Primus performed their first live show since the abrupt departure of drummer Tim ‘Herb’ Alexander, recruiting a former member for the gig. Check out footage below.
The gig took place as part of the band’s New Year’s Eve celebration shows, which were held at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California this Monday (December 30). Primus took to the stage following sets from other artists including Holy Mackerel and Frog Brigade, and broke out a six-song set.
It marked Primus’s first on-stage appearance since they announced that they were left in “complete shock” by news that longtime drummer Tim Alexander would be leaving the line-up.
While Les Claypool and co. are still underway with their worldwide search for a new drummer – having opened casting calls in November – at the one-off New Year’s Eve show, they brought back former bandmate Bryan ‘Brain’ Mantia to be sticksman.
Mantia was the drummer in Primus back in 1989, and was replaced by Alexander who remained part of the line-up until 1996. After Alexander’s first departure from the group, Mantia returned to the role until the band split in 2000. Primus would later reform in 2003, with Alexander back in the group.
At the set at Fox Theater, Primus played hits including ‘Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers’, ‘Fisticuffs’, ‘The Antipop’, ‘My Name Is Mud’ and more. Check out footage of the show below.
The band are still holding auditions to find a replacement for Alexander, and have recently warned fans about potential scammers taking advantage of the open call.
Auditions submitted online began pouring in in November and included an entry from Billy Strings, who swapped out his guitar for a drum kit in a video submission. Les Claypool would later share the clip on his own social media pages, telling fans that they might have “found our guy”.
The next round of auditions for the role of drummer is set to commence later this month.
Following Alexander’s exit from the band, he explained his decision in a further update. “Over time, I started realising that it was affecting my physical life, it was affecting my mental life, and it was affecting my family life, and my heart just wasn’t in it,” he said.
“When I discovered that I’m struggling with all these things, I had to sit and think about exactly what am I doing,” he continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever chosen my path in life, I think I’ve just always thought ‘I’m a drummer, I’m just gonna do music,’ and things came to me, accepting whatever happens.”
