According to Blabbermouth.net the founder and lead singer of renowned metal band Gwar, David Brockie, has died, numerous sources have been told.
Close friend Steve Douglas has took to Facebook to confirm Brockie’s death:
“It is true, I have talked to many of his and my best friends in Richmond VA, his room-mate found him dead about 3 hours ago…makes me sick, seriously one of my best friends ever. I am so glad we got to talk when they were in Australia. Dave and I played together in Death Piggy and started Gwar together, and I can tell you there was not a better man on the planet!”
The news comes in a year the Grammy-nominated band marks its 30th anniversary and recently returned from a long-awaited first performance in Japan. It recently announced that it would hold its fifth Gwar-B-Q concert Aug. 16 at Hadad’s Water Park.
Brockie, aka Oderus Urungus, founded what became Richmond’s most famous band in 1984 with a group of five boundary-pushing artists and musicians working out of North Side’s Richmond Dairy. The band struck a nerve, selling out shows and touring the globe. It released its 13th album in 2013.
The self-described “Scumdogs of the Universe” were known for their messy shows, outlandish costumes and intentionally offensive theatrics. “We were and still are provocateurs,” Brockie told Style in a 2012 feature story. “We’re just a bunch of guys with warped senses of humor spit balling the most evil ideas that we could think of, to hold up a twisted mirror to the culture.”
Roommates found Brockie’s body at his home Sunday evening, with friends and others posting condolences and remembrances across Facebook late into Monday morning. “I wish it was a joke,” says former band member Chris Bopst, a music writer for Style. “Everyone is in shock.”
We’ll report more details as they become available and share the band’s official statement here.
Brockie made numerous appearances in character commenting on current events and culture, including such unexpected places as “Red Eye” on Fox News. In an interview last month on Insane Clown Posse Theater, Oderus Urungus talked about the essence of what made him tick.
Gwar’s northwest shows have been legendary, see GWAR slays Seattle’s Showbox SoDo – Oct. 11, 2013