Times are indeed tough. What can a citizen do when a group of vile murderous criminals bring their battlelust to our shores? The answer is surprisingly simple. Buy their album and prepare to die! GWAR has returned from Antarctica with their most brutal album to date, Violence Has Arrived. This album truly has something for everyone: metal, gore, violence, death, bodily fluids, disgusting sex acts and even a starving cat that feeds on the eyes of its deceased owner. Don't let all the fun and games blind you to the facts however. The fact is, GWAR is (and has) a nice package. The band consists of amazingly competent and versatile musicians: Balsac the Jaws of Death (guitar), Jizmak Da Gusha (drums), Beefcake The Mighty (bass), and Flattus Maximus (guitar); and is led by vocalist/sick genius, Oderus Urungus (aka: Dave Brockie). With a stage show that makes KISS look like amped-up Central Park mimes, GWAR is ready and fit to rule the world...and then destroy it.
Oderus Urungus took time out to tolerate my inane questions before performing his duties as a presenter at The Billboard Music Video Awards. It truly gave me goosebumps in my naughty regions to have the opportunity to find out what makes Oderus tick. I didn't find out, but by dedicating my life to GWAR, I get to watch annoying scum like Rosie O'Donnell die first while I am spared just long enough to be tortured slowly.
GWAR hits the road in early 2002 in their bloodthirsty quest to annihilate the world. As you flock like lemmings to the shopping malls, remember this: The world is coming to an end. Buy something nice to die in.
CS: What's going on?
OU: Not much, just hangin' out here in fucking L.A. getting ready to go totally Fuck Up some kind of awards ceremony...I don't really know if they know what they've gotten themselves into, but fuck, I'm gonna do it.
CS: Is it going to be viewable on TV?
OU: Ummm....I don't know. I don't know what's gonna happen. They talked me into it. Things will get bad. Yeah, it's gonna be really bad.
CS: Have you gotten any dreads for the dreadlock beard yet?
OU: No, not a single fucking one. What's wrong with my fans? Actually, I got one and I stuck it in my beard just like I said I would. So, have you listened to the new album?
CS: Yes I have...several times, in fact.
OU: What do you think?
CS: I love it. It's different from the last one. It's definitely metal.
OU: Is it metal?
CS: I think so. The last album had a zillion different styles.
OU: Yeah, we've kind of been doing that for the last few records really. We've been bouncing around all over the place. We did the X Cops, Dave Brockie Diarrhea of a Madman, and the last couple GWAR albums have really been very experimental. I think we owe as much to Frank Zappa as we do to Slayer or the Butthole Surfers. We've always wanted to be a band that tried new things all the time. I mean, yeah, sure the show is a huge thing and we play with the costumes on and it's amazing and it's really cool, but I think a lot of people really forget there are actually musicians underneath all that crap that really know what they're doing. So, we just went out this year and we're like "Fuck it." We're gonna make a record that is about the band GWAR. We're not going to be all heavy on the storyline...We're just going to make a fucking really brutal fucking heavy metal record...but always with the GWAR humor, satire and wit, and Godammit if that's not what happened.
CS: Diarrhea of a Madman is a CD I listen to often, if not daily which I should, I suppose.
OU: Have you plodded your way through "Dr. Fong" yet?
CS: Yes, I have.
OU: I'm just a lucky motherfucker. We've got our own in-house studio now at the Slave Pit. We can crank shit out any time we feel like it. I work with absolutely amazing musicians that never get the credit they deserve, and the shit just keeps rolling. We're just like some kind of weird underground counterculture Walt Disney-esque kind of ridiculous escapade. When we started getting into this when we were in college, we thought "Well, this is fun to do and we might get a couple records out of this." Fuck, here it is...if you count X Cops and Diarrhea of a Madman, we're up to eleven records already. It's looking like a fucking dynasty to me!
CS: Yeah! It's amazing that you get to do whatever you want.
OU: Yeah, well we've never compromised. The only thing we ever compromise is when we speak to each other, when we try to decide what we're going to do and how we're going to make our show. Then, we all basically sit around and hit each other over the head until only one person's conscious and they get their way. But [with this album] we just kinda kicked back. We didn't really worry about anything else other than writing a really killer fucking metal record, and I don't know....it was right. The time was right to do it. We knew it was right, the fans knew it was right to do it and I think we're going to totally reaffirm our status as fucking Metal Gods and masters of theatrical rock.
CS: It's a very metal album and when you look at the artwork, it makes the artwork more frightening.
OU: Well, you know, it's all funny and it's all about the laughs and the irony and the satire, but let's face it, we're living in times that are dangerous. The world, when you look around, seems to be falling apart around our very ears. I think now more than ever the world needs GWAR...to rub your face in the shit you have created.
CS: Yes...I've looked at your website and "Brockie's Home Page" and the volume of ideas you put forth. When do you get time to do that plus GWAR plus the Dave Brockie Experience?
OU: Oh, you'd be amazed at how much time I actually have to fuck off and do nothing...play golf, lay in bed, fuck my girlfriend, drink heavily, eat way too much, play Nintendo...When I get creative it tends to come out in a rush. I don't really consider myself a very prolific artist. If I worked harder I probably could have had twice as much shit out by now. But, you don't make art like you take a shit. You have to wait for the spirit to move you. I just go through life thinking about shit and finally something will stick in there and I'll get it out. The website's a great place to do that. GWAR.net is awesome. Those guys do a really killer job, but the Diarrhea of a Madman page is MY page. So, I get to like totally go off and not really worry about speaking through a character and I can be myself...even though there's a hell of a lot of Oderus in me.
CS: Do you think you really offend anybody?
OU: No...I really don't think so. I mean, come on. We know what GWAR is. It's been around for over ten years...and yeah I hope we do offend the fuck out of people.
CS: Well, you have "Happy Death Day" (from Violence Has Arrived) talking about Columbine and Oklahoma City.
OU: Yeah, that's Oderus basically calling for the obliteration of the human race. Everyone has birthdays, right? Let's have death days. Let's celebrate ridding the world of the vermin that infest it.
CS: Why is it that after all these years of planning the world's destruction has GWAR failed so miserably?
OU: Well, you're really...you're...that's...Oh! Well, you're right as well. I don't know. I guess it has something to do with the fact that we don't want to get real jobs. If we killed everyone there would be no point in us being here. We'd be playng shows to auditoriums full of squirrels. I mean, humans are fun to kill.
CS: Yeah, and they keep making more of them.
OU: They sure do. We can't kill them fast enough. I don't want to have to start dropping neutron bombs. That's not my way. Kill with your hands!
CS: Did you not have anything going on for Halloween this year?
OU: Well, originally we wanted to have the record come out a little earlier and then go on tour right at Halloween, but it took a little longer to finish the record than I thought it would, and rather than go out on Halloween with a half-assed, bullshit show, I wanted to wait...until it was perfect. So, we hit the road in January.
CS: What's going on with the stage show this year?
OU: Well, I don't want to blow anything too much but I can say that just as the music has taken a big step up, so will the show.
CS: Harsher? More brutal?
OU: I think so.
CS: Have you ever given any thought to a guest appearance on South Park or the Simpson's Halloween special?
OU: Oh yeah. We tried to get on all those shows. Nobody wants us. We're the bastard children of the fucking entertainment industry. Musical herpes, if you will.
CS: Do you get any respect from your musical peers?
OU: None. Don't want it. I don't want respect from people that I don't have any respect for.
CS: What is a "bohab"?
OU: A bohab is a habitually boring person. Someone that means well, but comes up to you and keeps talking and talking and talking about the stupidest shit like, "Are you guys really from Antarctica?" That would be a typical bohab.
CS: What happened to Sleazy P. Martini?
OU: Sleazy's fine, living in his platinum skyscraper in New York City. He basically counts the money. If we didn't let him count the money we would just wipe our butts with it. He never comes on tour. He never shows up at shows, but he takes all the money. We're pretty happy with that...as long as the dump truck full of crack appears in front of the show every night.
CS: What would be a "Sleazy P. Martini" if that were an actual drink?
OU: Oooooh...hmmm...It would have to be purple like that suit he wears all the time. Um...absinthe, tequilla, Jagermeister and cattar.
CS: What was that last one?
OU: Cattar. Kind of like phlegm.
CS: I heard some rumors of a GWAR DVD.
OU: Yes. We're putting together a video DVD of all the GWAR videos, even before the ones that were released to the public, like shit we did years and years ago. We're going to have it out along with our new video from the new album, and that should be out early next year.
CS: I see you refer to "Captain O.J." (in "Song of Words" from Violence Has Arrived).
OU:Regis, O.J., the champions of your world? They will die in their own entrails.
CS: I guess you're not going to make an appearance on Celebrity Rock Millionaire.
OU: They will not let us on any TV show. They will not put us on any festivals. They will not make action figures out of us. They will do nothing except ignore us and hope that we go away, and you know what? WE NEVER WILL!
CS: Have you ever been to an Apple Butter Festival?
OU: NO...I'VE NEVER BEEN TO AN APPLE BUTTER FESTIVAL! But there is a drunk who lives in Richmond, his name is Albert Butler and everyone calls him "Apple Butter" (laughing).
CS: Any other little tidbits that you want to share?
OU: All I can say is the new GWAR album is the heaviest motherfucking thing we've ever done. We're super proud of it. It's awesome. Go out there and fucking buy it...and we are fucking hittin' the road with the best motherfucking GWAR show you have ever seen!!!!
