Todd Paclebar Huth is an American guitarist from San Francisco, California. He is best known as an original member of the band Primus, along with bassist/lyricist Les Claypool, and drummer Jay Lane . Huth and Claypool began been playing together, along with a drum machine, in or around 1984, originally calling themselves Primate until about 1986 when they changed their band name to Primus. With the lineup of Huth, Claypool, and Lane, Primus became an underground sensation in and around San Francisco, prompting them to record a demo tape, entitled Sausage, to distribute at their shows. Around 1989, however, with he and his wife expecting a child, Huth decided to leave Primus to dedicate time to his family. Lane also soon departed, and Claypool temporarily joined the thrash metal band Blind Illusion. It was at this time that Claypool met guitarist Larry LaLonde, with whom he would reinstate Primus, along with drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander.

After Primus had enjoyed mainstream success with its de-facto lineup, Claypool, Huth, and Lane reunited to produce an album on Claypool's label, Prawn Song Records. Unable to use their original band name, Primus, the trio instead adopted the title of one of their original demos, Sausage (band) .

Huth's guitar style is quite distinctive, combining creative use of dissonance with heavy, overdriven distortion. His syle is clearly blues-influenced, incorporating extensive use of bends, and the blues scale.

Many people believe that upon joining Primus, Larry LaLonde "stole" or "copied" Huth's guitar style. While not entirely true, it is worth some attention. Since Primus already had much concrete material, LaLonde had to take over Huth's part in songs that were already written, and in a sound that was already established. LaLonde, however, possessed greatly superior technical skills (he was trained by guitar legend Joe Satriani), enabling him to smoothly inherit and expand upon Huth's legacy.

Huth later again reunited with Les Claypool and toured with Claypool's side-project, Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade.

External link

• Primus Family Tree