Late last year, longtime Gwar guitarist Brent Purgason left the band on amicable terms. He wrote at the time: “11 years ago I had the privilege of joining the greatest shock rock and roll band in the world. Today, I announce my departure from it … From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the members of Gwar that invited me in, not only to perform but to become an owner of the band, a friend, and a brother.”
In a social media exchange, Purgason also revealed how little he made as the band’s guitarist. One Gwar follower referenced rumors that members of the band “clear about $40k/year.” Purgason replied: “More like half that unfortunately.”
In a recent interview with Guitar World, guitarist Tommy Meehan (Cancer Christ, Squid Pisser) introduced himself as the band’s new guitarist. Meehan will be named Grodius Maximus, and revealed he was friends with late, founding GWAR vocalist Dave Brockie as well as Purgason.
“I go way back with Gwar; I was friends with Dave Brockie,” Meehan said. “We had Dave in an animated cartoon associated with an old project of mine, and I stayed in touch with all the Gwar guys over the years. But I hadn’t talked to them since before Covid, and I’d started a band called Cancer Christ, and one of my main goals was to tour with Gwar. I actually said that out loud.”
“About two years later I got an email about opening for Gwar on an East Coast tour. We did a whole month. Brent and I were hanging out a bunch, talking about guitars, and he said, ‘This is gonna be my last tour with Gwar.’ It was a huge decision for him. That’s when he started pushing for me to give it a go and talk to the guys about trying it. Brent got me up on stage one night in Pennsylvania, and that was the first time I played music with Gwar. I got to know them from there. We started talking more and went through an audition process. I’ve been going above and beyond to let them know I really want to play with them.”
Meehan has a full costume, but still notes that he and Gwar are “talking about a permanent situation” and “feeling each other out with this upcoming tour.”
“We’re vibing on the potential of working on music together, and Gwar is also working on another movie,” Meehan said. “We’re chatting about my involvement with that – musically or otherwise.”
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