Who Is John Hoffman – Primus’ New Drummer?

Primus have made it official. After months of seeking a new drummer and publicly narrowing down the list of applicants, the band has chosen John Hoffman to take over behind the kit after the exit of Tim “Herb” Alexander last year.

Hoffman would be the eighth drummer to step behind the kit for Primus, though Alexander has spent three different stints with the band and has been there through a majority of their career. Alexander’s decision to step away from the band “came as a complete shock” to the group, as they shared in a social media post. But respecting his decision, the band launched their new drummer search last fall and have now added Hoffman to the group.

Who Is John Hoffman?

Primus had recently narrowed the list of potential applicants down from a reported 6200 to nine finalists. The group shared some of their “Interstellar Drum Derby” audition process through social media.

While there were some more familiar names in the final grouping of applicants, ultimately the group decided upon Hoffman to handle their drum duties moving forward.

So who is John Hoffman?

The drummer actually offered a detailed accounting of his history in a video through his YouTube channel, where he had already been drawing attention prior to joining the band.

The Shreveport, Louisiana native reveals that he received a callback and was invited in January to meet up with Les Claypol and Larry LaLonde in Los Angeles. “it’s very, very surreal,” said Hoffman. “It’s an honor. It’s a trip. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.”

According to Hoffman, he was raised in a musical family as his father had previously been a musician in the Texas-based band The Killer Bees. As such, he took to music at a young age, starting to play the drums as a 2-year-old and performing his first gig at age 4.

Hoffman played his first national tour at age 17 and in recent years has been playing drums for the band Dirtfoot, who had previously opened for Primus.

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“I’ve been a professional drummer for decades, my entire life. I played with amazing bands and some incredible musicians and I’ve had some amazing opportunities, but the opportunity to play with a band like Primus, not even a band like Primus – the band Primus, it’s the most amazing opportunity that I’ve ever had,” said the drummer in his introductory video.

Aside from playing with Dirtfoot, Hoffman has been showcasing his skills on social media with fun and energetic drumming videos taking on TV themes such as Reading Rainbow, Ren & Stimpy, Inspector Gadget, You Can’t Do That on Television, Fraggle Rock and others, while also showing his drum skills on more traditional songs that show his musical tastes.

When it came time to audition for Primus, he initially offered up a :50 second video playing to “John the Fisherman.” While there was a wait as Primus sifted through the mounds of submissions, he eventually was able to share more with the group and his audition video can be seen below.

You can also check out more of John Hoffman’s videos through his YouTube Channel.

John Hoffman Details How He Became the Drummer for Primus

John Hoffman’s Primus Audition Video

What’s Next for Primus?

Hoffman will get a chance to put his skills to the test in front of Primus audiences this spring. It all starts off with the Tool Live in the Sand destination festival March 7-9 in Punta Canta, La Altagracia.

After that, the band will team up with A Perfect Circle and Puscifer for the Sessanta tour run in the U.S. kicking off April 24 in Palm Desert, California.

All Primus ticketing and tour date info can be found through their website.