Claypool and Huth began playing together

In 1984, singer and bassist Les Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth began playing together in El Sobrante, California , under the name Primate. The duo were initially accompanied by a LinnDrum drum machine as they had trouble finding a drummer, until Claypool’s friend Vince “Perm” Parker returned home from a stint in the army. Claypool, Huth and Parker recorded the band’s first demo tape together, financed by Claypool selling his car. Primate then changed their name to Primus after “about a month” when they were contacted by a member of the group called the Primates pretending to be a legal representative for the group threatening legal action over the similarity of their names as a joke. Parker was soon replaced by the band’s second drummer, Peter Libby, who played on the first demo tape recorded under the name Primus. In the next few years Libby was then replaced by Robbie Bean, who was himself replaced by Tim “Curveball” Wright in 1986.