primus Details

Primus is a rock band formed in California in the mid-1980s by two ex-members of thrash metal band Blind Illusion, Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde. Les (vocals and bass guitar) has been the only constant member. They have had two guitar players (although Larry has held onto the role for the past 16 years) and many different drummers (although Tim Alexander and Bryan "Brain" Mantia were the only ones who recorded with the band, and Jay Lane was the only other one who had creative impact) in the past.
 
 Their music has proven difficult to define; while usually considered by critics to be funk-metal or alternative metal, Primus has been called everything from "thrash funk" (as the band blends funk-style bass technique with thrash influenced guitar riffs and songs tempos), to "alternative rock" to "the Freak Brothers set to music." Les Claypool himself once described their music as "psychedelic polka." Thanks to the diversity of their sound they have been able to gain fans from nearly all rock subgenres. Primus is the only band to have their own ID3 genre tag in Winamp. They are characterized by their irreverent approach to music — they release their records on Claypool's Prawn Song Records label, a parody of Led Zeppelin's Swan Song, and their catchphrase was, for several years, "Primus Sucks!". In 2003 the band dropped that catchphrase, as well as Tim Alexander's nickname "Herb".
 
 Early Days (1984–1991)
 Primus began as Primate in the mid-1980s with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth. Drummer Peter Libby was added in later, although the band would go through many other drummers throughout their early history. They formed in El Sobrante, California. After rising to local music scene stardom with their brand of funk/metal fusion, Huth and current drummer Jay Lane left in 1989 to pursue other projects. Claypool recruited death metal guitarist and one time Joe Satriani student Larry LaLonde (usually referred to as "Ler" later) and eclectic drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. Primus gained even greater popularity and soon released their first album, Suck on This, a live recording culled from two of their Berkeley concerts. The album was financed by Les' father.
 
 In their early days Primus were heavily associated with the Bay Area Thrash scene. Opening for bands such as Testament and Exodus they picked up a following of fans who were involved in the scene as a result. Today Primus is one of few "alt-metal" bands commonly enjoyed by "true metal" fans, perhaps as a result of this.
 
 It is an infamous fact that, after the death of their bassist Cliff Burton is 1986, Metallica strongly considered Les Claypool (a close friend of the band) to be Cliff's replacement. After much deliberation, James Hetfield decided that Claypool was "too fun