With Brain leaving the band, Primus is currently in limbo, but has not broken up. Tim Alexander could possibly return, but currently no one really knows Ler's interest with the band. Les is very happy again working with Jay Lane and Todd Huth on his "Frog Brigade" project, so that remains his immediate focus.
Following the end of the Family Values tour, Primus will headline a tour of their own begining in November. Check out the tour section.
Once again, Primus has managed to crack the top 50 best selling albums. AntiPop ranked number 44 last week, not bad considering no singles/videos/major promos, etc. Brown was 42, Pork Soda and Punchbowl both hit the top 10.
More significantly, AntiPop was number 5 among new releases, outselling Big Bad Voodoo Daddy among others.
After a successful HORDE tour this summer, Primus will hit the road in late September for a Brown Tour. Check the dates on the Tour page.
Primus has released two videos for the Brown Album so far: Shake Hands with Beefand Over the Falls.
Ler turned 29 today. Happy birthday to the bastard.
Primus's latest effort, The Brown Album will be in stores July 8th, but you can get the Vinly Version from CdNow.com on June 24th.
Primussucks.com has returned after not being updated for 6 months. It's got lots of cool stuff so visit it!
A few bastards have been lucky enough to get an advance copy of the album, and overall, the reviews are good. Unfortunately, Brain's playing leaves a lot to be desired and Ler does not quite outdo his work on Punchbowl. Overall, the most exciting feature is simply the energy of a "new" Primus. The album features such songs as Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread and Shake Hands with Beef.
It appears the new album will be released July 1st.
Les Claypool's son, Cage Oliver, turned one year old today! Les will likely spend the rest of May with his family, as he's been kinda busy the last year or so!
After doing a European tour in late June/early July, Primus will return to the U.S. to do the H.O.R.D.E. festival. The festival begins July 12th in Seattle, and ends up on the east coast in late August - no specific dates have been announced yet. The festival will also feature Neil Young, Widespread Panic, and Morphine with Beck and Blues Traveler at a few dates.
I case you didn't know, the new album is scheduled for a June 17th release, although there are rumors it won't be out until July 1st. The title is expected to be "The Brown Album", although it's not clear if that's the real title or just a handle for a self-titled album. Judging from Primus concert April 12th in Petaluma, the album will feature a mix of 4 string, 6 string, and upright bass work. It will be best described as "Seas of Cheese meets Holy Mackerel."
Primus's next album (untitled as of yet) will be released June 17th. Musically, the album will be tighter and more oriented towards work on Frizzle Fry and Seas of Cheese than Tales From the Punchbowl. Lyrically, the characters will be "more rooted in reality, but still weird". Primus will be doing a European tour at the end of June, and will then return to the U.S. for a tour in July.
Primus will be doing two benefits in April. The first is April 12th at Peteluma, CA, and the second will be at Lake Tahoe on April 19th.
The Bastard Boat now features a working Trivia Quiz and three Graffiti Walls! Also, Ram Samudrala has put a Trivia Game on his site. A lot of Primus Pages have surfaced in the last two months, so check out the list of links.
Primus finished 1996 by hosting the 2nd annual New Year's Freak Out, and Fans for the first time got to see the "New Primus" play together. Reviews for Brain on drums were positve, although Brain's playing was somewhat conservative. Primus played two new songs in addition to all the favorites. The Breeders (aka The Amps) and Protein openend.
Primus headed back into the studio last month to begin recording a new album. The new album (untitled as of yet) will be out in May, almost two years after the Primus's last release, Tales From the Punchbowl.
As usual, new Primus pages have surfaced. Check out: In case you didn't notice, the Bastard Boat now serves as
an index for the pages at this site, and the CGI finally works, thus allowing the
Graffiti Boards for the Les, Ler,
and Brain pages to work. Also, you can take the
Primus Trivia Quiz to find out how much of a Bastard you really are. Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel wrapped up their fall tour in November, and no
further projects with the Mackerel have been planned. In addition to having Brian on drums,
Ler made a guest appearence on the tour playing his horn. Also, Ler recently finished up assisting
on the Beanpole project. The release of Highball With the Devil has been met with unprecedented enthusiasm and amazement. Basically everyone agrees that the album is even better than we had hoped. I can tell you personnally Highball is about ten times better than a certain other album that was released on the 27th. Hmmmmmm....who could that be? Also, reports from the Mackerel concerts say the album sounds even better played live. Make sure you don't miss the Mackerel on tour. New Primus drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia has been filling in for Jay Lane on the Mackerel's tour, and has left the audience excited about his future with Primus. People have described him as "the hardest hitting drummer I've ever seen" and "a perfect addition to Primus". Brain will start recording with Les and Ler in December. The search for a drummer to replace Herb has ended! His name is Brian "Brain" Mantia, and no one has ever heard of him! The Official Primus Homepage has a little info about him and how he was choosen. I finally found a freakin' MIDI cable! I've also taken a crash course in reading tabs, so expect some new MIDIs to come along in about a month. As expected, the combination of Herb's split and Les's new solo album have led to rumors Primus is breaking up. In the words of Public Enemy- Don't Believe the Hype! A new drummer will be announced shortly and Primus will begin recording the next album by the end of the year. As it turns out, Tim Alexander didn't just "walk out" of Primus as previously thought. It was more Les's decision that the band wanted to go different ways and another drummer would be better for the band. The Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel have started a tour to promote the new album. For concert tour dates, click here. Due partially to Herb leaving, the Live Primus album planned for release towards the end of the year has been cancelled. Unfortunately, we have to begin this section with news that isn't so great. Tim "Herb" Alexander -affectionately known as "Herb the Ginseng Drummer"- has parted ways with Primus. Apparently, "creative differences" surfaced during the Spring '96 tour, and it was decided that this was the best thing to do. We need not fear. Primus will still continue and a replacement will be announced soon. While several people have (sarcastically) suggested former Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the favorite choice is Jay Lane. For those of you not familiar with Jay, he is the original drummer of Primus -back when they were still called Primate. He was recently drummer for the Charlie Hunter Trio, and is currently touring with Bob Weir's band Ratdog. He has worked with Les both on the 1994 side project "Sausage", and also plays on Les's upcoming solo album. Even if Jay isn't the choice, Primus will continue to suck. According to Les, Primus will start recording with the new drummer in December, and as far as I know, the release of a live Prius album is scheduled for release early next year.
Note: An official statement about Tim's leaving is available here. Les Claypool's first solo project, Highball with the Devil, will be released August 27th! As horrible as it is to imagine, Les Claypool is now a father. His son Cage was born in May.
Mackerel Finish Tour
News for 9-1-96
Love Those Mackerel
I'm Only Happy When it Brains
New Drummer!!!!!!
John Buys a MIDI cable
Don't Believe the Hype!
Herb Fired?
Claypool and Mackerel Start Tour
Live Album Cancelled
Tim "Herb" Alexander and Primus split!
Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel
Les is a father