Les Claypool and Primus are obsessed with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
If their new album Primus and the Chocolate Factory didn't clue you in, Claypool has discussed the film in almost every interview he's done this year.
He explained the origins of the new concept LP to Radio.com.
"Well, it was similar to what I did many years ago with Pink Floyd's Animals [which he covered in its entirety on 2001's Les Claypool's Frog Brigade: Live Frogs Set 2]," Claypool said. "I had the Frog Brigade, I thought, 'Wow, I've got a keyboardist, I've always wanted to play 'Pigs!'' Next thing you know, we're learning 'Pigs' and 'Dogs' and 'Sheep,' we learned the whole record and we played it.
"This [project] was similar in that I knew I wanted to take on a sacred cow. We were kind of finished with our Primus [album/tour] cycle, and I was kind of ready to go off with [frequent collaborator] Mike Dillon and those guys and do something else. And then 'Herb' came back, and it was like, 'Wow, well, let's keep going. Well, I've got this idea - do you want to do this? We can combine the bands...' And we ended up covering Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for our last New Year's show, because we've been doing themed New Year's shows in San Francisco for twenty-something years. It all came together and it's been an amazingly easy project to do."
What is it about the character of Willy Wonka, though? He's one of history's biggest on-screen power movers.
"Obviously there's this cynical element of Willy Wonka, even more so in the books, that I find very appealing and it's an element of humor that's always appealed to me," Claypool said. "I think that your appreciation of the original film has a lot to do with your age. I find that older people -—like my buddy Stewart Copeland — he hates the original film, he thought it was the stupidest thing, he thought we were out of our minds for even taking it on. Then, I have younger friends who, The Breakfast Club was a huge film for them. But I was grown at that point, so it didn't really mean a lot to me. It was like, Easy Rider for a certain age group.
"But for me, the whole Wonka thing, it was such a huge thing when I first saw it, fourth grade or whatever. And back then, it wasn't like now, where there's a new kids film being spit out every five minutes. They were far and few between and when a good one came along, it really affected you."
Claypool also discussed the departure of drummer Jay Lane, who has been replaced by Tim Alexander, now in his third stint with the band.
"You know, I've been on the planet for quite a while," Claypool said. "It seems like things go in eight to ten year cycles. With friends, and vocations, and where people live, and their tastes. Tim is just in an amazing space right now. He got married since the last time we played together and has a little girl... and he's into playing his drums again. He went through a long period where you felt like he wasn't happy behind the drums. We all go through that. I wanna make films and write these books, and make wine and all this sh*t, but you know what? When all is said and done, what I'm best at - I feel like I'm a pretty good father - but I'm best at standing there with that hunk of furniture [i.e. the bass guitar] wrapped around me and noodling on those strings. That's what I'm best at. You gotta keep sight of that."
Primus and the Chocolate Factory dropped on Oct. 21. Check out a sample below:
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