Leslie Edward Claypool was born September 29th 1963 in the city of Richmond, California. He was born into what he describes as an "anti musical household." When he was four years old his parents split up This gave him the feeling that he had 2 sets of families. He had three brothers (one step, one real, one half) and two sisters (one step, one half). Les grew up living with his mom and listening to AM radio, Herb Alpert, and Diana Ross, but the album that he most fondly remembers was Abbey Road. To this day Les still defends Paul McCartney's status as one of the most influential bassists of all time.

It wasn't until Junior High when Les finally realized he wanted to play something. He had already had some bad experiences with musical instruments, (he was told his buck teeth prevented him from playing trumpet, and if he took up clarinet he wouldn't stick with it), not to mention the fact that he could barely tell them apart: "At that point, I didn't know the difference between guitar and bass; there were just these electric things..." Eventually Les noticed that the instrument with four strings sounded "huge and fat" while the one with six sounded "twangy and boring." It was his desire for the fat-sounding sound that led him to the bass.

In High School Les met Kirk Hammett (Metallica's lead guitarist). He introduced Les to Hendrix, and also asked him to sing in his band. Les turned it down because he was too embarrassed to sing in front of people. Suprisingly, later in life their paths would cross again. After the death of Cliff Burton (Metallica's original bassist) Les was asked to audition by Kirk. He wasn't that familiar with "Heavy Metal" so it is assumed he didn't cut it even though Les maintains he had "a lot of fun." The fact that he wanted to jam some some Isley Brothers tunes probably didn't help.

Also in High School, Les met a guy named Mark Biedermann, who was the hottest guitarist around. He needed a bass player, so Les begged his dad for the money and bought a bass, a memphis copy of a Fender P-Bass. Even though he didn't know how to play it but that didn't matter. Les had bought his first bass and was in his first band. That band was Blind Illusion, a progressive-metal band formed at the beginning of Les' high school years. Blind Illusion, suprisingly, never did cover tunes. Mark Biedermann would write the songs then teach Les the basslines.

While in Blind Illusion Les listened to Rush. He would go to Rush concerts and stand there watching Geddy Lee's hands. Geddy Lee was, perhaps, single-handedly Les Claypool's biggest influence and mentor. It was at the concert that Les realized how much had to learn and how far he had to go. He decided that most people use only two fingers so he would use three. He felt this would make him faster and at the time speed was everything.

Upon his return to school the following fall Les was asked by a friend, to play for the school's Jazz band. Even though Les knew nothing of reading sheet music he signed up. One class Les got in trouble for "bull-shitting with the drummers" because the bass amp didn't work. The teacher told him that just because the bass amp didn't work it didn't mean he couldn't read along with everyone else. Les proceeded to tell him that he didn't know how to read sheet music. After class his teacher, Mr. Johnson, drew a bass clef on the board and showed Les where the notes were. For the rest of the semester Les stumbled along.

An opening in the school concert band allowed Les the chance to learn upright. Some of the members put together a dance band that played swing and big-band charts. They'd borrow the dinner jackets from the drama club and play shows. Les says, "Playing swing was one of the most fun things I've ever done; all these old people were out there dancing around, thinking it was the greatest thing." Eventually Les' playing outgrew the limited confines of metal and he gravitated towards funk. He picked up Stanley Clarke's I Want to Play for Ya [Portrait/Sony] not even knowing who he was but it blew his mind. He leaned more towards the Stanley's style of minimal hand movement as opposed to "whapping the string and bouncing off of it." His thumb grew incredibly fast because he was more into slapping than plucking. By Les' junior year people were calling him "Disco Les" because he was always playing funk.

In Les' senior year he was in the habit of hanging around Leo's music store in Oakland, California. One day he saw a Carl Thompson piccolo bass sitting in a corner. He recognized the bass from the photo that came with I Want to Play for Ya so he picked it up. At the time he would test basses by playing "Roundabout" on them. He couldn't believe how easy it was to play on such an "ugly bass." He went home and begged his mom to give him the money. She did, and that bass is still his main four string.

When Les was 19, in and around 1982, he joined a group called the "Tommy Crank Band." All of the other members were in their twenties and thirties. At the time Les was into fusion but he had to learn the blues and R&B tunes the Tommy Crank band were playing. They played everything from James Brown to John Cougar. Les had never learned any of the songs so he just improvised. It was this fact coupled with the fact they played four hours a night, three to five days a week, that helped him most. His groove improved and so did his improvisation skills. He played his last show with them on his twenty-first birthday.

By 1984 Les was audtioning for every band he could, but there was a problem....All the other bands sucked. Les had been writing a lot of stuff in his Berkeley apartment. He would write songs with lyrics but he was too afraid to sing in front of people. Eventually he gave in because no one could sing them the way he wanted. Soon thereafter, Les got a call from an old friend named Todd Huth. Todd had heard that Les needed a guitarist and he asked if he could be that guitarist. In Les' mind he was perfect, the right mix of skill and creativity. And so Primate was born (a name later changed to Primus to avoid legal retribution).

Les applied this mix to his demo tape. A demo tape he created on the hopes of making it big. He sold his car to pay for the studio time but all he got out of it was some airplay on a local radio station, and the Quake. But the fans were there. People used to follow Les and the boys around telling them how great they were. Les would reply, "Nah, we suck." It caught on and fans would start yelling “You suck” at shows. To which Les would reply, "Why thank you." The rest is history.

In late 1988 Todd Huth, in the desire to raise a family, left Primus. That same year Les rejoined Blind Illusion which now included future Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde. Blind Illusion went on to cut their first CD entitled The Sane Asylum on Combat Records. Les recruited Larry LaLonde to fill the void left by Todd Huth and together they set out to find Primus' sixth Drummer. Tim "Herb" Alexander was that drummer and would be for the next seven years.

Their growing popularity inspired the trio (Les always favored the tightness of a trio. Plus, he had an innate desire to play the bass and rhythm parts) to record. Suprisingly, Suck on This was recorded a mere month after two of the three members of Primus were replaced. Fully funded by Les' dad this album was recorded live at a club called "The Berkeley Square" on February 25, and March 5 1989. Through a lot of hard work by Les and Ler (driving to record stores, sending away albums) Suck on This. became a college radio sensation and was re-released on indie label Caroline. The overwhelming popularity inspired the trio to head into the studio with Suck on This' profits to record Frizzle Fry. (1990)

Aside - All of Primus' albums including Suck on This and Sailing the Seas of Cheese were recorded on the the label Prawn Song. Prawn Song is the record label created by Les and manager David Lefkowitz. It is snugly located in a converted garage-type complex between some train tracks and a hardware store. A many roomed building that acts as practice/storage/work space for the band.

Interscope A&R man Tom Whalley started hearing a lot about a band called Primus. Les noticed more and more often he would frequent their shows. This was one of the main reasons Les and the boys signed to Interscope, the offer was genuinely based on their talent not their ability to sell records. Les, enjoying the fact that they were going to be signed by someone who loved the band and was not out to use the band, convinced the others to sign on immediately. He loved the independent feeling of the label and the "vibe" it produced.

Sailing the Seas of Cheese, (1991) the bands third release, was recorded mere weeks after Carl Thompson finished Les' custom-built fretless six string, the infamous "Rainbow Bass." The bass nearly killed the famed luthier; he had a bad sinus problem at the time, and the dust made it worse. Carl had to rush to meet Les' deadline even if it meant frequent visits to the hospital. The bass was finished on Carl Thompson's birthday and Les had it for the new album.

Les and Primus continued to promote Sailing the Seas of Cheese on their next tour, as opening band for U2. The whole experience freaked Les and the boys out. They hated the atmosphere of a Stadium venue. In Les' own words, "Music and stadiums don't mix." They felt it was a cold environment for a concert, no intimacy, not to imagine what all the U2 fans would think of them. Les eventually just played his songs and left...no encore, no improvisation because he felt the fans would not understand it. He was right. They also played the Dynamo Open Air festival and the Pinkpop festival that year.

Pork Soda, the bands fourth release hit number seven on Billboard in it's first week of release. 500,000 copies were sold within a few weeks spawning an opportunity to headline Lollapalooza 1993. Les wanted to do a show in a darkened environment to allow for the use of slide projections. They originally turned down Lollapolooza but when they were offered the spot of going on last it was hard to refuse. Les enjoyed the outdoor aspect of concerts and now that his luminance problem was solved he could accept. Around this time Les lost his hearing in his left ear. He lost it while skin diving off the Florida Keys. They also played the Lowlands festival, Pukkelpop, and the Reading Festival that same year.

Les reunited with the original Primus members Jay Lane and Todd Huth to record an album as Sausage in 1994. The name Sausage comes from an early Primus recording of the same name. Essentially this album is revamped early Primus tunes with a more "melodic groove."

Primus followed up Les' side project and the Lollapalooza tour with perhaps their biggest gig ever...Woodstock 1994. They were part of the historic twenty-fifth anniversary concert. Their reason for being there? Les feels someone dropped out and they were the only ones available to fill in, Primus' fans feel otherwise.

Tales From the Punchbowl (1995) was recorded in Les' newly renovated home. (Nicknamed "Rancho Relaxo," it lies on the outskirts of Sebastol, California) It is in his large ranch's guest house (refitted with the latest recording gear) that most Prawn Song CD's are cut. The only problem with this setup is Les' two barrel-chested yellow Labradors, named Corn and Capone, who have on occasion attacked the various recording gear. The first single off this album "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" marked the directorial debut for Les and also earned the band a Grammy nomination. They followed this album's released by playing the HFStival. The album, as did Pork Soda, premiered number 8 on Billboards charts.

On May 14, 1996 Les and his wife, Chaney, celebrated the birth of their son Cage Oliver Claypool. In July, Tim "Herb" Alexander and Primus parted ways. Les pertains that it was Tim who did not fit into his vision of the band. A drummer Les earlier described as "heavy" probably didn't fit the mellower funk orientated direction that Les was taking the band. As Les and Ler are, "on a personal level," Primus, Tim probably became unsatisfied with his role as only the drummer. He wasn't all that involved in extracurricular activities such as interviews and writing the songs. He was merely a hired drummer to play in the background and pretty much where he stayed. He, more than likely, became unsatisfied with that.

Mere weeks after Tim's departure Les released his first "solo" project. It was Les Claypool and the Holy Mackeral Presents: Highball with the Devil, an album Les can only describe as "self-indulgence with [him] covering all the instruments." Les' many guests include Mark M.I.R.V. Haggard, Charlie Hunter and Joe Gore on guitars, Jay Lane on drums and Henry Rollins' vocals. The album allowed Les to do everything and I mean everything his way. (Although most would argue he has the same amount of control over Primus) This album was moderately successful and Les promoted it through an American tour during that summer.

Les and Primus, having released their seventh album entitled The Brown Album, toured Europe before joining the annual H.O.R.D.E. festival for the month of August, 1997. The Brown Album marks the debut of drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia and marks a somewhat backward turn to the future. Most of the album is a mix of more eclectic Primus with some early influence thrown in for good measure. The album was recorded over a span of four months at "Rancho Relaxo" and it premiered at number 21 on Billboards charts. Les has directed the first two video's off the new album (Shake Hands With Beef, and Over The Falls). Les' return home from the H.O.R.D.E. tour was marked with a special occasion, the birth of his first daughter. Lena Tula Claypool was born in the month of August 1997. Les and Primus followed up the H.O.R.D.E. tour with two more tours. They first toured on their own for the last quarter of 1997 before headlining the Sno-Core tour. They joined the Aquabats, Alkoholics, Blink 182 and the West Coast All-Stars on a three month tour of the top snowboarding hotbeds in North America. It was on this tour that Les broke his foot in Tahoe. He had snowboarded into a slow moving overweight skier.

In July of 1998 Primus released their second EP titled Rhinoplasty. Les, again, was responsible for the cover artwork and his usual musical skills. Late '98 and early '99 was spent mainly on resting and side projects where Les recorded with old buddies Metallica, Jerry Cantrell. He appears in a Limp Bizkit video for their cover of "Faith," and on their second album entitled "Significant Other."

But one must not forget Primus. For 1999 Les and the boys returned to the studio to record "Anti-Pop," Their seventh studio release. But somewhat uncharacteristic of Primus is the fact that so many guest artists appear on the record. Tom Waits, who provided the voice of Tommy the Cat on Sailing the Seas of Cheese, produced, played mellotron and sang on "Coattails of a Dead Man" which also features vocals from Tricky's Matina Topley Bird. Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello produced and played on three tracks including "Electric Uncle Sam." Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst co-produced the oddly-titled "Lacquer Head". Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin plays on the epic nine-minute song "Eclectic Electric." Also included as guest musicians or producers are Stewart Copeland of the Police, Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield of Metallica, and Matt Stone of South Park.