''Of Whales And Woe'' is the first solo album by

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

, the bassist and vocalist of Primus. The album was released on May 30, 2006. The album features

Skerik Skerik is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, he is a pioneer in a playing style that has been called saxophonics. He is a founding member of Critt ...

(saxophonist of the Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade), Mike Dillon (percussionist, also of the Frog Brigade), and

Gabby La La Gabby La La (born Gabriel Lang on May 23, 1979) is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist (including sitar, ukulele, accordion, theremin and toy piano), signed to Prawn Song Records. Her music is self described as "fun, unique, crazy (and) kooky". ...

(multi-instrumentalist). "Back off Turkey" also features Les' children, Cage and Lena. The track "Iowan Gal" is a love song for his wife, Chaney Claypool.

Background

''Of Whales and Woe'' marks the first album release under the name Les Claypool. Though previous "solo" efforts were issued under a variety of monikers, these new recordings are the most self-contained to date. On most of the tracks Claypool provides drums and guitar as well as his usual bass and vocals while band members add instrumental variety (Skerik - sax, Mike Dillon - marimba and percussion, Gabby La La - sitar). The CD includes an assortment of musical styles and also includes Les' theme for Seth Green's hit animated show '' Robot Chicken'' that airs on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

. The song "Phantom Patriot" takes its name from the 2002 incident where a Richard McCaslin infiltrated the secretive

Bohemian Grove Bohemian Grove is a restricted 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, United States, belonging to a private San Francisco–based gentlemen's club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, ...

campground in California. He was heavily armed and had the words "Phantom Patriot" written on his outfit. The live band that toured in support of the album was

Les Claypool's Fancy Band Les Claypool's Fancy Band was a lineup of musicians on tour with Les Claypool from 2005 to 2007. The band consisted of Claypool on bass, Skerik on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mike Dillon on vibraphone, marimba, tabla, cuíca and percussion, ...

Track listing

#"Back Off Turkey" – 2:11 #"One Better" – 5:59 #"Lust Stings" – 4:08 #"Of Whales and Woe" – 3:03 #"Vernon the Company Man" – 2:32 #"Phantom Patriot" – 4:01 #"Iowan Gal" – 3:29 #"Nothin' Ventured" – 3:08 #"Rumble of the Diesel" – 4:03 #"Robot Chicken" – 0:40 #"Filipino Ray" – 3:51 #"Off-White Guilt" – 2:21

iTunes Bonus Track

#"D's Diner (Live)" - 8:05

Personnel

- bass (1-6, 8-12), vocals, percussion (1, 3, 7, 9, 12), guitar (2-4, 6, 8, 9), drums (2-4, 6, 8, 11), bass banjo (7), whamola (10), keyboards (10), drum machine (10), sound effects (10) *Cage Claypool - percussion (1) *Lena Claypool - marimba (1) * Mike Dillon - marimba (2, 12), vibes (4, 6, 8), tabla (5), percussion (12) *

- tenor sax (2, 4, 6, 8, 12), baritone sax (3, 12), horn arrangement (12) *

- theremin (4), sitar (5, 11, 12)

Production

*Producer:

*Engineer: Les Claypool *Mastering: Stephen Marcussen *Design: Zoltron *Layout: Zoltron *Illustrations: Cage Claypool, Lena Claypool *Project Supervisor: Leanne Lajoie

Chart performance

Album

References

External links

*http://www.lesclaypool.com {{Authority control 2006 albums Prawn Song Records albums Les Claypool albums