Primus is a rock band formed in California in the mid-1980s. Les Claypool (vocals and bass guitar) has been the only constant member. They have had two guitar players (although Ler LaLonde has held onto the role for nearly 16 years) and many different drummers (although Tim Alexander and Brian Mantia were the only ones who recorded with the band, add Jay Lane, 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 funky bass lines with thrash influenced guitar riffs and songs are usually played at high speed) ,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. 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!". The band has recently dropped that catchphrase in 2003, as well as Tim Alexander's nickname "Herb".
Primus began as Primate in the mid- 1980s with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth. Drummer Perm Parker 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 his father.