Primus Drummer Tim Alexander Suffers Heart Attack
By Scott Bernstein Jul 19, 2014 • 8:00 am PDT
“Calling All Cars! Rough news. @timalexander suffered a heart attack. Open Heart Surgery on Mon/Tues. Global Positive Thoughts, Por favor. @Puscifer We need our Herb the Ginseng Drummer aka Peter Merkin alive and thieving,” reads the note on Puscifer’s Facebook page about the 49-year-old drummer.
The Les Claypool-led band is next scheduled to play on September 12 in Maplewood, MN. Drummer Jay Lane, who was behind the kit for Primus in 1988 and again between 2010 -2013, will be on tour with RatDog, while Primus kicks off a five-show string of September shows.
Our thoughts are with Alexander as he prepares to undergo surgery and we hope he has a speedy recovery.
UPDATE 7/20 10:30 a.m. PT: Les Claypool has issued the following statement…
Hello all,
As some of you may already know, our friend and über drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander is having a bypass procedure to remove blockage from arteries near his heart. He is a strong Herculean fellow and we all expect him to be up and around in no time but with all surgical endeavors we want to make sure he has the best energy working for him so let’s all throw our coins in the nearest fountain, wish on the first star of the night, blow out the birthday cake candles with him in mind, pray to whichever deity seems appropriate and generally send good thoughts his way so we can soon, once again, experience the glory that is the magnificent percussive rhythm of the mighty Tim Alexander.
Les Claypool
