Yeah this sucks so much. I got into Gwar maybe too early, like before Grunge was even that big, back when I was like 11 or something.. after Hell-O I kind of stopped following them. I had Ragnarok but at that point I was getting into Wu Tang and kind of stopped paying attention in high school, but always thought they were awesome.

The one thing that kept bringing me back to Hell-O was this mod on an old BBS called Game Connection, whose username was Oderus Urungus. I don't even know if we ever talked about Gwar, but I always kind of assumed in the back of my mind that it was actually Dave, just killing time between shows in a pre-internet world.

I never saw a Gwar show. I always said I'd go to one.. when I was younger I was too young for the venues (normally it was 18+) and then when I had the chance I was like "naw.. I'll just listen to.. I dunno some dorky indie pop band" like an old man who loves X but refuses to get in the pit. One of my favorite bands died today.

There's not enough bands like Gwar anymore. The closest I can think of is Ween. Maybe Turbonegro? I'm making this connection revisiting Gwar via Youtube. It's all I'm listening to today.

Yeah, Beavis and Butthead introduced me to them when I was ten, maybe eleven. I hate to kick ya when you're down, but they put on the MEANEST live shows ever. So much fun. I've only been to, like, three or maybe four, (I'm only half Bohab... :( ) but those were hands down the best concert experiences I ever had. The sound usually sucked and the venues tended to smell bad and most of band are actually roadies, so you had vastly different lineups each time, but holy shit you haven't lived until GWAR jacks off onto your face while sodomizing Jon-Benet Ramsey with a chainsaw.

I was supposed to go see them at Toads last month, but I got the dates mixed up and got to the doors the day AFTER the show. Crap, I says, no big deal. I can go see them next time. WHAT A FOOL I WAS.

I don't know what GWAR'll do now, seeing as Dave was the chief songwriter and frontman, but they might still stay together. And if they do continue to tour for the time being, so help you zest, go see them before any more get called to Valhalla.

I was into Gwar in middle school too, but then my mom read the lyric sheet from America Must Be Destroyed and by the time I was old enough to get away with buying any more Gwar albums I'd moved on, but the older I get the more I find to like about even their later stuff.

This is the first time I've actually been a bit broken up by a celebrity death since Zappa (unless you count Charlie Gocher as a celebrity).

Oh, and Tiny Tim. That sucked too.

I found out about them when I was lurking the internet, trying desperately to define what being human means. Aside from finding awesome music.

(Seriously, I'm that broken. :(. )

GWAR and shock jocks like them were just an amazing thing to me since I always felt like my anger was being subdued, some reasons I felt were petty, and was more than happy to know there was something there out loud.

GWAR was probably the most caustic due to how thinly veiled their schtick was, leaving for every emotionally ill, paranoid, and/or financially reliant clergyman to wet themselves in fear of an oncoming exodus/cult.

Ween went on permanent "hiatus" like two years ago :(

I'd actually like to see them continue as a band. I knew that Oderus Urungus' name was Dave in real life, but I couldn't tell you much more about the person behind the mask without looking it up. The Germs continue to play after Crash's death some 34 years ago, which is in bad taste. The Misfits, Black Flag go on without their original lead singers, but that's different too. Maybe a Gwar without Oderus, as Brockie is irreplaceable as a man and as.. whateverthefuck Oderus Urungus was.

The real kicker is that my friend's band was opening for them in Portland like 5 years ago, so he had me on the list. I literally hadn't thought about Gwar for at least ten years prior to that. But at the time I was going through a rough patch and stayed at home, to the best of my knowledge drinking whiskey and listening to Townes Van Zandt. Plus I had to work the next morning. In hindsight, being covered in fake blood and fake semen would have been more cathartic. Oh well.

I guess a final thought would be, for me anyway, listening to that cassette like Hell-O was the Holy Grail, before Beavis and Butthead existed. This was before music videos were easily accessible and I had no idea that they dressed up on stage, cut each others' heads off.. all I knew was that I liked it, whatever it was. When I did find these things out they were of course 200% cooler than before, but listening to Hell-O again today, I don't imagine the live antics or the blood or what fun a live show would've been like, I just see myself, at music camp, listening to Hell-O on the walkman that I had hidden from the counsellors, falling asleep at 2 in the morning.

I could be wrong, but I think the only original member of the band left is Mike Derks. (well, nearly original, IIRC they had a different Balsac on Hell-O) I love Balsac, he's been my favorite GWAR member since I was a kid, but Mike is extremely shy and low-key, and I couldn't picture him taking over from Dave. I hope they keep going in some form, though. At the very least, I'd like to see Mike start a new band with the surviving members; he's not the front-person Dave was, but he is a great songwriter, sort of the Cliff Burton to Dave's Lars and James, if you will.

:(