The charming oddities of claymation illustrate all that is good and true about Primus. |

After Sailing the Seas of Cheese and riding a "Southbound Pachyderm" with Mr. Bill-esque clay figures, the Bay Area threesome is now dipping its hand into the claymation jar once again. This time, Les Claypool and the boys have recruited Tim Burton's animation team -- who worked on The Nightmare Before Christmas and Mars Attacks! -- to dream up a short film for a bass-thumping cover version of the Charlie Daniels Band song, "Devil Went Down to Georgia."

Primus has crafted a plan to debut the deranged flick to its most persistent, computer-savvy Primus fans first, David Lefkowitz, the band's manager, told JAMTV on Thursday.

The country-western re-make and eccentric video will appear on the band's upcoming EP, Rhinoplasty, as a hidden track accessible only to Primus followers owning a CD-ROM -- and an acute sense of adventure. In order to access the film clip, listeners must decode Primus absurdity by entering a secret password available only on the band's official website, www.primussucks.com.

The rest of the EP follows a more established route. Korn producer Toby Wright lent his loving touch to the enhanced CD, which will include three remakes of Primus classics alongside cover versions of songs by XTC, Peter Gabriel and fellow Bay Area natives, Metallica. The disc, which also includes two live tracks from the band's annual New Year's Eve show in San Francisco, will most likely hit stores this July, Lefkowitz said.

This weekend, Primus leader and bassist Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia will hitch a ride to Europe, where they will play theaters and clubs for six weeks. They will be joined periodically by the junk-rock quartet Skeleton Key and Sublime off-shoot the Long Beach Dub All Stars. In preparation for these overseas gigs, Primus played a surprise gig at New York's Irving Plaza on May 11 to be broadcast on an upcoming episode of the HBO2 show, "Reverb."

Primus has most recently gained a pubescent following by contributing the theme song for Comedy Central's raucous animated show, "South Park." Feeding off that wise business move, the band is working with the Dust Brothers on two new songs for the soundtrack to Orgazmo -- the risquT film created by the "South Park" masterminds. Primus will also contribute to a soundtrack being assembled by producer Rick Rubin for the "South Park" television show.

In addition, the band apparently hopes to tap its fans' youthful enthusiasm and dementia for the www.primussucks.com "Mutation Museum," which is currently accepting art submissions of any sort. Budding graphic artists will also likely go hog wild with the magic markers for a T-shirt design contest that the band plans to launch soon. (Anni Layne)

Track listing for Rhinoplasty:

1. "Scissor Man" -- (originally by XTC)
2. "The Family and the Fishing Net" -- (originally by Peter Gabriel)
3. "Silly Putty" -- (originally by Stanley Clarke)
4. "Amos Moses" -- (originally by Jerry Reed)
5. "Behind My Camel" -- (originally by The Police)
6. "Too Many Puppies" -- Primus [Frizzle Fry]
7. "The Thing That Should Not Be" -- (originally by Metallica)
8. "Tommy The Cat" -- Primus [Sailing the Seas of Cheese]
9. "Bob's Party Time Lounge" -- Primus [The Brown Album]