Editing Tim Alexander

{{Short description|American drummer}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2010}}
{{coi|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| image             = Tim Alexander of Primus.jpg
| image_upright     = 1.2
| name              = Tim Alexander
| caption           = Alexander performing with [[Primus (band)|Primus]] in 2005
| birth_name        = Timothy Wayne Alexander
| alias             = Herb
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1965|4|10}}
| birth_place       = [[Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point]], U.S.
| instrument        = {{flatlist|
* Drums
* guitar
}}
| occupation        = Musician
| genre             = {{Flatlist|
* [[Alternative metal]]
* [[funk metal]]
* [[progressive rock]]
* [[experimental rock]]
}}
| years_active      = 1985–2024
| label             = {{flatlist|
* [[Prawn Song Records|Prawn Song]]
* [[Interscope Records|Interscope]]
* [[Royal Potato Family]]
}}
| current_member_of =
| past_member_of    = {{flatlist|
* [[Primus (band)|Primus]]
* [[A Perfect Circle]]
* [[Puscifer]]
}}
}}

'''Timothy Wayne Alexander''' (born April 10, 1965), also credited as "'''Herb'''" '''Alexander''', is an American retired musician best known as the drummer for the rock band [[Primus (band)|Primus]].<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5181/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: Primus|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author2=Prato, Greg|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 13, 2010}}</ref> Prior to Primus, Alexander was the drummer for Arizona's [[Major Lingo]] from 1985-1990.  Alexander has been in Primus across three stints; he initially left the band in 1996 and rejoined in 2003 before leaving again in 2010 and re-joining in 2013, again departing in October 2024. Alexander has played in several projects with [[Tool (band)|Tool]] frontman [[Maynard James Keenan]] including the bands [[Puscifer]] and [[A Perfect Circle]]. He earned the nickname "Herb" from his Primus bandmates after carrying a [[fanny pack]] full with [[herb]]s like [[ginseng]] that he would distribute.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khw8Xz_CPdo|title=The Surreal Origins of Primus &#124; Les Claypool on Metallica Ties, Acid Trips, MTV Breakthrough|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Alexander joined Primus by replacing [[Jay Lane]] (along with [[Larry LaLonde]] who replaced [[Todd Huth]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Madsen|first=Pete|title=Funk Guitar and Bass: Know the Players, Play the Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7mVQezU-7cC&pg=PA76|year=2006|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-0-87930-894-0|page=76}}</ref> in 1988, and lasted until 1996. [[Les Claypool]] spoke of Alexander's playing in an interview with ''[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]'': "[He] is a very precise player. Even when we're really stretching on something, you can rarely tell that we're still a band that doesn't rehearse much. And a huge part of that is because of Tim".<ref>{{cite book|last=Jisi|first=Chris|title=Bass Player Presents The Fretless Bass|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJ1MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2008|publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=978-1-61713-377-0}}</ref> Alexander has played on the majority of Primus's discography, including some of the band's most well known albums such as ''[[Frizzle Fry]]'' (1990), ''[[Sailing the Seas of Cheese]]'' (1991), ''[[Pork Soda]]'' (1993) and ''[[Tales from the Punchbowl]]'' (1995). 

Following Alexander's departure from Primus, he went on to form his own group, Laundry, which released on Claypool's label [[Prawn Song Records]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Robbins|first=Ira A.|title=The Trouser Press guide to '90s rock: the all-new fifth edition of The Trouser Press record guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nH9oejneZtQC|year=1997|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-81437-7|page=579}}</ref> They put out two albums and were based in the [[Bay area]] of [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interview with Tim Alexander (Attention Deficit, Laundry, ex-Primus) |url=http://www.ram.org/music/articles/alexanderinterview.html |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=www.ram.org}}</ref> On September 25, 2013, Rolling Stone announced via an interview with Claypool that Alexander would be rejoining Primus, with a possible recording session taking place as early as November. Previous drummer [[Jay Lane]] would be moving on to other projects including his former band [[Ratdog]].<ref>^ Prato, Greg. [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-les-claypool-on-primus-future-and-his-tv-show-with-dean-ween-20130925 "Q&A: Les Claypool on Primus' Future and His TV Show With Dean Ween"]. Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 23, 2013.</ref>

On April 21st, 2024 Alexander released an album titled "All That Syncs Must Diverge" with saxophonist Skerik and bassist Timm Mason, under the name Sound Cipher. The album was recorded at Studio Litho and released through [[Royal Potato Family|Royal Potato Family Records]].  

Alexander has been hailed for his "[[polyrhythm]]ic" playing.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weingarten |first=Christopher R. |date=November 2003 |title=In My Room |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ikEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |access-date=June 22, 2014 |work=[[CMJ]] New Music Monthly |page=13}}</ref> 

Tim has stated that his reasons for leaving Primus again, while on tour in October of 2024, were due to ongoing health issues and to be closer to his family.<ref> https://metalinjection.net/news/breakups/tim-herb-alexander-explains-his-decision-to-leave-primus</ref>

==Personal life==
On July 18, 2014, Alexander had a heart attack, and underwent open heart surgery.<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited  |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/5930509494/10152349989319495 |archive-date = April 30, 2022| url = https://www.facebook.com/PusciferMusic/posts/10152349989319495 |title = Puscifer on Facebook  |website=[[Facebook]]}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref> He had another heart attack in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2016-07-03 |title=Primus' Tim Alexander 'Doing Well' After Second Heart Attack |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/primus-drummer-tim-alexander-doing-well-after-second-heart-attack-237364/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Alexander operated a cider company based in [[Bellingham, Washington]], called Herb's Cider.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://herbscider.com/|title=Herb's Cider – Hard Ciders &#124; Bellingham WA}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://timalexanderabstract.com/ Website]

{{Primus}}
{{A Perfect Circle}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Tim}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Cherry Point, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Drummers from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Primus (band) members]]
[[Category:A Perfect Circle members]]
[[Category:American heavy metal drummers]]
[[Category:20th-century American drummers]]
[[Category:American male drummers]]
[[Category:21st-century American drummers]]