Dave Brockie
As the monstrous frontman Oderus Urungus, he built Gwar from a chaotic art project into a heavy metal institution of shock, satire, and spectacular fake blood.
1963–2014 (age 51)·Canadian-American musician·Birthday: August 30·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dave Brockie was the creative engine and relentless id behind the band Gwar. Born in Canada and raised in Virginia, he was a visual artist and punk rock bassist before co-founding the group as a merging of sculpture, theater, and loud, sludgy metal. Donning the latex and foam rubber of Oderus Urungus, a intergalactic barbarian overlord, Brockie presided over concerts that were less gigs and more immersive, offensive, and hilarious spectacles, dousing audiences in gallons of fake bodily fluids from elaborate stage props. For over three decades, he steered Gwar through lineup changes and industry indifference, cultivating a fiercely dedicated fanbase known as the Bohabs. Beyond the stage, Brockie was a sharp-witted and articulate interviewee who used his platform to skewer politics, religion, and pop culture with a surprisingly intellectual glee. His unexpected death left a void in the world of underground metal, ending the reign of one of its most original and committed provocateurs.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dave was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2014Died at 51
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
Key Achievements
- Founded and was the only constant member of the shock metal band Gwar from its 1984 inception until his death.
- Released over a dozen studio albums with Gwar, cultivating a massive, cult-like international following.
- Pioneered an extreme, theatrical concert experience that combined elaborate costumes, graphic stage props, and political satire.
- Voiced the character of Oderus Urungus in the television series 'Holliston'.
Did You Know?
He was a trained visual artist and designed many of Gwar's early album covers and posters.
Before Gwar, he played bass in a hardcore punk band called Death Piggy.
He wrote a monthly column for the magazine 'Metal Maniacs' under his own name.
The character Oderus Urungus was said to be from the planet Scumdogia and have a sentient penis named the Cuttlefish of Cthulhu.
“We're not a band, we're a hate machine.”
