John Hoffman, Primus’s new drummer, shared his emotional hiring moment in a recent interview with Stereogum.
“I had finished the audition process that afternoon, and so the whole crew and everybody in the band is kind of having a wrap party for the most part,” Hoffman recalled. “It was a trivia night at [Claypool’s wine tasting room] Pachyderm Station. I’m planning on leaving the next morning, catching my flight. The audio-visual crew, they’re doing interviews the whole time I’ve been hanging out.”
“They set me up for the interview, and they’re asking me a few questions, and they say, ‘So how did you get along with the crew?’ And it kind of hit me,” he continued. “I was like, ‘It kind of sucks, man. I really enjoyed a lot of these people. I’ve made a lot of friends here. It’s going to kind of suck if I don’t really ever get to see anybody again.'”
“And as I’m elaborating on that, I hear, coming out of the kitchen, a group of people and they’re singing [sings] ‘For he’s a jolly good drummer,'” Hoffman said. “So I see this group coming out of the kitchen, and it’s led by Les. I’m doing this interview… and I’m like, ‘Should I keep talking… or? What’s going on here?'”
“After a couple seconds, I realized that they’re coming towards me and Les is carrying a box. I realize that they’re singing to me, they’re bringing me a box, and I kind of lose it a little bit,” he added. “I’m full of emotion already at this point, even after the last couple of months of this process, so it didn’t take a lot for me to kind of start tearing up anyway.”
“But when I realized that they were bringing me this box, I just kind of started losing it. And he sets it in front of me. And I opened the box. And it was a cake. And written on the cake, it said, ‘Hoffington, You Got the Gig,'” Hoffman stated.
“Then I really lost it. I mean, I just buried my head. The tears were coming out. So a little time went by, I realized that there’s a room full of people watching me right now basically cry in my arm with my head down,” he shared. “So I realized I needed to get up and sort of address the situation and say something. They’re saying, ‘So how does it feel, man?’ They’re hugging me and all this stuff. I’m just like, [ugly crying noises].”
“And so Les is like, ‘So you got the gig, and also you’re going to go with us to the Dominican Republic, and you’re going to play at the Tool in the Sand Festival on stage with Danny Carey,'” he concluded. “Oh, by the way, on top of this huge opportunity in this life-changing moment… You also get to go play with one of the consensus greatest drummers that ever lived.”
This announcement marks a significant milestone for Hoffman as he joins one of rock’s most distinctive bands.
The band conducted an extensive search process. Relix reported that Hoffman emerged from a pool of over 6,200 applicants in the Interstellar Drum Derby.
The new drummer brings fresh musical elements to Primus. Metal Verse Forum highlighted Hoffman’s diverse influences. His style combines inspiration from jazz legends Buddy Rich and Max Roach with rock icon Neil Peart’s techniques.
Loudwire described the selection process as one of rock’s most rigorous recent auditions. Nine finalists competed for the position. This thorough process demonstrated the band’s dedication to finding their perfect match.
This appointment opens a new chapter for both Hoffman and Primus. The band will showcase their updated lineup at upcoming performances, including the Tool in the Sand Festival.
