Reid Laurence " Larry" LaLonde (born September 12, 1968), also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician. He has been the guitarist for the rock band Primus since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment to the bass playing of bandmate Les Claypool. Previously, he played guitar for several groups including Possessed and Blind Illusion. He also has collaborated more recently with artists such as Serj Tankian and Tom Waits.
Biography
Early career
LaLonde was born in Oakland, California. Originally inspired by guitarists such as
Frank Zappa,
Snakefinger, East Bay Ray,
Jerry Garcia,
Jimi Hendrix, and his teacher
Joe Satriani,
[ Interview with Larry LaLonde] LaLonde eventually became interested in early
thrash metal bands such as
Metallica and
Slayer. LaLonde formed his first band in high school, a
speed metal band called Blizzard. He left the band later on to join the first generation
death metal band Possessed. Possessed's landmark first album,
Seven Churches, was released in 1985 when LaLonde was just 17 years old. According to LaLonde, he earned the nickname "Ler" at a young age because his friends were too lazy to say his middle name in its entirety.
After Seven Churches, Possessed released the Beyond the Gates album and The Eyes of Horror EP before breaking up in 1987. LaLonde then joined experimental thrash metal band Blind Illusion, appearing on the 1988 album The Sane Asylum, through which he became friends with bassist Les Claypool. At around the same time, he was also a member of Corrupted Morals, with whom he recorded the album Cheese-It, released the following year.[ Corrupted Morals discography at Discogs.] At the start of 1989, LaLonde left Blind Illusion and Corrupted Morals when Claypool invited him to reform the funk metal outfit Primus, which had been on hiatus since original guitarist Todd Huth left the previous year.
Primus
With LaLonde on board, together with drummer
Tim Alexander, Primus released their first album, the live
Suck on This, in 1989, followed by the studio album
Frizzle Fry in 1990. In 1991, came their major label debut
Sailing the Seas of Cheese. The band's next studio album,
Pork Soda, arrived in 1993 and landed in the Billboard Top 10.
Tales from the Punchbowl followed in 1995, featuring one of Primus's most well-known songs, the single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver," which was nominated for the 1996
Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance." Alexander left Primus in 1996 to be replaced by
Bryan Mantia, and the group released two more albums,
Brown Album in 1997 and
Antipop in 1999, before going on hiatus in 2000.
In 2002, Primus returned from their hiatus with Claypool and LaLonde reuniting with Alexander, releasing the DVD/EP Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People in 2003 and the Hallucino-Genetics live DVD in 2004. On October 17, 2006, Primus released both their first greatest hits CD They Can't All Be Zingers and their third DVD Blame It on the Fish: An Abstract Look at the 2003 Primus Tour de Fromage.
In 2010, early Primus drummer Jay Lane rejoined the group, and they released the free June 2010 Rehearsal digital EP. A new album, titled Green Naugahyde, was released on September 13, 2011.
In 2014, Tim Alexander rejoined the group and they released their 8th studio album "Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble", a re-imagining of the soundtrack for the 1971 film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". In 2017, Primus released their 9th studio album "The Desaturating Seven", which would then be followed by an EP in 2022 titled "Conspiranoid".
Other projects
Interviewed by
Zorak, LaLonde guest-starred in the live-action/animated talk show
Space Ghost Coast to Coast on
Cartoon Network.
During the Primus hiatus, LaLonde formed the experimental alternative band No Forcefield with Bryan Mantia, releasing two albums between 2000 and 2002.
In 2007 and 2008, LaLonde toured with Serj Tankian and the F.C.C. in support of the album Elect the Dead. Two live tracks featuring LaLonde were later released on the digital EP Lie Lie Live. Throughout 2011, he recorded several tracks for the 2012 game Twisted Metal.
In 2024 LaLonde recorded with John Heintz's funk-rock supergroup The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown. Ler appears on 'Ten Hits' on the band's 'RepurposE Purpose - Volume 1' album
Playing style
Known for his technical proficiency as a guitar player, LaLonde uses many advanced guitar techniques such as
pinch harmonics,
sweep picking,
pick tapping,
volume swells and
tapping, as well as other extended techniques in his music. His influences include
funk,
world music, heavy metal and
film music. Melodically his playing makes heavy use of tritone intervals, the whole tone scale and the diminished scale, helping establish Primus’ hard, dissonant, dark sound.
Personal life
In addition to being Primus' guitar player, LaLonde is also an avid
skateboarder; he was the skater who knocked the nachos out of
Adam Gates's hand in the video for "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver".
LaLonde currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Shane Stirling, a model from the CBS show The Price Is Right, and their two children Sierra and Avery.
Discography
Possessed
-
1985: Seven Churches
-
1986: Beyond the Gates
-
1987: The Eyes of Horror
Blind Illusion
Corrupted Morals
Primus
-
1989: Suck on This (live)
-
1990: Frizzle Fry
-
1991: Sailing the Seas of Cheese
-
1992: Miscellaneous Debris (EP)
-
1992: Cheesy Home Video (VHS)
-
1993: Pork Soda
-
1995: Tales from the Punchbowl
-
1997: Brown Album
-
1998: Rhinoplasty (EP)
-
1998: Videoplasty (VHS)
-
1999: Antipop
-
2003: Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People (DVD/EP)
-
2004: Hallucino-Genetics: Live 2004 (DVD)
-
2006: They Can't All Be Zingers (compilation)
-
2006: Blame It on the Fish: An Abstract Look at the 2003 Primus Tour de Fromage (DVD)
-
2010: June 2010 Rehearsal (EP)
-
2011: Green Naugahyde
-
2014: Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble
-
2017: The Desaturating Seven
-
2022: Conspiranoid (EP)
with Tom Waits
No Forcefield
-
2000: Lee's Oriental Message
-
2001: God is an Excuse
with Serj Tankian
External links
