The First GWAR Video I Ever Saw – In Memory of Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie)

I first learned Dave Brockie of GWAR had died the morning of, before any "big" outlet had written about it. I was really hoping it wasn't true, I hoped that it would turn out to be a hoax. I kept banking on USA Today or CNN to say "Frontman Alive and Well - Victim of Hoax."

For me, a band like GWAR is amazing and refreshing because we live in a world that is so up-tight at times, scared, limited, and too serious. A band like GWAR embodies a part of myself that I wish I could express more. A no-holds barred, take no crap from anyone, stretch the comfort zone, and just be what you want to be. For the heart of that belief to have died at the young age of 50, it was shaking.

I've never been to a GWAR show, and I wish I could have been. Even my favorite band's (Rise Against) guitarist was a member of GWAR. Zach Blair served as the incarnation of Flattus Maximus from 1999-2002.

The first GWAR video I ever saw, I clicked on after watching another video in the same series. Rise Against had covered Nirvana's "Sliver", and up next was GWAR insulting and then covering Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son."

Enjoy, and long live Oderus Urungus.

As far as the future of the band, the 2014 GWAR-B-Q will still go on as planned at Hadad's Lake on August 16, preceded by a public memorial service the day prior.