Speaker 2: on bass and keyboards simultaneously. Who's the keyboardist on this one?
Speaker 1: Frankie, Uh, Pete Dungle.
Speaker 2: Let's hear what Pete does? Oh yeah, this is that's
Speaker 2: less pushing Sean to play more lead. Yeah, I sounded solo.
Speaker 2: So are you here? What are you hearing in this chaos?
Speaker 2: A pretty pretty close to the record for you right now?
Speaker 3: It is more laid back, more laid back. Right here,
Speaker 3: it's more laid back he's he's doing more more of
Speaker 3: the he's gonna playing it more in the backbeat, and
Speaker 3: there's a be more syncopation. That's what I hear.
Speaker 2: Interesting. Let's let's see what you hear in this part,
Speaker 2: because it is labeled bass solo. Nice. I appreciate that
Speaker 2: you can hear that once and replicate it right away.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 3: It is a very clipless baseball, That's what I can.
Speaker 2: Say very much. So, yeah, sounded great. We really do
Speaker 2: need you to just to show up sometime and play
Speaker 2: in the background for the entire episode. You don't have
Speaker 2: to do that now, but it would be thrilling one
Speaker 2: of these times. Ah man. Next one is sweet Water Festival,
Speaker 2: or as Frankie labeled its sweet Watter sweet Water. All right,
Speaker 2: this is the uh Atlanta, Georgia twenty nineteen and so.
Speaker 1: We South of Reality.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, South of Reality tour. So we had talked
Speaker 2: about I think with Cricket. We we got a twenty
Speaker 2: nineteen cut of that and it just sounded so good
Speaker 2: difference because they had had it in hand for so long.
Speaker 2: So I'm curious to hear what this one's going to
Speaker 2: sound like.
Speaker 3: What I can tell that's not the messinater.
Speaker 1: No, so it's it's back.
Speaker 3: It's yes, it sounds thinner, okay, sounds good. It sounds
Speaker 3: like lass. But I mean I can I can see
Speaker 3: the the change there.
Speaker 2: Ah yeah, m letting her rip a bit there? Nice?
Speaker 2: So is that the routine, Frankie, there's a guitar solo,
Speaker 2: bass solo and yes, okay, that's what elongates the tune.
Speaker 1: All right, And and there there there will always be
Speaker 1: as well a part where it's just drums and vocals.
Speaker 2: Just drums and vocals. Yes, is that near the end?
Speaker 1: Yes, I think it's after the bass solo. Actually interesting,
Speaker 1: if you want to let it play, we might find out.
Speaker 2: I don't okay, nothing against mister Wright, of course. Where
Speaker 2: can people find these? By the way, these available on
Speaker 2: YouTube and o their places.
Speaker 1: Yes, these were webcasts back in the days. As I
Speaker 1: told you, we were spoiled. We were spoiled with the
Speaker 1: Lyrium because they did broadcast professionally several of their at
Speaker 1: least all the festivals, and some hidlining shows here and there.
Speaker 1: That's why we have these treasure trove of professional recordings.
Speaker 2: And they do sound fantastic.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 2: Our final life cut is from Voodoo Art Festival, or,
Speaker 2: as Frankie labeled it, the Voodoo you do? You do?
Speaker 2: What happened to you? Man?
Speaker 1: I used to be so serious when I sent you
Speaker 1: the Times down truck.
Speaker 2: Yes, you were professional, Yes, And now now I have
Speaker 2: to sift through what whatever your code is to find
Speaker 2: the true hidden meetings. Let's hear the Let's hear some
Speaker 2: guitar solo here at this one.
Speaker 5: Yeah, what do you think, Ko, would you jam with
Speaker 5: Sean Lennon or what?
Speaker 3: I would definitely do that. But one thing, I was
Speaker 3: actually referencing Claypol's conversation. Yeah topic, this is Shunned reacting
Speaker 3: to Less Claypole drift.
Speaker 2: Mm hmm.
Speaker 3: So he's having a conversation with Less, which makes it,
Speaker 3: in his own way, reminiscent of something we're familiar with.
Speaker 3: Does that make sense?
Speaker 2: It does, Yeah, because it's there playing off one another,
Speaker 2: and we've we've heard whoever plays with Less do that.
Speaker 2: This was you know, this is twenty sixteen, but even
Speaker 2: for fifteen years prior to that, that's what we're hearing
Speaker 2: in uh Froe Brigade fancy band, so even in Primus too, yees.
Speaker 3: So he allows his guitar players to just be waky,
Speaker 3: you know, be noisy and wacky and the melodic in
Speaker 3: a very non complacive way. You know. So it's but
Speaker 3: and he was a great soul, you know he was.
Speaker 3: I like, you know, the different the difference between the
Speaker 3: other players you normally jam s with is uh the
Speaker 3: tonal qualities?
Speaker 1: Was that? What was that a false effect he was
Speaker 1: using for the soul?
Speaker 3: He has some some some fuss, He has some Coursey
Speaker 3: like effects going on there as well. But it was
Speaker 3: the it's it's it's it's in between the phrasing and
Speaker 3: and it's not as as dissonant as probably Larry Wood
Speaker 3: or as not. The melody is not as uh as
Speaker 3: broken as it would be. Uh frog Brigade, Yeah.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, that makes sense.
Speaker 3: It is it is more along the lines of but
Speaker 3: but again it is it is what it is.
Speaker 1: But you know what, that's that's really incredible. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's why it was so interesting to see Larry playing
Speaker 1: frog Brigade and Sausage Tunes on the first claypol Gold incarnation,
Speaker 1: because the songs are never gonna be the same, and
Speaker 1: that's what makes them fascinating. I Mean, for example, you
Speaker 1: have Sean Lennon asking Liz during the rehearsals of the
Speaker 1: fal tour of the Frog Brigade, he was like, how
Speaker 1: the hell do I play a buckethead solo? Unless I
Speaker 1: don't know? Man, you figure it out. And the same
Speaker 1: happens with riddles. I mean, nobody will ever be able
Speaker 1: to replicate that to guitar line. So what we hear
Speaker 1: are other guitar players takes on that guitar line. And
Speaker 1: that's what makes this song really interesting, certainly.
Speaker 3: The interpretation of a different voice through through those those
Speaker 3: licks and those rifts, and those songs, and and and
Speaker 3: the different approaches in in soloing and melodies and the conversation.
Speaker 3: The conversational aspect that we were talking.
Speaker 2: About, Well, I have a feeling the lyrical protagonist or
Speaker 2: antagonist is having a conversation with his lawyer right now,
Speaker 2: mister Wright. That ish so I I will safely say this,
Speaker 2: mister Wright, Uh, call your lawyer for real, because you've
Speaker 2: been tracked and uh they're they're come, They're closing in
Speaker 2: on you. Next time, Frankie, I'm going to hand you
Speaker 2: this oddly shaped stick and I want you to throw it.
Speaker 1: I'll do a thorough search on Google.
Speaker 2: Cho Gonzalez, thank you so much for joining us yet again.
Speaker 1: Yes, so it's always fantastic speaking with you.
Speaker 3: It's my pleasure. And some things I would like to
Speaker 3: share with you before I go, please. So I was
Speaker 3: at Nam and I got a chance to play for you.
Speaker 1: Were you in Vietnam?
Speaker 2: This is Frankie's dad joke, you can ignore him.
Speaker 3: The other the other name. And I went to the
Speaker 3: package in booth talk to Megan. She's very she's great.
Speaker 3: And I got a chance to play this leek.
Speaker 2: Oh.
Speaker 3: And I got a chance to see the Walnut base
Speaker 3: Imperial will Nut Walnut that has been toured Bye bye
Speaker 3: Less their gracements. They are great instruments, and.
Speaker 1: I thought you were going to purchase one.
Speaker 3: Hopefully I will, but uh, I've tried. And but some
Speaker 3: things that I found peculiar is that apparently Less likes
Speaker 3: his basis with very low action.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I think he's mentioned that.
Speaker 3: Which is very interesting. And now the other thing I
Speaker 3: was going to share is I was just in New
Speaker 3: York and I went to meet the one and only
Speaker 3: Carl Thompson.
Speaker 2: Yes, I wanted to ask you about that because that
Speaker 2: photo of you and Carl.
Speaker 3: You wanted to ask me, Yes, you are already you
Speaker 3: were ready to let me go.
Speaker 2: I was, I was gonna throw to you because I
Speaker 2: was going to ask some questions.
Speaker 3: Then I won't say anything until you asked me. Now,
Speaker 3: I was going to meet him a year and a
Speaker 3: half ago, but my New York crip got scrapped, and
Speaker 3: so with with the tour we were doing two days
Speaker 3: in New York. I said, I have to go meet Carl.
Speaker 3: So we made it happen. So I went to his house.
Speaker 3: It was or the world that I think, how can
Speaker 3: I because it's one of those for me particularly, and
Speaker 3: that's when I posted the picture. I put that in there.
Speaker 3: This is this was one of those bucket list moments
Speaker 3: for me, you know, because I knew I had to
Speaker 3: personally meet Carl and thank him for the inspiration his
Speaker 3: instruments basically brought to me directly and indirectly through less
Speaker 3: but it's talking to him. I could definitely, I mean
Speaker 3: I could. I could understand a lot of things on
Speaker 3: his on his art. He is very much in line
Speaker 3: with this what he belives in and he leaves by it,
Speaker 3: and it basically translates into what he does and how he.
Speaker 2: Does it, you know, So he's the genuine article.
Speaker 3: He's a true artist.
Speaker 1: That's what you're It's exactly impression. It's exactly the impression
Speaker 1: that I got when I watched that Jason Momoa episode.
Speaker 3: And he and he has a lot of stories to tell,
Speaker 3: a lot of stories. He is overall a great man
Speaker 3: and I and I truly appreciated and I told him
Speaker 3: that I appreciate his time. Is just welcoming me into
Speaker 3: his house finally meeting him in person. We talked before,
Speaker 3: but this was the first time we met in person.
Speaker 3: And as I was talking to him and I'll send
Speaker 3: you a picture, and as I was talking to it,
Speaker 3: in front of us, there was a gold record sent
Speaker 3: to him by Les Claypole when they released Tales from
Speaker 3: the Punch Bowl awesome nice addressed addressed to Carl and
Speaker 3: the comment that Calls said regarding that is he got
Speaker 3: that in the mail and he said, he called Less,
Speaker 3: I think and he said, why am I getting this?
Speaker 3: And he said, I'm not on the record, and Less
Speaker 3: said you are, Oh yeah, you are all all over
Speaker 3: the record. You know. Basically that's all As Claypole playing
Speaker 3: with Carl Thompson.
Speaker 2: I mean that that record, the fred at six, the Rainbow,
Speaker 2: the four string. Absolutely, that's that's a beautiful sentiment.
Speaker 3: It is so it speaks of the man itself, of
Speaker 3: his art, his focus, he's a way of living, never
Speaker 3: compromising his art for anything. So that's that's a great
Speaker 3: testament to his to his work.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, thank you for sharing Killer. That was brilliant.
Speaker 3: I am.
Speaker 2: I'm so excited for you that you met Carl.
Speaker 1: Magical things happen every time we travel to New York.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just you two.
Speaker 3: It was me.
Speaker 2: I just get mon man. Thank you again Kao by
Speaker 2: the way, and for taking the time, because you have
Speaker 2: so many demands on your time and it astonishes me
Speaker 2: that you hang with us.
Speaker 3: So thanks, no, thank you for that.
Speaker 2: Man, I'm thank you.
Speaker 3: I'm more than happy to finally made it happen. I was.
Speaker 3: I was trying to we're trying to do this as
Speaker 3: I was on the road, but logistics there were out
Speaker 3: of my control.
Speaker 2: Well, we're lucky that they announced a new album. It
Speaker 2: gave us an excuse.
Speaker 1: You were too busy. Trash and CULTI rooms, we get.
Speaker 2: It, yes, and eating only green M and ms yea man.
Speaker 3: Eating I think that the eating indeed was a poor activity.
Speaker 2: Everybody's favorite uh primates, primatrons, people of Earth, people of Phobos,
Speaker 2: people of Atalahara. Thank you all so much for listening.
Speaker 2: We'll see you next time when when it's no Jase.
Speaker 2: Also later days, Willa Mace