A few weeks back, original Primus drummer Tim Alexander had to undergo triple-bypass heart surgery. Thankfully, Tim is doing well and will make a full recovery. However, his physical therapy is not progressing at a pace where he could play the band's upcoming September gigs. Speaking to Rolling Stone about Tim's condition, frontman Les Claypool gave this update:
“When Tim ‘Herb the Ginseng Drummer’ Alexander had a minor heart attack a few weeks back we were all startled. When he went in for an angioplasty the next morning and they said he needed a triple bypass we were all shocked. Tim is the ‘Ginseng drummer’ for a reason: He was always the non-meat eating, teetotaling, mastodon of a man who could throw a football over a mountain, chuck a curve ball at 89 miles per hour and could play his drums for hours on end without breaking a sweat, but unfortunately genetics and a taste for dessert have a way of catching up and kicking one’s balls. The great Herbinator has undergone his surgery and has come out with flying colors, but alas, it will be weeks before he can man the Primus percussion helm.”
In a bind, Les Claypool called up a friend, and that friend just so happened to be all-star Tool drummer Danny Carey. Talk about a suitable a replacement. Claypool offered these words to RS about the news:
“The mighty Tim ‘Herb’ Alexander is a polyrhythmic Viking of extreme and unique talent so the one person that we thought could step into his shoes and do it justice is the one and only Mr. Danny Carey. Whereas Herb is the stocky, Easter Island-faced, boulder of a drumming human, at nearer to seven feet, Danny Carey is the mighty redwood tree of percussion; towering over his kit like a golden-haired noble sequoia.
I can’t wait to see that menacing grin of Danny‘s shine out as we pound our way through ‘Here Come the Bastards‘ and ‘Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers.’ He’s a dear old friend and we are extremely excited to have him aboard, and I would wager we are equally if not more intrigued than most by what kind of sounds are going to come out of the three of us once we actually get in a room together and do more than just consume fancy booze.”
This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for people lucky enough to attend the following gigs:
09/13 Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall
09/12-14 Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
09/19-21 Denver, CO – Riot Fest
Claypool and Carey have been friends for a long time, and even collaborated on some all-star jams with members of Rush and The Police.
Thankfully, Tim will be back behind the kit for Primus' upcoming October Chocolate Factory tour.
[via ThePRP]
