Primus is taking the early summer months off, but are making up for the vacation with a couple of tour and the concert schedule of an up-and-coming band. First Primus will embark on a late summer tour with Gogol Bordello beginning July 27, 2010 at the Sound Academy in Toronto and ending in Santa Barbara on August 15 at the County Bowl. In addition to the 18-date tour, Primus tickets will be available masked as Oddity Faire tickets. From September 14th at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento to October 8 at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, PA, Primus will take the stage with a collective "freakshow" of bands, including Mariachi El Bronx, Portugal. The Man, and Split Lip Rayfield.

Primus is all about Les Claypool; there isn't a moment on any of their records where his bass isn't the main focal point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre side-show. Which isn't to deny guitarist Larry LaLonde or drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander any credit; no drummer could weave in and around Claypool's convoluted patterns as effortlessly as Alexander, and few guitarists would willingly push the spotlight away, like LaLonde does, just to can produce a never-ending spiral of avant-noise. All of this means that they are miles away from being another punk-funk combo like the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Claypool may slap and pop his bass, but there is little funk in the rhythm he and Alexander lay down. Instead, they're a post-punk Rush spiked with the sensibility and humor of Frank Zappa. Primus' songs are secondary to showcasing their instrumental prowess. Their music is willfully weird and experimental, yet it's not alienating; the band was able to turn their goofy weirdness into pop stardom.

The alternative version of Rush, only with wit dry enough to evaporate the terminal Bay Area fog, Primus is a musicians' band. Translation: they know how to play their instruments well--really, really well. Primus also set out to prove that the bass guitar is the center of the universe, bass fish are delicious, and animated claymation is the new wave. They achieved their goals.

Primus is the name of a popular rock band. They have been called everything from "thrash funk" to "alternative rock" to "the Freak Brothers set to music." Les Claypool himself once described their music as "psychedelic polka." They are characterized by their unconventional songs and irreverent approach to music - they release their records on Claypool's Prawn Song record label, a parody of Led Zeppelin's Swan Song, and their catchphrase was - and still is - Primus sucks!.

While their music is critically lauded, Primus is often maligned for the outward humor of their songs, like Too Many Puppies and John the Fisherman. But their lyrics often have dark undercurrents that belie that humor - Puppies is an anti-war protest, and Fisherman is the true story of a ship going down at sea. Proud of their cult status, once Tommy the Cat grew somewhat popular, Primus would introduce songs in concert by saying, "this next song is not called Tommy the Cat." When Wynona's Big Brown Beaver exploded across the national consciousness a few years later they would disown it altogether. Yet despite their vast musical knowledge and endless experimentation, Primus remains largely accessible because of their rock roots.

As if Primus' off-beat and often-beefy records weren't enough to keep the musicians busy, they have each partaken in side projects--most notably Claypool's bands Sausage and Les Claypool & The Holy Mackerel. Recently, Primus joined Tom Waits in the studio (backing him up on a song for a Jack Kerouac tribute album) and recorded a theme song for the new Comedy Central cartoon show South Park; Claypool also laid down bass tracks for Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell's solo project. After a few European dates--both to play The Brown Album songs live and practice speaking other languages--Primus will play the HORDE '97 festival so they can watch hippie chicks and say they jammed alongside Neil Young. Without a doubt, Les Claypool and Primus have always danced--usually naked through the woods--to their own driving, heavy, bass-fueled beat.