GWAR Guitarist Dead Following Minneapolis Concert

I've sure everyone's already heard about this since it's now even being reported by the AP - Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot was found dead on the band's tour bus Thursday morning as they were about to cross the border into Canada. The story was first reported at MetalSucks, who received an exclusive message from the band about this shocking news. My thoughts and prayers go out to Cory's family and friends. No details about the cause of his death have been released.


Cory's last show with Gwar took place here in Minneapolis on Wednesday, November 2 at First Avenue. City Pages has posted some great pictures from this show, so go check them out. The band was en route to Edmonton, a grueling 1,200 mile, 20+ hour drive from Minneapolis, so presumably they were about to enter Canada from North Dakota when their fallen bandmate's body was discovered.


It's been probably 12-13 years since I last saw Gwar, having seen them twice in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as their short-lived side project X-Cops. They're always fun and entertaining to see, and it's remarkable that they can still draw 1,000 fans to a show as they did Wednesday night at First Avenue.