If you have a working internet connection, it’s likely you’ve seen your share of TED Talks. However, we doubt you’ve ever seen a TED Talk quite like the one recently delivered by Michael “Blothar” Bishop, bassist and singer for Virginian heavy metal stalwarts GWAR.
For one thing, as Rolling Stone notes, most TED Talks don’t begin with the speaker being slammed in the head by a stone tablet and then having the flesh ripped from their face, but anyone familiar with GWAR will know this is simply par for the course.
Bishop’s talk on regional identity was unique, moving, and sometimes insane. Just look at his opening words: “Hello, my name is Michael Bishop, I am a musician… I am the human slave of the berserker Blothar, who is the new lead singer of GWAR.”
According to Rolling Stone, before Bishop, who formerly filled the role of Beefcake the Mighty in the group, joined GWAR, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a PhD in music, especially in the field of regional identity.
Bishop’s talk outlines the bizarre history of GWAR, both their iconic fictional bio and their actual backstory, as well as explaining how GWAR’s relationship with Richmond, Virginia is an example of how a band can encapsulate a regional identity.
