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Monday, March 24, 2014
Music Gwar frontman Dave Brockie, aka Oderus Urungus, found dead
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 10:00 AM
GWAR frontman Dave Brockie, better known to fans as Oderus Urungus, was found dead in his Richmond, Va., home on Sunday. The 50-year old's cause of death was not immediately known.
- Photo by Jeff Hahne
- GWAR's Oderus Urungus
Brockie and his artistic, costumed band made waves in musical arenas throughout the world by performing their vulgar brand of rock while spewing fluids all over the audience.
In 1990, Brockie was arrested on charges of disseminating obscenity in Charlotte after a concert at the 4808 Club. The arresting officers confiscated a two-and-a-half-foot-long rubber penis Urungus referred to as the "Cuttlefish of Cthulhu."
I spoke with Brockie about that incident for a story in our 25th Anniversary edition in 2012. He laughed when recalling the events of that 1990 night:
"The legacy of the incident has definitely endured over the years and it's one of the strongest Gwar legends," Brockie says. "Getting arrested for making art is pretty funny. The weirdest part about it to me is that somewhere in Charlotte, in some lockup facility, there is the Cuttlefish of Cthulu - the offending member, if you will - sitting in an evidence box."
Randy Blythe, singer for the fellow Richmond band Lamb of God, posted the following on Instagram:
I got a very sad call tonight from my buddy Chris Bopst, who was one of the original members of GWAR- my friend Dave Brockie, AKA Oderus Urungus, the singer of GWAR, has left the building & taken off back to his home planet. He was 50 years old. I do not know details of why he died yet, just that he passed away at home & his roommates found him. When someone dies, a lot of the time people will say "Oh, he was a unique person, really one of a kind, a true original"- most of these people no idea of what they are talking about- they obviously had never met Dave. Dave TRULY WAS ONE OF A KIND- I can't think of ANYONE even remotely like him. That's VERY HARD TO SAY. My band learned how to become a real touring band from GWAR- they gave us out first shot at this thing. I learned many things from Dave, many of which I am eternally grateful for, and some of which I am deeply ashamed of. ... Right now, if I were to truly honor Dave in the way HE would do it if it were ME that had died, I would make a completely tasteless joke about his death. But I do not have the stomach for that- Dave would, but not me. He never put much stock in "limits". Richmond, VA has lost one of its most creative people. This is a crying shame to me. Thank you Brockie, for all the crazy shit you did- thank God you existed, so you could do it and I didn't have to. It was an honor to know you, to be your Shaky Slave, to serve in the Blood Vomits along side you (let's ride!), and to be soaked by your sweet cuttlefish. RIP Dave Brockie. Oderous, enjoy your trip back home.
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