I mean, anyone who's ever heard the band knows that it doesn't exactly crank out the kind of catchy little ditties that land spots on radio and television.  Take it from Les Claypool himself, the voice, the bass, and the face of the threesome: "Primus was the band that was never supposed to accomplish the kind of things we accomplished."  Period. End of story. Or not...

In many ways that very fact is key in the Primus's successful mish-mash of metal, funk, prog-rock, and nearly everything in between.  The band's unconventional approach to sound, image, and just about everything les is what got folks so excited when the band blew up on the San Francisco Bay Area scene in the late '80s - fans and record execs alike.  That is, people who knew what they were watching.  "In the beginning, I'd get calls from labels who were interested in the band," recalls Les.  "but they'd say things like 'Maybe you should think about changing your look.' Or, 'What do you think about getting a lead singer?"

OK, so not everybody got it.  But one guy did: Interscope Records A&R man Tom Whalley.  After hearing the buzz following Primus's DIY debut, Suck On This, and its follow-up album Frizzle Fry, Whalley decided to check out a show.  Recognizing that Primus's fresh approach would be a perfect fit at the fledgling label, Tom began to cour the band.  "Nobody really knew anything about the label at the time," says Les.  "I just had a good feeling about it.  Unlike some other people, Tom wanted us because he liked the music and he dug the scene."

"Because of Tom's vision, Interscope always let us do what we wanted," continues Les.  "They knew we had a handle on something they didn't really understand.  It worked, so they pretty much left us alone.  It's like we were given the keys to the laboratory and and given free rein.  We'd go into the studio without any supervision, and these albums get thrown out into the world.  It was a pretty unique situation."

From 1990's Suck On This and Frizzle Fry through 1993's Pork Soda, Les, Larry and Tim's sonic tinkering yielded record after record of fresh new music.  Despite being the newest of darlings of alternative rock, the three never got too carried away from their original approach.  'Every time we got the opportunity to step into the pop arena, we always kinda pissed on it," Les laughs.   "I mean, take the title Sailing the Seas of Cheese.  Because here it was, our first venture into the world of major labels, about to be marketed alongside bands like Bon Jovi, Guns & Roses, and band that we all thought were pretty silly."

Les, Larry, and Tim's playful handling of the situation led to a number of other clever album titles.  "After all," says Les, "what is 'Pork Soda,' if not the antithesis of what everybody wants"  It's a fattening, meat-flavored beverage.  It was sorta like, here we are, the stuff that nobody wants.  Similarly, think about Tales From the Punch Bowl.  Aside from the psychedelic notion of spiked punch, there's the idea of 'the turd in the punch bowl.' With things like that, 'Primus Sucks,' and Anti Pop, I guess we've always been kind of self-deprecating.  Part of that comes from being a bunch of guys who can actually play our instruments well.  That in itself is something to poke fun at: accomplished musicians ten to take themselves a little too seriously."  Even the title of the collection at hand has a similar play on words.  "It's a line from Neil Hamburger, who's a sort of anti-comedian who goes out and deliberately get the audience pissed off at him with his horrible jokes.  How appropriate."

As with nearly every band [cue dramatic transitional music], the ride was not without its bumps and bruises.  Following Pork Soda, Alexander left the band and was replaced by drummer Brian "Brian" Mantia, who stayed with the group until Alexander's 2003 return of Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People.  And after The Brown Album didn't meet all of the label's expectations, pressure from above began to seep into Primus's creative process. "Anti Pop was the most difficult record we ever made," says Les, "Because there was a lot of tension between the three of us, and there was some doubt at the label as to whether we knew what the hell we were doing.  But there were some great things to come out of it, like the tune we did with Tom Waits, 'Coattails of a Dead Man.' I love that song"

Ahhh.... Happy ending, right? After all, here we are, celebrating the catalog of one of rock's most original (read: unconventional) bands.  A "Cinderella story?" In many ways, yes.  And though they'd probably be loathe to admit it, Les, Larry, Tim and Brain have played important roles in the unfolding story that is pop culture.  More Les: "I've always found pop culture to be ridiculous; It's very rare that some element of it comes along that I find interesting.  But when it happens, it's incredible.  Every once in a while, something comes in and shines in this world that I find very bland."  Thank you, Primus, for being that shining light for so many of us.