Ever since Primus announced it was looking for a new drummer, one name has been on jam fans’ lips and keyboards: lespecial‘s Rory Dolan (not Billy Strings). For the past month and a half, a grassroots effort to get Dolan in the seat behind Les Claypool and Larry “Ler” LaLonde has been underway, and it appears to be working. On Friday, Rory Dolan announced that he will fly out to California next month to audition for Primus.

“I was once a 14 year old drummer, headed to Roseland Ballroom in NYC with my best friend Luke [Bemand] to see Primus perform for the first time in 2003,” Dolan wrote on social media, announcing the news. “Now, at 35, I have a chance to be the drummer in my favorite band. I feel immensely grateful and blessed for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I can’t thank everyone enough for the incredible amount of support and encouragement I’ve been shown over the past several weeks. It’s truly heartwarming to see my community of family, colleagues, friends and fans from all over getting behind me. Let’s keep those mantras coming.”

Primus has been on the hunt for a new kit man since November 18th, when the band announced the sudden departure of Tim “Herb” Alexander. This marked the on-again, off-again drummer’s third split from the group, with Les and Ler stating they were informed of Alexander’s exodus via an email stating he had “lost his passion for playing.”

“With regard to what I said to the band about ‘losing my passion for playing,’ I did say that. But I also said: ‘All of these tours left me feeling empty. My body hurts constantly,'” Alexander later wrote in an extended statement. “This context is important. I also told them they deserve someone who wants to be there. And I meant it. As far as ‘abruptly’ goes, I suppose there’s never the perfect time to leave something you’ve been a part of for so long. Bands have their own inner workings and are a relationship. Sometimes it doesn’t feel balanced, and sometimes it doesn’t work out.”

In that same announcement, Primus issued an open call to drummers around the world to submit their resumes and performance videos to drumsearch@primusville.com. Immediately, eyes in the jam scene locked on Rory Dolan. Prog-tronic power trio lespecial’s style is rooted in Primus’ foundational funk-metal genes, and Dolan’s singing voice bears a striking resemblance to Claypool’s nasally tone. During the pandemic, lespecial treated fans to a livestream performance of Primus’ 1990 debut LP Frizzle Fry in its entirety. lespecial even celebrated Dolan’s revelation Friday night in Raleigh with a cover of “Groundhog’s Day” with Rory on vocals.

Despite their vested interest in keeping Rory in the band, his lespecial bandmates Luke Bemand and Jonny Grusauskas have supported Dolan for the job just as much as the fans have.

“Our sweet little sugaboi is auditioning for PRIMUS,” the band wrote on social media following Dolan’s announcement. “Go get em Ror. He stood by and waited to be called… #RoryForPrimus”

Check out Rory Dolan’s audition tape for Primus, which currently has over 21,000 views on YouTube. There’s still time if you want to submit an audition video, and the band has asked fans to upload their clips directly to YouTube (and not only play Primus songs).

Rory Dolan Primus Audition

[Video: Rory Dolan]