Beefcake the Mighty
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-->Beefcake the Mighty is a character in the rock band GWAR. He appears a stout (hence his name) humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe (though recently that weapon has been in the hands of Balsac).According to GWAR mythos, Beefcake originates from the planet Cholesterol. He weighs approximately 299 tons and "invented music by stretching dinosaur guts across the Grand Canyon". The first song written was "I Write The Songs," which was later stolen and made famous by Barry Manilow.
In the early days of GWAR, Balsac the Jaws of Death played bass and Beefcake played guitar. However by the time GWAR's first album Hell-O had been released, the roles had switched, and Beefcake became the permanent bass-player.
Before their first album, the character of Beefcake was known as Cornelius Carnage and was played by Chris Oranger. Soon, however, Cornelius Carnage's character was developed into Beefcake the Mighty. When Hell-O was released in 1988, Beefcake was played by Michael Bishop. Bishop played the role until after the 1993 Halloween mini-tour (after recording This Toilet Earth, which would be released in January of 1994). Casey Orr was enlisted to play the bass in February of 1994. Bishop, however, temporarily replaced Orr for a stint around the recording of We Kill Everything. After the release of Violence Has Arrived in 2001, Orr and his wife had a baby. He left the band shortly thereafter, and was replaced by Todd Evans. Evans suited the role well, as he is credited as being much larger than any of the previous Beefcakes. Evans remains the current Beefcake.
Beefcake's personality has changed considerably since Hell-O. Oderus Urungus and Beefcake originally had an almost brotherly relationship, and the dialog between the two reflected such. When Michael Bishop was replaced by Casey Orr, that relationship changed as well - instead, Beefcake became extremely arrogant ("Beef is an arrogant bastard with absolutly no regard for feelings of others. No one likes him and he wouldn't have it any other way. His ill temper and egotistical vanity make him the perfect rock star. He feels everyone is intitled to his opinion and if you don't like it you can fuck off.") and vile, and was crude even to Oderus (as indicated in the dialogue between the two in "Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins," between "Horror of Yig" and "Hate Love Songs"). While Bishop returned for We Kill Everything, his personality remained the same (possibly because Orr returned after the album was recorded). Not much is known about Todd Evans' take on Beefcake, though his entries in the GWAR.net blog again reflect extreme arrogance ("Feast on the limitless knowledge that your puny, under-developed mind craves...and feel free to ask what you will, you just may warrant a reply, but probably not so don't hold your breath!").
Beefcake currently plays ESP basses and Ampeg amplifiers. In the past, he has used Washburn, Steinberger, Jackson and Yamaha basses, as well as Dave Eden amplifiers. Bishop did not use a pick as Beefcake, but Orr did and Evans does.
He is the most frequent vocalist in GWAR, after Oderus, having sung lead on "Cool Place To Park," "Pussy Planet," "Eat Steel," "Fight," (by Bishop) "Crush Kill Destroy," "Hate Love Songs," (by Orr) and "The Bonus Plan" (by Evans). Beefcake has always had a high voice, in sharp contrast to his large size.
External links
Official Website [link]
Japanese Official Website [link]
| GWAR |
| Oderus Urungus | Flattus Maximus | Beefcake the Mighty | Jizmak Da Gusha | Balsac the Jaws of Death |
| Slymenstra Hymen | Nippleus Erectus |
| Albums: Hell-O | Scumdogs of the Universe | America Must Be Destroyed | This Toilet Earth | RagNaRok | Carnival of Chaos | We Kill Everything | Violence Has Arrived | War Party | Beyond Hell |
| Independent releases: Slaves Going Single | You're All Worthless And Weak | Let There Be GWAR |
| Other releases: The Road Behind | Hate Love Songs/Penguin Attack 7" | Live from Mt. Fuji |
| Related articles |
| ''GWAR videography | Dave Brockie Experience | Death Piggy | X-Cops |
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