Gwar’s guitar player Cory Smoot was found dead by his bandmates today. It’s a tragedy, for sure. But it’s a rare tragedy, one that gives rise to an intriguing question.
How do you mourn such a man? He left his mark on the world, and his life is definitely worth celebrating. He genuinely left a legacy. But it’s a legacy cut through so deeply with goofiness and dark humor that it must be weird feeling sad about him.
I’ve never thought about Gwar all that much, but with Smoot’s death, I’ve been seriously considering the band’s accomplishments. He made outfits out of styrofoam and pretended to be a cartoon death metal monster. He went out on stage and reenacted Princess Diana’s death onstage some nights and pretend disemboweled Paris Hilton on others. And that was his job! What a great way to spend a life is that?
But I don’t know what the right way to feel grief for a dude like him. How do you deal with the death of a weird genius? What’s the right way to be sad and show respect for the strange character the dude really was? How can you be true to the man and appropriate for his loss?
I don’t know. I just hope people say some funny shit at my funeral. Hopefully somebody will sneak out back to smoke some weed too. And maybe someone will cry a little bit. That part’s not so important to me, though, I guess.
Mister Bulger 