Why JizMak Da Gusha wants to change Robert E. Lee statue to his GWAR bandmate
GWAR drummer, JizMak Da Gusha, talks to Yahoo Entertainment's Lyndsey Parker about the petition to change the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia, to his GWAR bandmate, Oderus Urungus.
Video Transcript
LYNDSEY PARKER: This is very exciting. We are now joined from an undisclosed location by the honorable JiZMak da Gusha from GWAR. How are you doing?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Oh my god, honorable? I don't know about that. Well, I am JiZMak, and the pleasure is all yours.
LYNDSEY PARKER: This is true. Like I said, it is an honor. So let's talk about this petition. It's for a very worthy cause. It is to have the Robert E. Lee statue be changed to be a statue of the late, great Oderus Urungus instead.
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Some human had the idea to start this petition on our behalf. And you know, I have to agree with this guy. It's a great idea to put Oderus on top of that monument instead of Robert E. Lee. You know, he's missed right now, and he's probably something that the world could use right now to clear up all the confusion and all the, you know, chaos that's going on. He was the captain of chaos, and he could bring some sort of order through chaos, and art, and music, and of course killing.
LYNDSEY PARKER: What do you think Oderus would think about this petition and this cause?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: I know he's peed on that monument before. That's-- he's absolutely done that before. I mean, I think all of us might have peed on that monument at some point in time. I don't know what he would think about it, you know? I think he would probably be right there on the frontlines. He would lead the battle cry. Oderus, as much as he loved to kill humans, he had a really great sense of justice, and he knew how to wield that and how to balance the scales, if you will, when he saw unfairness or some sort of discrimination.
LYNDSEY PARKER: So what was your reaction when you found out about this petition a few days ago?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: I thought it was hilarious. I thought it was a great idea, perfect idea. And actually, it was such a good idea that we've decided to spare that human's life who started the petition.
LYNDSEY PARKER: That is very kind of you. It's very--
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Yeah.
LYNDSEY PARKER: --a softer side of GWAR.
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Absolutely, absolutely.
LYNDSEY PARKER: So what's your vision for what the statue would look like? You said you went over to the site to kind of get an idea.
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Yeah, we have to gauge how many pulleys or, you know, cranes or whatever we're going to need to get him up there, you know? He's not-- he's not a small fellow, and he's definitely not light. The shoulder pads are probably 400 pounds. We're going to need a ton of [BLEEP] to get this done.
LYNDSEY PARKER: What was the reaction when you showed up in all your glory-- in all your GWAR glory-- to the site of the statue?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: It's very peaceful there. People are obviously creating to the art project that is now the Robert E. Lee monument. You know, they have some nice signs that are put around that area, you know, commemorating some of the, you know, the deaths that have occurred at the hands of American police.
Richmond, from what I understand, was a big slave trade city for this country. You know, it's become now the battle cry and ground zero for the Black Lives Matter movement. It's also become an art-- a living art installation, you know? So it obviously has a different meaning today than it did years ago. And I think that's pretty cool.
LYNDSEY PARKER: Are you guys-- GWAR-- getting involved in the protest?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: I can't make any promises right now, you know. We're all for peaceable assembly within the humans, you know? But our assembly is going to be quite violent. So you know, it might not be a great thing to have GWAR there. But you guys always like to talk about optics, so maybe the optics would be great. But the death would be happening.
LYNDSEY PARKER: The optics would be so great, JiZMak. They'd be so great. I kind of feel like GWAR and Oderus is the perfect replacement for this monument because in so many ways since GWAR came up, you've really embodied the American dream-- even though I know you're from another planet-- because you, you know, you embody the idea of free speech. Can you tell me a little bit about, like, your mission in that way?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: We came here, you know, from outer space. And we realized America was the only continent on the planet. And it's such a terrible planet, I mean-- and we just realized it was the only continent that you could actually say or do what you wanted to and probably get away with murder, as we're seeing. Even the law enforcement seems to be getting away with it.
So we're like, yeah, this is perfect for us, let's get in here. Plus, the other great thing about your planet is it was the only place in the universe that had crack. So that was the definite plus for us coming here and being in America.
LYNDSEY PARKER: Has GWAR gotten hassled by the cops? Because your shows have been so crazy. Have they ever been shut down or anything like that?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. It doesn't happen so much anymore. It's great, America has just gone down such a chaotic, miserable path, rabbit hole of bile and-- oh, it's just so terrible. But for us it's great, because no one's even looking at us anymore. Like, in the '90s, it was Tipper Gore and PM whatever RC, whatever that was, you know. Oh, explicit lyrics! Like, GWAR never cared.
And now, we're just trying to-- you humans are so terrible that you've knocked us off of our throne of being the worst thing that could happen on the planet. And now, we have to take that back from you. We have to just think of sicker ways to, you know, to kill you and to destroy your societies.
LYNDSEY PARKER: What song would you say of GWAR's-- of the entire catalog-- best kind of sums up what's going on in the world today, like, as an anthem?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Oh, it would be "Sick of You," because GWAR is so sick of you human beings fighting amongst each other, killing each other, selling each other, the narcissism. It's just terrible.
[MUSIC - "SICK OF YOU"]
ODERUS URUNGUS: (SINGING) So--
- --sick--
ODERUS URUNGUS: --of--
- --of--
ODERUS URUNGUS: --you. I'm so sick, so sick of you.
LYNDSEY PARKER: So why do you stay here? Why don't you, you know, if you--
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: I told you before, it's the crash. It's so good, we can't leave the planet.
LYNDSEY PARKER: Your fans are big on petitions, though. Like, a few years ago, there was a petition to have you guys play the Super Bowl the year that Bruno Mars ended up playing instead. Like, that got a lot of signatures.
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: They're just trying to pull at our heart strings and say we can do fun things like play the Super Bowl and start petitions, like, we can get a statue. That stuff's probably not going to happen. If it did happen, that would be pretty amazing. That would be a good step forward for you humans.
It would at least buy you some time so we wouldn't kill you, you know? It'd be like you gave us a trophy, and then we can ogle that for a while, and then distract us from actually slaughtering you. That would-- that might help. You know, if you wanted to save yourself, you would make statues of us everywhere.
LYNDSEY PARKER: Can this planet-- this country, in particular-- be saved? Are we beyond hope?
JIZMAK DA GUSHA: Well, let's hope so for GWAR's perspective. Let's hope so. But you know, America is like the teenager of the world. It's, like, the youngest of societies. So you guys are just acting like pimply-faced teenagers right now. And you should-- you know, once you grow up, you might have a [BLEEP] clue about what to do with your society and how to behave, and how to, you know, love, and all that crap that you humans need, you know?
We don't understand the concept of love. So for us, it's not important for us to get along, and have a society, and do that stuff. But apparently, it's very important for you. So you know, once you quit crying like a teenager, America, and grow up a little bit, you might get your [BLEEP] together.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
