Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
Encyclopedia
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (C2B3) was an experimental supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool
, guitarist Buckethead
, keyboardist Bernie Worrell
and drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia.
, collaborated with virtuoso guitarist Buckethead
, funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell
, and former Primus
drummer Brain (Bryan Mantia
) under the name Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (a combination of all the band members' names), after they met at the 2002 Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival. Worrell, Brain and Buckethead were there to perform with Bill Laswell
as Praxis
. Laswell was not able to play at the concert, so Claypool invited them to jam with him. From this point, they developed the concept of this supergroup. Their concerts pushed the improvisational envelope by preparing no material and not rehearsing beforehand. At one of their shows they prepared sandwiches onstage for the audience members to eat.
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains reunited in 2004 to record The Big Eyeball in the Sky
, an album with equal parts instrumental and vocal songs. The band began an 18-state tour of the US
on September 24, 2004. Claypool said the tour was "a traveling, oversized sock-puppet show spawned by the characters of a Tobe Hooper
film and scored by Danny Elfman
on bad acid." The album features only one guest, the multi-talented Gabby La La
(noted as Gabby Lang on Les Claypool's Frog Brigade's Purple Onion
) on vocals and sitar
. She also opened on every show during the 2004 tour to mixed reviews as a solo act, sometimes with members of C2B3.
2004 Fall Tour
Compilations
Features the four live tracks: "Opening Jam," "Encore Jam," "Tyranny of the Hunt," and "Scott Taylor."
Features the only live performance of the song "Number Two."
Les Claypool
Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
, guitarist Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, keyboardist Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
and drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia.
History
Les Claypool, bassist of many bands, including PrimusPrimus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
, collaborated with virtuoso guitarist Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
, and former Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
drummer Brain (Bryan Mantia
Bryan Mantia
Bryan "Brain" Mantia is a contemporary rock drummer. He has played with bands like Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis and Godflesh, and with other popular performers such as Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Buckethead...
) under the name Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (a combination of all the band members' names), after they met at the 2002 Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival. Worrell, Brain and Buckethead were there to perform with Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
as Praxis
Praxis (band)
Praxis was the name of an ever-changing musical project, led by prolific producer Bill Laswell. Praxis combine elements of different musical genres such as funk, jazz, hip-hop and heavy metal into highly improvised music...
. Laswell was not able to play at the concert, so Claypool invited them to jam with him. From this point, they developed the concept of this supergroup. Their concerts pushed the improvisational envelope by preparing no material and not rehearsing beforehand. At one of their shows they prepared sandwiches onstage for the audience members to eat.
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains reunited in 2004 to record The Big Eyeball in the Sky
The Big Eyeball in the Sky
The Big Eyeball in the Sky is the 2004 album by Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, known by fans as "C2B3", released on Les Claypool's own Prawn Song label.- Reception :Hal Horowitz of Allmusic gave the album an above average review, writing:...
, an album with equal parts instrumental and vocal songs. The band began an 18-state tour of the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on September 24, 2004. Claypool said the tour was "a traveling, oversized sock-puppet show spawned by the characters of a Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
film and scored by Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
on bad acid." The album features only one guest, the multi-talented Gabby La La
Gabby La La
Gabby La La, is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist , signed to Prawn Song Records. Her music is self described as "fun, unique, crazy kooky". La La's eccentric debut album, Be Careful What You Wish For..., is a collaboration with Les Claypool that though "peculiar.....
(noted as Gabby Lang on Les Claypool's Frog Brigade's Purple Onion
Purple Onion
-Credits:Musicians*Les Claypool - bass , vocals, percussion , guitar , whamola , drums *Jay Lane - drums *Mike Dillon - vibraphone , metal drum , percussion , tabla baya , pandiero , electric bow & arrow , metal sounds , cuica , marimba , metal , tabla *Skerik - saxophone , "fancy" sax...
) on vocals and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
. She also opened on every show during the 2004 tour to mixed reviews as a solo act, sometimes with members of C2B3.
Line-up
- Les ClaypoolLes ClaypoolLeslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
- vocals, bass - BucketheadBucketheadBrian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
- guitar - Bernie WorrellBernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
- keyboards - Bryan "Brain" MantiaBryan MantiaBryan "Brain" Mantia is a contemporary rock drummer. He has played with bands like Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis and Godflesh, and with other popular performers such as Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Buckethead...
- drums
Discography
Studio albums- 2004: The Big Eyeball in the SkyThe Big Eyeball in the SkyThe Big Eyeball in the Sky is the 2004 album by Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, known by fans as "C2B3", released on Les Claypool's own Prawn Song label.- Reception :Hal Horowitz of Allmusic gave the album an above average review, writing:...
2004 Fall Tour
- Downloads at the official site (MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
or FLACFLACFLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...
format)
Compilations
- 2003: Bonnaroo, Vol. 2 - Featuring the live track "Number Two"
- 2004: Concrete Corner: October Sampler 2004 - Featuring the track "Junior"
Videography
- 2005: Les ClaypoolLes ClaypoolLeslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
- 5 Gallons of Diesel5 Gallons Of Diesel-Extras:-External links:* at the...
Features the four live tracks: "Opening Jam," "Encore Jam," "Tyranny of the Hunt," and "Scott Taylor."
- 2003: Bonnaroo Music Festival 2002
Features the only live performance of the song "Number Two."