Tommy the Cat. How to play it right! ???????????? #scottsbasslessons #sbl #basslesson #primus #lesclaypool
With its monstrous slap lick and stuttering scat-style vocals Tommy the Cat is a perennial favorite in the Primus back catalog.
Claypool said “I had that riff in my head for a long time and would bounce it off different drummers, then I had that vocal line ‘Hey baby do you wanna lay down with me’ and I just kept trying to force them together. Eventually, I made it work. It was a nightmare, but once you’ve got it, it’s like riding a bike – you never forget how to do it.”
#Tommy #Cat #play #scottsbasslessons #sbl #basslesson #primus #lesclaypool
Originally posted by UCWTj3vCqkQIsrTGSm4kM34g at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQzQIHPFD3k
It is not that hard, I'm 44 and have played this song since i was 13 its so easy
That's the way I know it
That's the closest I've ever heard! Isn't it crazy that it's almost still a mystery? Please try to get him on your show some time
Interwebs????
Been years since I played it, but I hear many who add percussives that are actually being played by the kick, which seems to have had a hard batter on Cheese. Later versions, Les plays on and around the steady 16ths kick drum.
One thing, Les sounds like he is only strumming once down, not another time up ????
I cut out the last two notes in the riff replacing them with the final note just twice as long. I know how to play it the right way, but I can't do that long enough to play the song, so I just cheat. Most people don't notice.
The tutorial TalkingBass did gets it pretty well 100% right.
Les is a freak. Don't bother, you'll just drive yourself mad. ????
You show me one guy that can emulate Les and I'll show you that… well, that's actually just Les in a scooby-doo mask, bro. He got you, dude! And you fell for it. This is the madness I was warning you about.
Charles Berthoud plays a very clean tutorial of that song " i think it sounds very accurate ????????
If you are not singing it and playing it on Bass at the same time, you are NOT playing it right. ????
I love that reverse neck silver bass, yes but it was this song that stumped me when learning primis songs I just couldn't figure it out lol
No one can play it like les
So can we all agree that Les actually put on a curse to that song so nobody can play like him?
You guys are awesome!
Did he actually say ‘interwebs’ in 2024?
Oh, the humanity.
This is the closest one I’ve heard to the record https://youtu.be/YlcpKg14Zeo?si=mXFDnYdGFNQ1BWnF
That’s funny because I know how to play it right. Or at least I did 25 years ago. I’m sure I could break it out again with a little practice
the 0 to 3 on the E after the double strum are both slapped, the 3 isnt hammered on
I like that you guys are talking about this. When you listen to les playing it on live recording straight from the “board” it sounds different especially when he’s playing the six string fretless- it doesn’t sound that great God bless him. There’s a ton of compression – perhaps several layers.
…and with certainty at least on the sailing of seas of cheese version there is a discrete specific distortion that is added to the bass mix., this distortion is on all recordings/ and live of Tommy the cat 1991-1992* The flamenco in the beginning of the rift is interesting because sometimes it’s a double with a mute and sometimes it isn’t and it oscillates I think a lot of the time- peeps get this wrong- it can drastically change the 4/4 vs back beat of the timing.. I’d like to hear you guys talk about the song more
You have too many notes and not enough ghosts. Sorry.
Tommy the Cat. How to play it right! ???? ????#scottsbasslessons #sbl #bassl … ????????
you need a fretless bass for starters.
I find a hammer-on to the E from the open D string before going back to the strummed chord gives it that missing punch
Les Claypool is to bass what Dimebag is to guitar and what Neil Peart is to drums.
The final boss, sensational yet difficult to replicate, a true original
I've recently come to the conclusion that there isn't much value in playing something note for note perfect outside of Guitar Hero. I'd say most artists don't even do that when they play live. Just learn enough that the song maintains its identity and try to include the things that make the piece unique, then play what feels and sound like what you want to hear.
I don't even bother trying to play Les's stuff anymore – I'm getting too old????
Only Les sounds like Les… and that’s the way things are supposed to be # sound like yourself!
Play other people’s songs, but sound like you!