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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Janelle Borg

“I was instantly in a band because nobody wanted to play bass back then”: How Eddie Van Halen led to Les Claypool picking up the bass – and how he nearly joined Kirk Hammett’s band

Les Claypool of Primus performs at Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre on July 16, 2025 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Les Claypool sits comfortably in the pantheon of bass greats, thanks to his off-kilter slapping-and-tapping playing style and bold basslines that have captured the imagination of generations of players.

Yet, according to the Primus bassist himself, he only started playing bass because, growing up, “everybody wanted to be Eddie Van Halen”. That, and he received a little coaxing from Kirk Hammett.

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