By Brent Michael, Rock At Night Tampa Correspondent
Venue: The Ritz, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
Usually, the acronym NSFW stands for ‘Not safe for work’, and refers to content that you’d expect to find on somewhere like https://www.tubev.sex/?hl=ja. In this case, NSFW stands for “Not Safe For World.” More on that later. GWAR is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc.. Following the death of frontman and lead singer Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus) in 2014, the group has continued without any original members, although Don Drakulich, (aka Sleazy P. Martini) a non-instrument-performing member of the collective, has been with the band since 1985.
Does that really matter? Mike Derks and Brad Roberts have been with the band from the late 80s – almost 30 years. Michael Bishop has been in and out of the band 3 times, starting in 1987 – that’s more than most bands can say. Do they sound exactly the same as they did in the past? No, you just can’t replace a lead singer that way, but they didn’t dress Bishop up as Oderus Urungus, and they’ve always had rotating members, and GWAR, to be honest, is more about the show than the music – don’t get me wrong, they are a band deserving of national acclaim musically.
But calling them a “heavy metal band” really tells you nothing of what to expect at a GWAR appearance. Imagine if you will the theatrical performance of Alice Cooper played by Kiss, with costuming by Big Daddy Ed Roth inspired by Game of Thrones, with Gallagher writing the performance script after watching all the Evil Dead – related movies, including the porn versions, some of which I’m sure can probably be found on websites similar to https://www.nu-bay.com/categories/168/brunette these days. Yeah, they rocked the house, but this is campy theater with religious and political satire mixed in. GWAR is a band enjoyed on several levels; just their names give you a small idea of the satirical nature of the band.
Current band members go by Balsac the Jaws of Death, Jizmak Da Gusha, Beefcake the Mighty, Blothar, Pustulus Maximus, who play instruments, and Sawborg Destructo, Bonesnapper, and assorted other characters making stage appearances including generic slaves, the CEO of Glomco, Inc., and Donald Trump. They are also diversified into the graphic novel realm – GWAR: ORGASMAGEDDON, a collection of past comics, was released 12/4/2017.
The short version of the Band’s mythos goes like this:
The story of GWAR is carved across the history of this barren and hopeless planet, but GWAR themselves are not of this world… their story begins in the deepest reaches of outer space. Long ago, the beings who would become the rock band GWAR were part of an elite fighting force, the Scumdogs of the Universe. For eons, they served as thralls to a supreme being known only as the Master. But one by one, each future member of the band earned a glaring reputation for being an intergalactic fuck-up. And so, they were banished, sent away on a fool’s errand to conquer an insignificant shitball floating in a dark corner of the universe: the planet Earth. Once here, GWAR shaped the face of the globe, destroying and rebuilding the natural world, and giving rise to all of human history. Aliens to some, gods and demons to others, our erstwhile Scumdogs fucked apes to create the human race, and this fateful unplanned pregnancy would prove to be truly disastrous!
“The Blood of Gods” is the first GWAR album without the band’s fallen leader, Oderus Urungus. The title of the album (and title of their tour, accompanied by Ghoul, He Is Legend, and U.S. Bastards on this stop) refers to the loss of Oderus. and the struggles and triumphs that produced the new sound of the band. “The Blood of Gods” is nothing less than a sacred text chronicling the rise of humanity against their makers, and the massive battle between GWAR and the forces of all that is uptight and wrong with the world. Expect to be showered in (fake) blood and assorted other liquids if you’re within 100 feet of the stage!
Along the way, the band challenges the sins of their great mistake, from politics, pollution, and organized religion, to fast food, and factory farming. Humans are shown as what they are; a parasitical disease that must be eradicated before they suck the planet dry. Born of adversity, “The Blood of Gods” is a sonic scar…a question asked and answered…
Death cannot kill GWAR. Nothing can.
GWAR LIVES MOTHERFUCKERS!
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When not in custody, I've been involved with music, photography, and writing my entire life. Ever since I was a young boy and played those silver tunes, I've had the beat, but being a drummer didn't suit me so I became a lead singer, which lasted a few years. Settling down, sort of, I translated my knowledge of audio and glib tongue into mobile emcee work, and my training as a photographer and videographer into a living in the wedding, party, bar/bat mitzvah, and entertainment industry. During this time I also managed to bamboozle my way into a master's degree in writing, worked for a couple of magazines (yes, I took photos for a nudist magazine!), have photographed hotels, done commercial work (shot the cover of Tablet and Capsule magazine), published a few articles, hosted some public access shows (a couple times in drag, but that's another story), and generally made a nuisance of myself until I landed here.
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