"I should give a shit, but I don't give a fuck." -Oderus Urungus
I remember buying Scumdogs of the Universe by GWAR on cassette and my mother being cool enough to let me play it in the car. Not long after, I remember paying top dollar for a cassette of Hell-O, their first album. I think it was in 1992 when I went to a GWAR concert. It was my first and I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting front-man, Dave Brockie, unknowingly.
For as crappy a town Cincinnati was entertainment wise, Clifton/Coreyville always had cool concerts and this was the only place to go to see them and enjoy the area around you. When you went to Bogart's you usually went early to avoid the long lines at the doors that usually went all the way around the block. You would eat at Subway, because it was fast and cheap and at the time actually served good food. They had a cool record store called Wizard's Cave on the hill that had the more obscure bands you couldn't find anywhere else. They also had the Cupboard, which functioned as a sex shop and a head shop all in one. Then there was Stone Mountain, a hippie store that had cool black-light posters up the winding stairs and down a long, dark hall, before opening into a large room of incense, clothing, and everything else you could find in the late 60's/early 70's. Then there was Jupiter's, a space-themed arcade you could get lost in.
I remember Mortal Kombat having this long line of over two dozen people waiting to play. You got one quarter and when you got beat, you left the line. There was this kid a little older than me, maybe 16, who had been beating and trash talking everyone. He was beaten by the shirtless, tattooed guy in front of me and pissed he had to leave the line. I was next and selected Raiden against Sub Zero. No one had any clue what buttons did what, but the game was amazing. We smiled as we furiously pounded buttons, but I had my ass handed to me. "This is pretty cool," he said as we started the second match. "Yeah," I agreed, after a quick series of buttons that released all kinds of badass lightning that gave me the next win. The third and final match was more evenly split and we almost ran out of time, before he finally froze me and did some lame kick and punch combo, before we heard the magic words, "Finish him!" Of course, no one knew how to do fatalities, so we were robbed of that. "Good game," he said and game me a fist bump as I walked to the concert next door without shame.
After sitting through a crappy surf-type band whose greatest feature was the two female dancers they had in bikinis, GWAR took the stage. It was instantly amazing to see these absurd metal guys blaring away and acting ridiculous. Even more so to make eye contact with the scantily clad, maggot-faced, lead singer Oderus Urungus who had an amazing stage presence and commanding voice. Then he turned and I instantly noticed his tattoos. I had just seen them about an hour earlier. I held the distinction of having a single win over the overlord from Scumdogia. David Murray Brockie was unfortunately found dead yesterday in his home. He was 50 years old.