Primus bassist Les Claypool is hitting the road next month for a coast to coast trek in support of his upcoming release, "Of Fungi and Foe."
"The Oddity Faire: A Mutated Mini Fest" kicks off March 4 at House of Blues in San Diego and wraps clear across the country at New York City’s Terminal 5 on March 28.
Stops of note include the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles (March 7), Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium (March 14), Chicago’s Riviera Theatre (March 21) and Electric Factory in Philadelphia (March 27).
Joining Claypool and his band – Cake drummer Paulo Baldi, Ani DiFranco percussionist Mike Dillon and Deadweight cellist Sam Bass – for the trek is a rotating cast of characters that includes Yard Dogs, The Mutaytor, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3, DeVotchKa, and O’Death.
Claypool explained the lineup for the tour reflects his unique point of view.
“Having trod the stages of such events as Lollapalooza, Woodstock 94, Reading, Bonnaroo, Ozzfest, etc., I’ve come to realize that there really hasn’t been an event that truly represents the type of idiosyncratic performers that I am kin to,” he said.
“In my youth, I was always scouring the radio, clubs, record stores and concert halls for that group or individual that had new and unique perspectives to music. The freaks.”
Of Fungi and Foe is the expansion of material Claypool has recorded over the past few years for the video game “Mushroom Men” and the movie “Pig Hunt.”
The album, which is due March 17, features an fleshed-out version of the game’s theme song as well as “Bite Out of Life,” a track that grew out of a jam session with Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz.