LES CLAYPOOL APRICOT FESTEROO MOVIE A KICK IN THE TESTICLES

Les Claypool’s new movie, Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo is a spoof on a fictional band playing Festeroo, but he equates it to a “kick in the testicles.”

Les Claypool’s first directing and acting project, Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo, has finally been finished and is showing in select screenings across the country starting Friday (November 9). The movie is a mocumentary in the style of A Mighty Wind and Spinal Tap that pokes fun at the Jam-Band phenomena and its fans. It features cameos from Seth Green (the son of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers), and South Park’s Matt Stone. It also features appearances from Bob Weir, Mat Abts of Gov’t Mule and Mike Gordon of Phish.

We sat down with Claypool, and we asked him when the idea of Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo first came about.

“I’d say it started taking shape as an actual project in early 2005, just talking about it and realizing it was an attainable thing with the resources we had. You know yammering with some friends, originally the first notion of it was… my brother-in-law directs theater and I talked to him about a potential stage play based on the band, and then I was taking to Matt Stone about the idea, and we just laughed about it, thought it was an interesting notion, and we made the thing. It’s been nothing but torture ever since.”

He compared making a movie to getting kicked in the privates!

“Oh, it’s a non-stop kick to the testicles making a film. Making a film is by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever undertaken.”

Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo (a band with no fear, no limits, and no clue) is presented by National Lampoon. You can check www.electricapricot.com for a list of theaters and times. Claypool’s South Park/Matt Stone connection is that the bass player extraordinaire plays and sings the opening theme to the animated TV show.