you know them well or don ’ t know them well , whether they ’ re a fisherman or a brain surgeon , those conversations are going to vary accordingly . Musically it ’ s the same thing . Our musical conversations were unique unto themselves because of our fresh interaction .
Les is a very idiosyncratic and established player , did you find that liberating or limiting ? Lennon : Definitely liberating . It wasn ’ t necessarily because of his virtuosity , because that could ’ ve been hard to just keep up with . It wound up being really inspiring and fun and easy because we got along well and play together well . I can ’ t really explain why that is the case , but it just is . What I offer to the chemistry of the equation is more about my songwriting ability and maybe my sense for production or arrangement . So maybe he likes that enough to make it worthwhile . It ’ s a good combination . I definitely can ’ t go toe-to-toe with him in terms of technique or athletic ability , so I don ’ t try to do that . It ’ s more like a yin and yang as opposed to a yang and yang .
One thing I found interesting is the bass does a lot of what a rhythm guitar would normally do . The guitar parts are often more linear or sonic . Lennon : I haven ’ t really thought much about that , but now that you mention it , I think it depends on the song . Some of the songs are super-chordal , like “ Bubbles Burst ” or “ Boomerang Baby .” I wrote those on the guitar and then we fleshed them out like a regular band . I even wrote a chord chart for “ Bubbles Burst .” “ Captain Lariat ,” “ Mr . Wright ,” “ Oxycontin Girl ,” and “ Breath of a Salesman ” he pretty much wrote on bass . His bass playing is so unique and so melodic and rhythmical at the same time . He plays a melody while also holding down a kind of thumpy rhythm . I think that covers a lot of the area that maybe traditional rhythm guitar would cover . So when you have a song like that , the guitar parts , if there are any , are going to wind up being more ornamental , decorative , or textural . You don ’ t always need to fill in that space because it ’ s already been done and done quite well . I try to syncopate with him a little bit or sculpt something that is custom-tailored to the shape of what he ’ s doing . Claypool : I ’ m going to go back to the conversation thing . When I ’ m playing with someone like Sean , I try to complement what he ’ s doing . When something is coming from me , I assume he ’ s trying to complement what I ’ m doing . Within that arrangement there are various bits and pieces that we ’ re bringing to the table , and so there are parts where we ’ re more supportive or more dominant than others .
I think any strength in a musician in general — whether they are a guitar player or a … flautist — is the notion that they have a signature .”
— Les Claypool
As far as general songwriting and arrangement , the bass just happens to be the crayon I picked out of the box . I say that quite a lot . If I had played guitar or trombone or keyboards , I would be playing very similar things . I would just have a much different timbre . For me , the bass is the most direct conduit from what is going on in my brain to what happens on paper or , in this case , on tape . I don ’ t necessarily think so much in terms of , “ Is this a bass part or a rhythm guitar part ?” It ’ s just , “ What does the song need ?” For this record , I used a little different instrumentation as far as the basses I used , supporting some of Sean ’ s parts and thinking back to the approach of some of these older psychedelic players . It ’ s a little different feeling than , say , a Primus record . But there are also very strong elements of what I ’ m known for .
How did you approach the arrangements ? Adding extra layers , colors , and instrumentation ? Lennon : Les really was adamant that he wanted it to be minimal . He was thinking about how we were going to play it live , which I never think about in the studio . I ’ m always following a fantasy musically that may not be recreate-able with a few people onstage . It ’ s always a puzzle for me to figure out how to represent what I ’ ve done in the studio . I tend to use the studio as a wizard ’ s chemistry lab where anything can happen . I worry later about how it would work live . But Les is really smart in that he is like , “ No , it ’ s all about the tour . Let ’ s limit it .” It was a new thing for me to not do 10 guitar tracks and 10 keyboard tracks . The parameters were fixed in a way that was helpful actually . Claypool : I wouldn ’ t consider it an arrangement thing . It ’ s more of a production thing . I didn ’ t feel it necessary to layer in a bunch of guitars or a bunch of different instrumentation or what have you . It was a matter of where we found a balance and a compromise to get what we ended up getting , which is the Phobos record .
You cover “ Tomorrow Never Knows .” The studio was a big part of that song . How are you approaching that live ? Lennon : It ’ s funny , because I never really do Beatles ’ songs , obviously , because it ’ s too embarrassing or something [ laughs ]. But Les was like , “ This is a supergroup . We ’ re going to do covers of your songs and my songs . We ’ re going to blend our two worlds and we want to put on a good show . I think it ’ s time that you do a Beatles ’ song in your set , just to embrace it as opposed to trying to avoid it .” And I thought , “ You know , I wouldn ’ t do this for anybody but you , man .” That ’ s what I said . I was like , “ If you really want to do it , I trust you .” Because you know , there is something like , “ What the fuck does Sean think he ’ s doing ? Why is he doing a Beatles song ?”
62 PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016 premierguitar . com