GWAR
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 10th August 2010.
GWAR have been a favourite band here at Rock Realms for a long time. Their albums can be hit and miss, but when they get it right...boy do they get it right! With an appearance at the UK's Bloodstock festival less than a week away, and rumours of a new album, we thought we'd better find out more.
Lead singer/chief question answerer Oderus Urungus was unavailable, so GWAR's lovely and wonderful bassist Beefcake The Mighty plonked his butt down on the hotseat instead.
Greetings ...!! A thousand thank-you’s for your time; a million apologies for the malfeasant cack masquerading as questions I have placed before your scholarly eyes. I assume all is well?
BTM: Greetings!! First off, you are speaking to BEEFCAKE THE MIGHTY, Bringer Of Thunder and Bassist for GWAR today. Oderus could not be bothered with your insipid queries as he's locked himself in the studio with tons of crack and loads of albino midgets right now. He's been laying down vocal tracks to our latest opus, entitled “GWAR's Bloody Pit Of Horror”! Unfortunately, he didn't bring an engineer and doesn't know how to operate equipment, so whenever he emerges we'll have to make him do it all over again so we can actually record it!
Your last album “Lust In Space” has been out for a while now. How has it performed in terms of sales and airplay, and in retrospect how good do you think it was on the GWAR-scale of brilliance?
BTM: “Lust In Space” was a brilliant record! It literally sold in the tens of hundreds and managed to avoid radio airplay altogether!!! GWAR can never be accused of selling out; no matter how hard we try! But yes, it’s a great album and we're very proud of it. You'll laugh, you'll cry; we get high, and millions die!
I remember reading that it entered the top 100 in the American charts…. Was it a shock to see so many people with such good taste?
BTM: A shock? No… Isn't that something, though? I remember years ago thinking, "Wow, we'll never sell enough records (or "units" as they say in the "biz", right?) to get on the Billboard charts!. Fortunately for us, with all the illegal downloading and file sharing, so few people actually buy CD’s anymore, that it only took 237 sales that week to skyrocket us to #96! Kudos to us!
You have a new album in the making... Can you tell us a bit (or preferably a lot) about it?
BTM: That’s right!! We are currently in the "studio" working on GWAR's 13th offering of absolute Rock & Roll majesty, which we will call “GWAR's Bloody Pit Of Horror!” We are keeping all the flow and brutality of “Lust In Space”, and adding fresh insight into the twisted, hateful minds of your Lords and Masters! I’m really not at liberty to divulge song titles and concepts right now, mostly because I don't know what they are yet, but rest assured, it will be epic in it's brutality once again!
Is it going to be a continuation of the sounds you explored on Lust In Space, or something totally different?
BTM: Actually, due to what our physicians refer to as "being lazy", we are actually just taking the instrumental tracks from “Lust In Space” and adding new lyrics, Ha! Ha! Then we're going to run the vocals through a vocoder, and re-record the whole track, track by track, backwards! Should be groundbreaking!
Are you targeting the American top 10 this time?
BTM: Not just them; we'll be targeting all Americans, as usual!!
How does GWAR go about putting an album together? What would be the typical genesis of a song?
BTM: Well, contrary to popular belief, GWAR are all competent musicians who play their own instruments! We write songs like most "normal" bands really; we’ll jam together and exchange ideas, then flesh out the songs until we’re 100% happy with them. Sometimes one of us will have a complete song written and we might tweak it a bit right at the end.
On the new record, Flattus Maximus (g) had tons of songs already written and there were some leftovers from the “Lust In Space” ‘sessions’ that we only had to tweak a little bit before recording. Balsac The Jaws Of Death (g) and I also contributed a song each and, of course, Oderus writes most of the lyrics. I, of course, wrote the lyrics for my traditional vocal offering, a rousing little number called "Beat You To Death", so look out for that!!
Do you enjoy the creative side of things, or do you prefer getting up on the live stage?
BTM: I actually do enjoy both sides of it, but I am definitely at my best in front of throngs of maniacal GWAR fans! I am a musician and I love playing live!! That's the real deal. That's the proof of our awesomeness! Plus, we get all the free booze!
Can we expect a brand new look to go with the new album? Any clues to what route you might go down, if so?
BTM: Of course, as with every GWAR album, you’d expect incredible packaging and imagery, and there’ll be plenty of that. What that will be though right now, I can’t divulge…… Mostly because I am not sure. But there will be blood and horror! It is, after all…. “GWAR's Bloody Pit of Horror!”
Anything special planned for your show at Bloodstock in the UK?
BTM: Of course! We are gleefully looking forward to Bloodstock! And we are really honoured to be playing the ‘Ronnie James Dio Stage’. Dio was, and always will be, amongst the finest vocalists in all of ‘Metal, Metal Land’!! While his presence will forever be missed here on Earth, rest assured, he is dining with the Gods evermore! We are also quite pleased to be sharing the stage with such a great line-up!!
What can the average rock fan expect if they have the good fortune to see GWAR in concert?
BTM: They will witness a spectacular event that they will talk about for the rest of their lives!! All bullshit aside; we work our asses off to put on a great show, and we give 120% every night! We give you more Bang! for your buck and a guaranteed good time!
Are you constantly trying to push the boundaries, or do you think these days you’ve got the balance between disgusting, terrifying and exciting down to a fine art?
BTM: We don't have to try. Our fucked up sense of humour and fearlessness has firmly secured our place as the most vulgar, twisted and entertaining band on the face of the Earth!! No one can do what GWAR has achieved!! You must remember; we do all of this ourselves!! GWAR has never had major label money, radio airplay, or financial support from any outside source whatsoever!! We've created a situation for ourselves that, 25 years in, is in top form, at the top of our game! We cannot be denied!
Where do you see GWAR in 5 or 10 years time? Is this band going on until you finally achieve world domination?
BTM: I see GWAR as a timeless entity. We could, in theory, go on forever! If we're ever too old to do it, we can train some other worthy warriors to take up our banner and carry on. The story of GWAR is endless and can live forever in comics, cartoons, and movies. GWAR is legendary.
Lordi. Discuss.
BTM: Why? They’re just not very good, are they? Besides, GWAR has made our triumphant return to conquer Europe now, so they're redundant!! We are the real deal!!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
BTM: Hell, I don't know! You just about covered it.
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
BTM: I am going to make another drink and eat something that’s bad for me.
Anything else you would like to mention?
BTM: I just want to say that, although GWAR is here to enslave and/or exterminate the human race, we love our fans (especially with a nice mushroom gravy and a cold beer!!!); and, we know we wouldn't be able to keep doing this if it wasn't for you. We're glad you're along for the ride, and as long as you keep encouraging us, we will keep bringing you all the fucked up abuse you deserve! See you soon!!
Thanks for your time!!
BTM: Cheers Jon!
Thanks again to Mr. Beefcake The Mighty for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of GWAR's last album "Lust In Space" here. Keep 'em peeled for more info about the new album as and when we get it!
