On the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we talk with artists who have overcome obstacles as they pursue their authentic life so that we can learn from their experience as we embark on our own purpose-driven journey. And one of the most challenging issues that we can face on this journey is how we understand and develop ourselves as individuals, as compared to how we understand and develop ourselves as being part of a community.
Today we are talking with singer, songwriter, guitarist and music Ph.D. Dr. Michael Bishop – otherwise known as The Berserker Blothar of the heavy metal band GWAR. Loudwire has rated GWAR as one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time. And recently, the premium streaming service Shudder announced that it has acquired the rights to global distribution of the documentary film about the band called This is GWAR which will go live July 21st.
During our conversation, Michael and I talk about one of the main themes of the This is GWAR movie, which is how the individual members of GWAR grappled with devoting themselves to the community that they developed while also trying to maintain a sense of themselves as individuals. Michael delves into how this struggle factored into his decision to leave GWAR and how he decided to eventually return to the band 20 years later.
