Primus' Les Claypool is well known as one of the most innovative and skilled bass players around. One gig that Claypool didn't get, however, was with Metallica back in the 80's.
Les Claypool spoke about the time he auditioned for Metallica in 1986 in an interview with Rolling Stone, revealing that he had little interest in metal at the time and had no idea how big Metallica were.
"
I wasn't really following metal", said Claypool. "
For me, at the time, metal was like the old Judas Priest and Scorpions records we used to listen to in high school. And Sabbath. I wasn't into metal – I was into a whole other space, like, experimental music."
"I didn't realize Metallica was as big as they were. I just thought it was my buddy Kirk's band – we went to high school together", Claypool continued. "So when I went in and there was this kind of 'air of royalty' to these guys from their caretakers, it was a little strange. It wasn't off-putting; it just made me realize, 'Maybe this is a bigger thing than I thought'. But it was loud. I remember being told by Kirk to turn down."
When asked what songs he performed for the audition, Claypool replied, "'Master Of Puppets' and 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. I didn't know that the intro of 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' was the bass! So they're waiting for me to start it, and I'm just looking at them."
"They knew I wasn't the guy when I walked in the door. I had two different colored tennis shoes on, skater pants, and a blonde Mohawk. I didn't fit – they were all in black. There's a reason why I didn't get the gig."
On September 13th Primus will be releasing "Green Naugahyde", the group's first album in over ten years and the first one with drummer Jay Lane in over twenty years. Claypool had the following to say about how the album came about:
"Larry LaLonde was very passionate about doing Primus again. Unfortunately, Tim Alexander wasn't as passionate. So the notion of Jay Lane coming in and playing with us again [was a welcome idea]."
"[Jay Lane] coming back has just breathed life back into the project. We did some touring, and we decided, 'Let's go make a record', because we were creating things on the road."
