Michael Bishop gave a TEDx Talk recently describing different aspects of his band, GWAR. The video starts off by giving a brief history of the band and what they represent and gave to their community. After a brief video of the bands history, the Tedx Talk starts off with a man getting hit in the head with a tablet then proceeding to get his face ripped off. Very odd, but what else were you expecting after you read the name GWAR.
Michael Bishop began his speech by introducing himself as “..the human slave of the berserker Blothar, who is the new lead singer of GWAR.” Bishop used to play Beefcake the Mighty a while ago but has rejoined the band as a new character, Blothar, after the passing of Dave Brockie, their former lead vocalist. With the recent departure of Kim Dylla – who played the character of Vulvatron – and their tour which is currently going on, there’s no other way Bishop should have introduced himself. GWAR’s band has been ever-changing since they have formed in 1986. Regardless of this factor, it does not affect their sales or fans. GWAR has stood for the same thing since they’ve formed and they’ve stuck by it since then.
Bishop talks about GWAR’s history and where they stand. He begins with introducing how the band met and formed. Then going into what they’re made of, constantly establishing GWAR’s place in Virginia. Bishop goes on to discuss GWAR’s “forming” in Antartica and how they were, “thawed from an ozone layer which, of course, got created via Ratt and Poison hairspray.” Bishop continues to state that, “being from Richmond is almost as weird as being from Antartica.” He goes on to describe the political stance GWAR has. He speaks out about the concerns of slavery and how they were represented in GWAR, describing it as the “DIY ethic of punk rock- a voluntary devotion to art.” Bishop then shuts down the nay-sayers who think GWAR only promotes the destruction that Richmond is known upon. He then ends the speech by stating that, “GWAR is one of Richmonds most recognizable products.” Bishop described everything he stood for in music, and in GWAR, in this speech.
It might be easier to watch the video below rather than trying to wrap your head around anything I just wrote.
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