music morsels indie music February 2007

CROSSROADS - Primus drummer Tim Alexander
by Mark E. Waterbury

Zerby

Touring and performing live is tantamount to success for a band. Nearly every band that has ever made it has done so by getting out in the public’s faces with their live shows. Nearly twenty years ago, there was this quirky little trio out in San Francisco that didn’t sound like your typical bay area band...or like anyone else for that matter. Their music was strange and bizarre, but also highly entertaining and fraught with musical prowess. Not sounding commercial in any sense of the word, they had to take it on the road. Again. And again. Thus ensues the story of how Primus became one of the more endearing and enduring bands in the history of alt rock.

The San Francisco Bay area had always been a fertile ground for music. From Big Brother and the Holding Company and Jefferson Airplane, to the Grateful Dead and Santana, the legacy of the city by bay as a music hotbed has been firmly cemented. In the mid 80’s, a bass playing vocalist by the name of Les Claypool formed a band called Primate that had enjoyed some moderate success until the original drummer left the band. North Carolina born Tim Alexander who had been drumming with the ska-based band Major Lingo auditioned and filled the vacancy behind the kit. Soon afterwards, the guitarist left to be replaced by Larry LaLonde and the band changed their name to Primus. “The chemistry when the three of us first got together was kind of how it was and that is what makes it interesting now,” remembers Tim. “The Primus sound was a hybrid of our various styles and the way in which we combined and played them. I don’t think there was a real plan. It was just sort of thrown together.”

With a highly unique sound based on often scatologically humorous lyrics, frenetic drumming, wicked, avant garde guitar licks and Les’ aerobic bass work, Primus was not what you would call a commercial sounding band, even in a time when the alternative rock scene was burgeoning. Building on their local following, the revamped line up embarked on a hectic live performance schedule. “We played everywhere we could and for some reason people liked it,” Tim muses. “So we kept on doing it. We put out a CD on our own, then rented an RV, hit the road and toured everywhere. Played these little bars all over the U.S. and did everything we could to expand it.” Following their first tour, word about Primus had spread enough so that indie label Caroline Records took notice. Caroline released the bands second album “Fizzle Fry” and Primus found themselves headed out on the road again, supporting alt rock super stars Jane’s Addiction as well as playing some of their own shows. Familiar faces came around, and brought their friends along this time. It was apparent that Primus was creating a buzz with their energetic live shows and generally engaging manner.  “It was the progression of getting out there and touring as much as we could,” Tim notes. “We played little clubs and big festivals, everywhere we could. We did whatever it took to get our name out there.”

After the second tour was finished, Primus had grown to a point where another indie label had taken notice - one with much more clout. Interscope Records brought the trio into their fold and backed them for the release of their breakthrough album “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” in 1992. Producing the MTV hits “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” and “Tommy The Cat” which featured a vocal performance by Tom Waits, Primus, of course, again hit the road, this time supporting acts as diverse as U2, Anthrax, Rush, and Public Enemy. This diversity was mirrored in the fact that the unique Primus was growing a fan base with very diverse tastes in music. Tim notes that, “The touring definitely helped. That is the way you get exposed to a variety of audiences that probably would not have heard you otherwise. We just played as good a show as we possibly could everywhere we went, no matter what the crowd was like,”

“Sailing the Seas of Cheese” went gold, and the band appeared in the movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. The next studio album “Pork Soda” debuted at number seven on the Billboard charts, and they headlined the popular Lollapalooza tour, as well as performing at Woodstock 1994. The fame kept increasing as 1995’s “Tales From The Punchbowl” contained the Grammy nominated "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver.” The song caused some temporary tension with fellow alt rockers Soul Asylum whose frontman David Pirner mistakenly thought the song was aimed at his girlfriend, actress Winona Ryder, whose name was actually spelled differently than the Wynona of the song. Eventually, the band started to refuse to play it in concert. Then, in 1995, Tim Alexander made the decision to leave Primus. “I think we had reached a point where it wasn’t happening anymore. It wasn’t fun and it turned out to be more like work. I needed to get away from it and do other things, so I went on a crazy venture of doing other projects.”

Tim had already been working with a band called Laundry and he continued to work with them, as well as doing recordings with Michael Manring and Alex Skolnick among others. Meanwhile, Les and Larry kept Primus alive, enlisting drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia from the band Praxis. They released the “Brown Album” in 1997, and also composed the theme song for the raunchy Comedy Central cartoon “South Park.” 1999 saw the release of “Antipop,” and was followed by slots on Ozzfest and the Family Values Tours. By that time, the rest of the band members were becoming generally dissatisfied and in 2001, they went on an indefinite hiatus.

Tim Alexander continued to stay busy. He went to Las Vegas to join the highly popular Blue Man Group, and also did some work with experimental rockers Uberschall. It was in Vegas that a chance meeting rekindled a flame many thought to be extinguished. “I ran into Les again after several years. I ended up sitting in with him for his solo project’s show, and then a bit later, he called me and needed a drummer for his tour. I thought, why not, I haven’t done it in a while. So that is how we first started playing again. When Primus quit playing in 2001, we hadn’t really made any announcement that the bands was finished, but there was no activity happening with the band at the time. So we really didn’t know what was going to happen.

What happened was in 2003, Les, Larry and Tim reassembled as Primus. They first recorded a DVD called “Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People,” and then they hit the road again. It was obvious that the band and their fans missed what they had back in Primus’ heyday. “It was really exciting to see the fans coming out. The shows were sold out, the buzz was there, and it was as if we never stopped playing together. A lot of it came right back to us and it was a lot of fun.” In 2005, Primus once again hit the road for the revitalized Lollapalooza tour. 2006 saw the release of a CD documentary of the 2003 reunion tour called “Blame it On the Fish” and a greatest hits CD called “They Can’t All Be Zingers.” The band closed 2006 with another tour, and it was obvious that Primus still has a diverse and growing fan base. “We are seeing a lot of young faces at the show which is pretty interesting,” Tim says about the tour. “I don’t know how they are getting into Primus. There still seems to be a pretty diverse fan base for us, even now. You see old and young and who knows what type of music they are into, but there is quite a mix going on and they all seem to be getting into us.”

At the moment there is not a new studio album in the mix, although it is far from being an impossibility. The guys all still have their various other projects, but when it comes to Primus, although the future may be a bit ambiguous, if they keep getting out and playing together, it is probably safe not to count a new recording out in the future. “We are playing ideas at soundchecks and are recording them, and seeing how it goes,” Tim notes. “We don’t really know what is going to happen next. Playing music is very exciting. Playing something new outside Primus in front of different fans is scary, because you never know what they are going to think of it. You just try to have a good time, and with Primus we are trying to have a good time again. If that keeps happening, who knows?”

     Touring and performing live is tantamount to success for a band. Nearly every band that has ever made it has done so by getting out in the public’s faces with their live shows. Nearly twenty years ago, there was this quirky little trio out in San Francisco that didn’t sound like your typical bay area band...or like anyone else for that matter. Their music was strange and bizarre, but also highly entertaining and fraught with musical prowess. Not sounding commercial in any sense of the word, they had to take it on the road. Again. And again. Thus ensues the story of how Primus became one of the more endearing and enduring bands in the history of alt rock.
     The San Francisco Bay area had always been a fertile ground for music. From Big Brother and the Holding Company and Jefferson Airplane, to the Grateful Dead and Santana, the legacy of the city by bay as a music hotbed has been firmly cemented. In the mid 80’s, a bass playing vocalist by the name of Les Claypool formed a band called Primate that had enjoyed some moderate success until the original drummer left the band. North Carolina born Tim Alexander who had been drumming with the ska-based band Major Lingo auditioned and filled the vacancy behind the kit. Soon afterwards, the guitarist left to be replaced by Larry LaLonde and the band changed their name to Primus. “The chemistry when the three of us first got together was kind of how it was and that is what makes it interesting now,” remembers Tim. “The Primus sound was a hybrid of our various styles and the way in which we combined and played them. I don’t think there was a real plan. It was just sort of thrown together.”
     With a highly unique sound based on often scatologically humorous lyrics, frenetic drumming, wicked, avant garde guitar licks and Les’ aerobic bass work, Primus was not what you would call a commercial sounding band, even in a time when the alternative rock scene was burgeoning. Building on their local following, the revamped line up embarked on a hectic live performance schedule. “We played everywhere we could and for some reason people liked it,” Tim muses. “So we kept on doing it. We put out a CD on our own, then rented an RV, hit the road and toured everywhere. Played these little bars all over the U.S. and did everything we could to expand it.” Following their first tour, word about Primus had spread enough so that indie label Caroline Records took notice. Caroline released the bands second album “Fizzle Fry” and Primus found themselves headed out on the road again, supporting alt rock super stars Jane’s Addiction as well as playing some of their own shows. Familiar faces came around, and brought their friends along this time. It was apparent that Primus was creating a buzz with their energetic live shows and generally engaging manner.  “It was the progression of getting out there and touring as much as we could,” Tim notes. “We played little clubs and big festivals, everywhere we could. We did whatever it took to get our name out there.”
     After the second tour was finished, Primus had grown to a point where another indie label had taken notice - one with much more clout. Interscope Records brought the trio into their fold and backed them for the release of their breakthrough album “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” in 1992. Producing the MTV hits “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” and “Tommy The Cat” which featured a vocal performance by Tom Waits, Primus, of course, again hit the road, this time supporting acts as diverse as U2, Anthrax, Rush, and Public Enemy. This diversity was mirrored in the fact that the unique Primus was growing a fan base with very diverse tastes in music. Tim notes that, “The touring definitely helped. That is the way you get exposed to a variety of audiences that probably would not have heard you otherwise. We just played as good a show as we possibly could everywhere we went, no matter what the crowd was like,”
     “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” went gold, and the band appeared in the movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. The next studio album “Pork Soda” debuted at number seven on the Billboard charts, and they headlined the popular Lollapalooza tour, as well as performing at Woodstock 1994. The fame kept increasing as 1995’s “Tales From The Punchbowl” contained the Grammy nominated "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver.” The song caused some temporary tension with fellow alt rockers Soul Asylum whose frontman David Pirner mistakenly thought the song was aimed at his girlfriend, actress Winona Ryder, whose name was actually spelled differently than the Wynona of the song. Eventually, the band started to refuse to play it in concert. Then, in 1995, Tim Alexander made the decision to leave Primus. “I think we had reached a point where it wasn’t happening anymore. It wasn’t fun and it turned out to be more like work. I needed to get away from it and do other things, so I went on a crazy venture of doing other projects.”
     Tim had already been working with a band called Laundry and he continued to work with them, as well as doing recordings with Michael Manring and Alex Skolnick among others. Meanwhile, Les and Larry kept Primus alive, enlisting drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia from the band Praxis. They released the “Brown Album” in 1997, and also composed the theme song for the raunchy Comedy Central cartoon “South Park.” 1999 saw the release of “Antipop,” and was followed by slots on Ozzfest and the Family Values Tours. By that time, the rest of the band members were becoming generally dissatisfied and in 2001, they went on an indefinite hiatus.
     Tim Alexander continued to stay busy. He went to Las Vegas to join the highly popular Blue Man Group, and also did some work with experimental rockers Uberschall. It was in Vegas that a chance meeting rekindled a flame many thought to be extinguished. “I ran into Les again after several years. I ended up sitting in with him for his solo project’s show, and then a bit later, he called me and needed a drummer for his tour. I thought, why not, I haven’t done it in a while. So that is how we first started playing again. When Primus quit playing in 2001, we hadn’t really made any announcement that the bands was finished, but there was no activity happening with the band at the time. So we really didn’t know what was going to happen.
     What happened was in 2003, Les, Larry and Tim reassembled as Primus. They first recorded a DVD called “Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People,” and then they hit the road again. It was obvious that the band and their fans missed what they had back in Primus’ heyday. “It was really exciting to see the fans coming out. The shows were sold out, the buzz was there, and it was as if we never stopped playing together. A lot of it came right back to us and it was a lot of fun.” In 2005, Primus once again hit the road for the revitalized Lollapalooza tour. 2006 saw the release of a CD documentary of the 2003 reunion tour called “Blame it On the Fish” and a greatest hits CD called “They Can’t All Be Zingers.” The band closed 2006 with another tour, and it was obvious that Primus still has a diverse and growing fan base. “We are seeing a lot of young faces at the show which is pretty interesting,” Tim says about the tour. “I don’t know how they are getting into Primus. There still seems to be a pretty diverse fan base for us, even now. You see old and young and who knows what type of music they are into, but there is quite a mix going on and they all seem to be getting into us.”
     At the moment there is not a new studio album in the mix, although it is far from being an impossibility. The guys all still have their various other projects, but when it comes to Primus, although the future may be a bit ambiguous, if they keep getting out and playing together, it is probably safe not to count a new recording out in the future. “We are playing ideas at soundchecks and are recording them, and seeing how it goes,” Tim notes. “We don’t really know what is going to happen next. Playing music is very exciting. Playing something new outside Primus in front of different fans is scary, because you never know what they are going to think of it. You just try to have a good time, and with Primus we are trying to have a good time again. If that keeps happening, who knows?”

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Tim Alexander’s advice for musicians - “It’s a tough business. If you really want to make it, it can be done. You just have to do the work. That’s the tough part. We put a lot of work into it and that is why we got to where we did. It is the tough, but necessary part.”


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