Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?

- That was the lowest Geddy Lee voice I've ever heard.

- I'm full of surprises, my friend.

- I've never heard you sing that low.

Full of surprises.

I'm Geddy Lee.

Bass player in the band Rush for almost five decades.

But also, a bird photographer, a wine collector,

baseball aficionado, you know, a nerd!

Which got me wondering whether my fellow bass folk

are more than just the shadowy figures

we see skulking around the stage.

I wanna know,

"Are Bass Players Human Too?"

Sonoma County, California.

Wine country. My kinda place.

I once spent a few days here crushing grapes

with my Rush bandmate and guitarist, Alex Lifeson.

This time, I'm headed for Rancho Relaxo,

home and playground of my friend, Les Claypool,

and his family.

Les, of course, is a fellow bass player

and founding frontman of the band Primus.

I'm putting my life in your hands, Les.

- As you should. Here we go.

: Les and I have been pals

since Primus toured with Rush in the early 90s.

He's an absolute demon on the bass,

with a totally unique vibe.

(* Jerry Was a Race Car Driver * by Primus)

When I first saw Primus,

it was clear they were not your average rock band.

: We're like the cold sore.

That just creeps up on you, right before the prom.

* Jerry was a race car driver

: Singing in a countrified drawl,

Les's mashup of funky grooves with proggy overtones

created a bass style that almost defies description.

* Ah

: This was mad, marvellous music.

Exciting and strange

and their mosh pits were legendary.

* Go *

From his solo work to his many band collaborations,

Les is a bass player oozing with awesomeness.

He's earned a cult-like status among fans,

including yours truly.

(live version of * Closer to the Heart by Rush)

On a recent tour, Primus performed a rather ambitious album,

Rush's "A Farewell to Kings."

* You can be the captain

: Trust me. That stuff ain't easy to play.

Nice one, boys.

* Closer to the heart **

: Seemed like the perfect moment for us

to reconnect in Les's world

and dig into what makes him who he is.

Starting with a joyride around his property.

So, this is how you relax after a long tour?

Well, it's Rancho Relaxo.

After a tour, you come home

and you have this sense of what the hell do I do now?

And so, I bought this old excavator, which you'll see,

and I cleared all these fire trails, and opened up all this area,

'cause we're in California, where everything just catches on fire if you look at it.

- You're not a man to sit idly by, I can see that.

- There's a camera guy. Don't look at him.

Don't look!

We're gonna run right at him. - All right.

- Put a little spook in this guy.

: And there's the excavator. : There's the excavator.

: When we pull off the trail, I remind myself,

when you hang with Les, always expect the unexpected.

I am a nice, urban, Jewish boy.

Where do I come to this kind of machinery?

- Well, this is... this is where you expand your horizons.

As we move through life... - All right.

- ...we open new doors, so it keeps us interested

in being on the planet. - Okay.

- So, this was, you know, my granddad's hat.

- Okay. I'm honoured. - So...

It's a Stetson. Very expensive. - Well, you know,

you are my hat mentor. I've never been

much of a hat guy.

- See, look at that. - Look at that.

- You're all... that's it, you're a champion, now.

And uh, we'll put this on

so you don't get poison oak.

You step into it. - Step into it.

Is that what they call "good TV?"

Climb on up there.

People talk about Porsches,

Ferraris during midlife crisis and whatnot.

- Yeah. - This is the ultimate penis extension right here.

I'm trying to show the world

that a bass player can do many things.

I... this, I didn't expect, I have to admit.

- I come from a long line of auto mechanics.

My dad was a mechanic, my grandpa was a mechanic,

all my uncles were mechanics.

I just like cool machinery.

I just, I don't know what it is, I like it.

So, we're gonna consolidate some burn piles.

We got a burn pile back there. We can move it over here.

Okay.

: Whoa.

Open the bucket, push it out to the right.

There you go.

Look at that guy! Hey, hey!

There you go!

: My life as a bass player has been

leading up to this moment.

* I get up at seven, yeah

* And I go to work at nine

* I got no time for livin'

: Go!

Beauty.

New gig for me.

: Hey, hey!

What do we got here?

That's called dirt.

* They call me the working man *

* They call me the working man **

: Voilà.

- Well, that's a bit sloppy. I need to clean that up, obviously.

- That's kind of a Canadian pile.

I'm gonna just lower the bucket real quick, so that's...

(* Working Man by Rush resumes)

* They call me the working man **

: See, when I was 14 years old,

if I could've imagined the day

when I'd be helping Geddy Lee off with his coveralls,

I would've shit myself.

: From heavy machinery to heavy chops,

we retreat to the bass player's natural habitat,

the studio, where Les makes musical magic.

Are you rolling? : Yeah.

Okay.

So, I need to ask you...

I'm gonna ask...

- I'm adding a little drama to your question.

Thank you for that.

I wanna know, I want you to tell me, why bass?

You know, it's funny because

when I was a kid, I wanted to play some form of instrument.

And uh, there was a talent show at the junior high

and there was these two guys playing guitar

through these tiny, little Fender Champs.

And it's all...

And I just remember looking at it and going,

"That's the instrument, the electric instrument

I do not wanna play 'cause it sounds absolutely horrible."

Flash forward to high school,

all these bands needed bass players

'cause nobody wanted to play bass.

Everybody wanted to be Eddie Van Halen.

Nobody wanted to play bass.

And I was like, "Well, I'll play bass."

I was instantly in a band. I didn't even know how to play it.

And I'd play along with Rush, "All the World's a Stage."

But I didn't know...

I couldn't hear the notes.

So, I would just be playing rhythmically

along with you guys,

not knowing if I was even in the right place.

- Oh. - But that was a big part of how I got started.

My first concert was Rush Hemispheres at the Cow Palace.

Bought a bootleg t-shirt, which I didn't even know,

but Alex pointed that out to me many years later

when I wore it to one of your shows.

Drank three warm Lowenbraus and threw up in the parking lot.

And it was one of the greatest nights of my life.

- A typical result after a Rush show.

: It was amazing! It was before a Rush show.

That night changed my life.

Wow. That's heavy.

(* Shake Hands with Beef by Primus)

: So, what makes Mr. Claypool's playing

Call it rock, call it funk, just don't call it slap bass.

- I sort of have this thing about slap bass.

People say, "Oh, slap bass, slap bass!"

Well, nobody ever called it "slap bass"

until guys like Flea and me came along, and then,

they said, "Oh, slap bass. That's slap bass."

It's not slap bass.

'Cause I have a friend that plays slap bass,

and it's on an upright, and you slap it and you pop it.

And it's totally different. I can't do it.

But when I was coming up, it was Larry Graham

and the thumping and the plucking.

He had this whole thing about

the thumping and the plucking, you know.

You know? - Yeah, yeah.