Tim "Herb" Alexander

crdirtRider856

Silver Member
So when I read on his DW page that even if you have heard of Primus, you probably dont know who he is...I figured I d check here and what do ya know! Personally he s been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. Anyone who has seen him live with Primus knows- ........well... I dont know what anyone knows. But I think he s one of the best and extremely creative. Killer sound too. I ve always loved his accents and little effects he throws around. He helped create the Zildjian Zil-bel and you gotta at least give him some respect, right? Ever try playing his stuff? It aint that easy! Just figured I d throw him out there...
 
Gee cr dirtrider, Ive heard of Primus but never bothered to find out about their drummer. So what albums best represent his style and contribution to the drumming community? And what gear does he use? Is he any good and worth checking out?
 
Tim is great! I like the way he plays double bass, (tasteful...mainly used for fills and accents) rather than the way hordes of metal drummers play it. (constant 16th notes.)
 
Tim is great! I like the way he plays double bass, (tasteful...mainly used for fills and accents) rather than the way hordes of metal drummers play it. (constant 16th notes.)

Very true. This is my favorite style of double bass. Not too many can pull it off like Herb. The full on "digadigadigadiga" has never really inspired me. Impressed me but never really made me want to sit down and try to do it like the "galloping" or "short spurts" style has. Gavin Harrison also comes to mind when I think of this type of d.b. work. Oh yeah, I was prepared to carry on this conversation with myself for as long as needed. LOL! If you ve ever seen em live, he and the band can pull off Rush pretty flawlessly. I saw them cover "La Villa Strangiato" here in Philly once, and if I didnt know any better, I would ve been fooled.
 
I like Tim, I've been a big fan for a decade anyway. Especially his playing on "Tommy the Cat" and "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". He's a very creative, and tasteful player yet technical enough to satisfy any prog player listening.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm sure there is a thread on him already.
BUT...
The most influential drummer in my life, by far. A perfect mesh of funk, rock and metal. One of the "cleanest" drummers around. Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese are 2 of the greatest drumming albums ever.
So...I guess he's pretty good...is the main point i'm driving at.
 
Tim is awesome! I've seen him live a few times with Primus and he's always fun to watch.
I do think his best playing was around the "Tales From the Punchbowl" era, recently he seems a little "tired" but I still love what he does. Always has fun sets to look at too!!!
 
I'm sure there is a thread on him already.
BUT...
The most influential drummer in my life, by far. A perfect mesh of funk, rock and metal. One of the "cleanest" drummers around. Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese are 2 of the greatest drumming albums ever.
So...I guess he's pretty good...is the main point i'm driving at.

Well, I went through everypage of drummers here and didnt see his name, so if there is, sorry. But yeah, his style is such a mix, its really fun to listen to and gain inspiration from.Personally, I absolutely love Tales From the Punchbowl, but pretty much any Primus album is gold....From what I read at his page, Pork Soda was a"dark" period for him, I dont think it particulary reflects in his playing on that cd, but when compared to Seas of Cheese, it s definitely less "funky".

As for sounding "tired" recently(as Gongbass said) I cant really respond because I havent heard anything new or seen him play in a few years.I hope he s doing good these days and cant wait for something new. I think Antipop was just great and when I saw the "Hallucigenetics(?)" show, I was thoroughly impressed.

"I am Antipop, A Renegade of Funk Til the Day I Die" Gotta love Les!/SIZE]
 
Very true. This is my favorite style of double bass. Not too many can pull it off like Herb. The full on "digadigadigadiga" has never really inspired me. Impressed me but never really made me want to sit down and try to do it like the "galloping" or "short spurts" style has. Gavin Harrison also comes to mind when I think of this type of d.b. work. Oh yeah, I was prepared to carry on this conversation with myself for as long as needed. LOL! If you ve ever seen em live, he and the band can pull off Rush pretty flawlessly. I saw them cover "La Villa Strangiato" here in Philly once, and if I didnt know any better, I would ve been fooled.

Yeah. Tim definitely has a unique style of double bass drumming. I think the thing that made me first realize that was hearing him on Sailing the Seas of Cheese. The tune "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" has this 3 note spurt on double bass that fits nicely into a groove pattern. I remember Steve Smith saying that he picked up a few things from Tim and I think this may be one of them because I've heard Steve Smith do this 3 stroke ruff very often.
 
I've been playing to Sailing the Seas of Cheese for years. Tim def does have a good powerful mixture of funk and rock to his style. I remember his huge red Pork Pie set from back in the 90's... ...man that set was beautiful; rocking the octobans and piccolo snare.

I was just going through my dusty stack of MD's last nite and found one with an article on him when he was with the Blue Man Group. Great article. Showed him rocking a Maple Starclassic kit with all of the bottom tom heads removed.

+1 for the Herb ;-)
 
If there was only one drummer i wish i could play like, it would Tim Alexander. He has been my biggest influence for many years and still never get enough of his playing. My favourite Primus album is Tales From The PunchBowl and my favourite track ever is Over The Electric Grapewine..........always and still impossible to play for me.
Has anybody heard the album of his new band called Fata Morgana?
 
Very true. This is my favorite style of double bass. Not too many can pull it off like Herb. The full on "digadigadigadiga" has never really inspired me. Impressed me but never really made me want to sit down and try to do it like the "galloping" or "short spurts" style has. Gavin Harrison also comes to mind when I think of this type of d.b. work. Oh yeah, I was prepared to carry on this conversation with myself for as long as needed. LOL! If you ve ever seen em live, he and the band can pull off Rush pretty flawlessly. I saw them cover "La Villa Strangiato" here in Philly once, and if I didnt know any better, I would ve been fooled.

absolutely absolutely absolutely. tim is a great example of groove and technique yielding what's loosely termed "tasty"
 
Tim's new band "Into The Presence" is finishing-up their east coast premiere over the next couple of weeks. They'll be in NYC next wednesday, 29 April 2009, at Pianos on Ludlow at Stanton... I'll be there.

This band has a 70's vintage rock sound with excellent original songs played by Tim and his bandmates, including a awesome vocals and guitar from Luis Maldonado and cello by Ana Lenchantin (who also played with A Perfect Circle).

Here's the band's myspace page (with tour schedule):
http://www.myspace.com/intothepresence
 
Wow! I'm surprised this is such a small thread in comparison to others... It seems as if TA doesn't like a lot of attention, its hard to find much about him.

His work with Primus is everything I like... and I hear his other work is even better.
 
I've been to countless concerts and watched many drummers, but Herb is up there with the greats. Unique, talented, and perfect time.

I've seen Primus 2 times. One show with Brain (I'll never forget that show), and recently with Tim. I just wanted to let y'all know that if Primus comes to your town, and you are serious about drums... Go! It doesn't get any better.

Primus are some of the best players alive these days!

Primus sucks
 
I lived in Jerome Az. back mid 80's, Tim played with a band Major Lingo, he replaced a great drummer in the band, Dave Rentz. When he replaced Dave I was bummed , untill he got into the grove of the band then Tim was always excellent, he was so focused on drumming. I was one of Lingos fans always there dancing with a few other "groupies" . One day Tim dissapeared, into Primus. I did not see him till I saw him in Phx. a Primus show, a few yrs. ago. One of the most impressive shows I ever saw. (I have been going to concerts since Led Zeppelin one!). As I was walking out of the show, I said it was the best..Tim to me was the Primus drummer.
I have since learned he had a heart attack! Hey Tim, I will even call you Herb, just keep drumming..
BTW, no one mentioned Tim was also a Blue Man drummer...
 
I've been a giant fan of Mr. Alexander's drumming since hearing Suck On This in 1989. Skills to spare and a distinctive polyrythmic voice.
Sad to hear of his health issues. Saw Primus a while back on their reunion tour, the Les/Tim/Lar Primus is the best one, imo. Awesome to watch.


Some info on the heart attack(s) here- https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...-doing-well-after-second-heart-attack-237364/

If anybody here has a sub to Modern Drummer (or wants to share a login with me ;) :D ) there's a 2019 article/interview with him there.





I lived in Jerome Az. back mid 80's, Tim played with a band Major Lingo, he replaced a great drummer in the band, Dave Rentz. When he replaced Dave I was bummed , untill he got into the grove of the band then Tim was always excellent, he was so focused on drumming. I was one of Lingos fans always there dancing with a few other "groupies" . One day Tim dissapeared, into Primus. I did not see him till I saw him in Phx. a Primus show, a few yrs. ago. One of the most impressive shows I ever saw. (I have been going to concerts since Led Zeppelin one!). As I was walking out of the show, I said it was the best..Tim to me was the Primus drummer.
I have since learned he had a heart attack! Hey Tim, I will even call you Herb, just keep drumming..
BTW, no one mentioned Tim was also a Blue Man drummer...
 
Back
Top