What that kit will look like is another story: Claypool describes his percussion setup for the band's upcoming album, Primus and the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble, wasn't a drum set, strictly speaking, but more like "A giant circle, or a pile of things to bang on."

"He's so musical at what he does, and he can be very orchestral when he wants to be, and taking him off a traditional kit just brought forth these sounds that we've just never gotten from him before," Claypool said. "If you saw this kit, you'd laugh your ass off. He couldn't get in and out of it. We'd open up a portion of it and shove him in there and then lock him in with other pieces of things."

The album itself is a tribute to the classic 1971 musical film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder (and not, he points out, the 2005 remake directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp: both artists are talented, he said, but "But like all human beings, every now and then, we crap in our pants").

The album is due on Oct. 21, with the band kicking off a tour the following night at the Tower Theater in Pennsylvania. Perhaps equally as exciting will be the return of the Primus candy bars made by Pennsylvania's Asher's Chocolates - which were originally created for a New Year's Eve concert - including Mr. Krinkle (crisped rice), Professor Nutbutter (peanuts) and Bastard Bar (dark chocolate). - more on this story

Primus CDs, DVDs and MP3s Primus T-shirts and Posters Share this article

...end