Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter of the band Primus since its formation in 1984. Frequently considered one of the best bassists of all time, his playing style is well known for mixing tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends, and slapping. Outside of Primus, Claypool has also been involved in a number of side projects, including supergroups such as Oysterhead (with Trey Anastasio and Stewart Copeland) and Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (with Buckethead, Bryan Mantia, and Bernie Worrell). He also fronted the experimental rock projects Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade and Les Claypool's Fancy Band. He has self-produced and engineered several solo releases from his own studio, Rancho Relaxo, in California. In 2006, he wrote and directed the mockumentary Electric Apricot and released his debut novel South of the Pumphouse. More recently, he has formed musical duos such as Duo de Twang (with Brian Kehoe) and The Claypool Lennon Delirium (with Sean Lennon).