Les Claypool, the bass and brains behind eclectic punk-funk band Primus, has taken his skills to the big screen and released a film titled Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo.

Intended as a mockumentary in the style of This Is Spinal Tap, Electric Apricot follows a fictitious jam band of the same name from a gig at the storied Bay Area club Sweetwater Saloon to the sessions for their first album and, ultimately, to the jam band-heavy festival, Festeroo.

"It’s a fabulous subject, one that I know quite a bit about and one that hasn’t been examined before," Claypool recently told MTV News. "I could do the same thing for Ozzfest. Character study is my existence."

Claypool’s film will be screened at the Bonnaroo festival in June, where he’ll also perform solo and play a set with Oysterhead, the group he formed with Phish’s Trey Anastasio and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland.

Electric Apricot won the Best of Festival - Feature, Audience Award at the Malibu Film Festival. The project was anything but clear sailing for Claypool, however. "The process of making this film was one kick in the nuts after another," he said.

"Two trips to the hospital, a hit-and-run, a crew member had a nervous breakdown and threatened to throw all the footage in the fireplace. We had a gremlin following us around. It’s like building a house with apprentice carpenters and the building materials were on fire."

The cast of the film is made up largely of Claypool and his friends. Claypool plays Lapdog the drummer. Musician pals take on the roles of Gordo the singing/guitar-playing/beer-drinking Jerry Garcia worshipper, Herschel the hippie keyboardist and Aiwass the pseudo-intellectual bassist.

Claypool developed most of the film’s general plot, but much of the dialogue was improvised. Electric Apricot features cameos from actor Seth Green, South Park creator Matt Stone and jam scene icons Bob Weir (The Grateful Dead), Mike Gordon (Phish) and Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes and Matt Abts.

"[Electric Apricot] is an endearing look at the jam scene, poking fun at these people and how they look at their universe so seriously," said Claypool.

This film is just one of many endeavours that Claypool is currently involved with. He has a new solo album called Of Whales And Woe and has written his first novel, South Of The Pumphouse. Primus will play a July 29 show at Wisconsin’s Hedgpeth Festival, which also features The Flaming Lips.