Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo Review

Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo is a rock and roll mockumentary that follows closely in the footsteps of Rob Reiner's 1984 cult classic, "This Is Spinal Tap". Written and directed by Les Claypool from the alternative rock band Primus, Electric Apricot focuses more on the up and coming jam band community scene, as opposed to the mainstream rock and roll scene that was brought to us by Spinal Tap.

And there is perhaps no one better to tell the story of jam music and bring the world of outdoor festival life right into your living room than Les Claypool. Being no stranger to the scene himself, Les Claypool has played numerous festivals throughout the year including the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Wakarusa Music Festival and many more. He has performed not only with his band Primus, but a bevy of side projects, as well. Given all of this, Les is more than qualified to tell the tale.

The film Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo revolves around 4 characters who are all musicians in real life - for the movie however, they have taken up pseudonyms and in some cases, completely new instruments. Les Claypool himself plays Lapland Miclovich aka Lapdog, Adam Gates plays Steve Hampton Trouzdale aka Aiwass, Bryan Keyhoe stars as Steven Allen Gordon aka Gordo, and Jonathan Korty plays Herschel Tambor Brillstein.

With Lapdog on vocals and drums, Aiwass playing bass guitar, Gordo on guitar and vocals and Herschel playing the keyboard and doing additional vocals, Electric Apricot quickly rips their way across the jam band scene. There are some difficulties along the way, however, and a series of quirky events ensues.

Eventually however, the band does manage to make it to Festeroo, a fictional music festival set near Portland, Oregon. Once there however, Gordo makes a fool of himself when meeting some famous musicians backstage. He decides to take his beer and leave on his own - he is found later laying naked in the woods by the cameramen, but come the next day when it is time for Electric Apricot to finally play, he is nowhere to be found.

The band is forced to take the stage without him, but just before the start of their first song Gordo stumbles onto the stage. Dazed, he proceeds to play the best guitar jams of his entire life. When asked about it later on, Gordo claims to have met Jerry Garcia back stage the night before.

After a successful gig at Festeroo, the band hits the road in order to return their rented RV. They are pulled over by the police, who find over twenty pounds of marijuana. The band was clueless to the hidden drugs - they were packed away their without their knowledge. Still, they are all in a lot of legal trouble in the near future.