Oderus from GWAR reawakens teen

When our news editor, Kassandra Linklater, interviewed Oderus from Gwar, he talked about fucking black holes and other weird shit. Oh, and it turns out he’s just a really nice guy.

By Kassandra Linklater [news editor]

Remember those things that you did as a teenage for the sake of pure rebellion? The water bottles filled with vodka or rolling the car out of the driveway in neutral so your parents wouldn’t wake up?

Well, mine was listening to metal. And the pinnacle of my teenage angst was my love of hardcore shock-rockers, Gwar.

Best known for their gory stage antics, including a twelve foot male appendage that spews–well, I won’t go into that–Gwar has developed a cult following, resulting in over 30 million albums sold and a career that has spanned twenty-five years.

Upon finding out I had the opportunity to interview this shock-rock sextet, the black-and-blue haired, studded belt wearing, sixteen-year-old me could not pass up living out this teenage fantasy.

With questions prepared and research completed, my nerves began to tweak thinking of who exactly I was going to be speaking to. I expected Oderus Urungus, the alter ego of lead singer Dave Brockie, to realize within the first thirty seconds that I was an utter sham of a fan and had sold out to the likes of Lady Gaga.

But what happened shocked me more than any gory faux-decapitation that would happen at one of the group’s shows.
Dave was point blank a really nice guy.

Currently kicking off their “Tour of Horror,” in Moncton, New Brunswick, Dave quite politely told me about the band’s upcoming album, Lust in Space, and that the tour is “going great and been a complete mad house… as they got [their] shit together.”

Taking my call from backstage Dave broke in and out of character as he yelled out to his tour manager, “I’m on the phone,” setting the tone for the whole interview. Dave, the kind perfectionist, commenting on the quality of the tour and how he enjoyed all of Canada was weaved into alter-ego Oderus, who was excited that more giant spiders were coming to the show.

After a series of “serious music reviewer” questions, I couldn’t help but ask the now-Oderus if he got a degree, what it would be in. He answered “a Bachelor of ‘savage mutilation of the tender areas.’” And in his 43 billion years on earth, what was his favorite catastrophic event: “Having sex with black hole [that] blotted out all life with huge intergalactic cum-wad. [We’re] talking about a vagina that was three-hundred years wide.”

As we hung up the phone, I realized why I initially loved this provocative band. It wasn’t the nightmarish costumes or the profane lyrics.

It was the social commentary and critique of the world around us that accompanied the whole spectacle. I found solace in the questioning of authority, something that I admired in my youth. It was also the core message that human beings are “foul scum,” not by their innate nature but by the way they treat each other and the planet.

Because behind the facade, that is what Gwar is about. And I believe that’s why behind the blood and the gore of Oderus is Dave–an all around nice guy.