"John the Fisherman" | ||||
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Single by Primus | ||||
from the album Frizzle Fry | ||||
Released | Live: December 30, 1989 Single: May 17, 1990 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | Live: 3:53 Single: 3:37 | |||
Label | Caroline (1990) Prawn Song (2002) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Les Claypool/Todd Huth/Jay Lane | |||
Producer(s) | Primus and "Exxon" Matt Winegar | |||
Primus singles chronology | ||||
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"John the Fisherman" is the debut single by American rock band Primus. It was first released on December 30, 1989 on the live album Suck on This , then re-released a year later on May 17, 1990, this time on their debut studio album Frizzle Fry as the lead single.
The band's frontman Les Claypool said of the song:
"John the Fisherman" was written so long ago. I like to write about things I know about so that I don’t sound like a dipshit talking over my head. I fish. Some dads take their kids to football games or baseball games. My dad took me fishing. That’s what we did, almost every weekend. My uncle, my grandfather, that’s what we did. It’s a big part of my history. So, for me, it was always easy to write about. These fishing songs kept popping up, themes about the ocean, and it made it like a chronicle, a subdivision of our body of work. [1]
The live version of "John the Fisherman" that appears on Suck on This contains an intro consisting of the intro to the 1981 Rush instrumental "YYZ".
Although the band did release the song as a single and filmed a video for it (featuring the band members performing the song on a boat, with a cameo appearance by Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who has been a close friend of Claypool since they attended the same school), the single had very limited success due to its being released on an indie label, and the band did not receive mainstream attention until their next single, "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", from their 1991 major label debut Sailing the Seas of Cheese . Because of this, many overlook "John the Fisherman" and claim "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" was Primus' first single. When Frizzle Fry was re-released in 2002, many fans who caught on during the major label days of the band bought the album, and it became a fan favorite. There was a new interest in this song, and it received some radio and MTV airplay.
"John the Fisherman" is the first part of a four-part story called the "Fisherman's Chronicles", which continued on Primus' later albums. Its immediate sequel was "Fish On (Fisherman Chronicles, Chapter II)" on 1991's Sailing the Seas of Cheese , followed by "The Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman's Chronicles, Pt. 3)" on 1993's Pork Soda and most recently "Last Salmon Man" on 2011's Green Naugahyde .
AllMusic writer Ned Raggett thought that the song "probably remains the most concentrated blast" on the album. [2]
Leslie Edward Claypool is an American musician, best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the funk metal band Primus. His playing style on the bass is well known for mixing tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends, and slapping.
Primus is an American rock band formed in El Sobrante, California in 1984. The band is currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by drummer Jay Lane, though the latter two departed the band at the beginning of 1989, and were replaced by LaLonde and Alexander respectively. Over the course of various lineup changes, Claypool is the only remaining original member left in Primus.
Timothy W. Alexander, also credited as "Herb" Alexander, is an American musician best known as the drummer for the rock band Primus. Alexander has played on the majority of Primus's discography, including some of the band's most well known albums such as Frizzle Fry (1990), Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991), Pork Soda (1993) and Tales from the Punchbowl (1995). Alexander has left and re-joined Primus twice, he initially left the band in 1996 and rejoined in 2003 before leaving again in 2010 and re-joining in 2013.
Sailing the Seas of Cheese is the second studio album and major-label debut by American rock band Primus, released on May 14, 1991, by Interscope Records. It spawned three singles: "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", "Tommy the Cat", and "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers". "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" appeared in the video games ATV Offroad Fury, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Rock Band 3, The Bigs and as downloadable content for Rocksmith 2014, while "American Life" appears in Tony Hawk's Project 8.
Suck on This is a live album by the band Primus, released in 1989. At the time of recording, the featured lineup of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander had only been playing together for "about two months". This release, along with Jane's Addiction's self-titled live album, are seen as popularizing the then-underground alternative metal genre.
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People is a career-spanning retrospective DVD plus bonus EP by American band Primus, released on October 7, 2003. The title was inspired by a crayon-made story book written by guitarist Larry LaLonde's son, and the cover depicts a sculpture made by long-time Primus collaborator Lance "Link" Montoya. The DVD features all of the band's music videos to date, plus short films and live footage from as far back as 1986, whereas the bonus EP features five new songs written and recorded specifically for this release. When promoting the release, bassist Les Claypool remarked that "It seems of late that bands are adding supplemental DVD material to their album releases to promote record sales. We've done the opposite. We've added a supplemental audio recording of brand new music to an extremely comprehensive DVD of classic visuals."
Antipop is the sixth studio album by American rock band Primus. It was released on October 19, 1999, through Prawn Records and Interscope Records. Produced by the band, Tom Morello, Stewart Copeland, Tom Waits, Matt Stone, and Fred Durst, it was the final release by the band before their hiatus from 2000 to 2003. It was also the last album with drummer Brain. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Frizzle Fry is the debut studio album by American rock band Primus. It was released on February 7, 1990, by Caroline Records. Produced by the band and Matt Winegar, the album was recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco between December 1989.
Pork Soda is the third studio album by the American funk metal band Primus, released April 20, 1993, certified Gold in September 1993 and certified Platinum in May 1997. The 2005 re-issue comes in a digipak and contains a booklet with lyrics printed to nine songs, omitting "Pork Soda" which consists of a series of unintelligible rants.
Prawn Song Records is an independent record label owned by Les Claypool of Primus. The name and logo are a parody of Led Zeppelin's label Swan Song Records.
"Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" is a song by the American funk metal band Primus. It was released as the first single from their 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese and reached number 23 on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart. The song tells the stories of two characters, Jerry, an ill-fated race car driver who collides with a telephone pole while driving intoxicated and Captain Pearce, a retired fireman.
"Too Many Puppies" is a song by the American rock band Primus, released as the second single from their debut studio album Frizzle Fry (1990). It was the first Primus song bassist and lead singer Les Claypool ever composed. A reworked version featuring drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia can be found on their Rhinoplasty EP (1998).
Lance "Link" Montoya, artist and sculptor, was born and raised in Alameda, California, United States.
They Can't All Be Zingers is a greatest hits compilation album by Primus. It was released through Interscope Records on October 17, 2006, the same day that their DVD, Blame It on the Fish, was released.
Blame It on the Fish: An Abstract Look at the 2003 Primus Tour de Fromage is a DVD by Primus that was released on October 17, 2006. It was directed by Matthew J. Powers and produced by Powers Philms and Frizzle Fry Inc. This DVD contains 70 minutes of the movie, 90 minutes of extras and interviews taken from Primus' 2003 Tour de Fromage. It also shows random clips between songs and interviews. The title of the DVD stems from an incident in the film where drummer Tim Alexander successfully performs after getting food poisoning from bad fish at a restaurant.
"Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released as the third single from their 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Unlike its preceding singles "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Tommy the Cat", "Tweekers" did not feature an accompanying video. The song opens with Larry LaLonde on guitar and a reserved bassline from Les Claypool, from there alternating between his trademark slap bass and a quiet section for the vocals.
This is a discography for the American rock band Primus. For individual songs, see the category listing.
Green Naugahyde is the seventh studio album by rock group Primus, released by ATO Records and Prawn Song on September 12, 2011 in Europe, and on September 13, 2011 in the United States. It is the band's first album since 1999's Antipop, and features their first new material since 2003's Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People EP. It is the only Primus album to feature Jay Lane on drums, as he left the band in September 2013.
Reid Laurence "Larry" LaLonde, also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for Primus, a position that he has served since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment to the bass playing of bandmate Les Claypool. Previously, he played guitar for the groups Possessed, Blind Illusion, No Forcefield, and the Frank Zappa tribute band "Caca". He also has collaborated more recently with artists such as Serj Tankian and Tom Waits.
Four Foot Shack is the debut album of Duo de Twang, a music duo formed by Primus bassist and vocalist Les Claypool and M.I.R.V. guitarist Bryan Kehoe. This album contains one original song and fourteen cover songs. It was released on February 4, 2014 by ATO Records.