Tommy Meehan, a master of disturbing, grizzled, and gnarly sounds, has been slinging his axe with Squid Pisser and Cancer Christ, who revel in the toxicity that waves of molten effects and gargantuan tube amps provide.
If that sounds like a lot to take in, or the dissonance is giving you trouble, let’s allow Meehan to shed some light. “I try and create textures that I haven’t heard before,” he says. “I love using tons of effects and atypical melodies to keep things interesting.”
He adds: “I like to do somewhat structurally familiar things – but also, I want to turn things on their head. I want a section or a moment in each song that deviates from anything typical.”
For the often fake-blood-soaked Meehan, each night is another opportunity to create shock and awe – which is perfect as he recently joined the touring lineup of shock rock kings Gwar.
It was a case of right place, right time when Brent Purgason, aka Pustulus Maximus, left in November 2023: the outgoing guitarist elected Meehan as his replacement, leading to the invention of a new, yet-to-be-named character.
“I think the Gwar guys and me are like kindred spirits,” he says. “I grew up with that music; they’re like my teachers. I’ve always loved Gwar, so this is surreal. It’s a dream come true.
“To even be a part of the conversation right now, man, it’s crazy. I’m not sure what the future holds, but regardless, I’ll continue with Squid Pisser and Cancer Christ. I don’t know how I’ll balance it all – we’ll have to see what happens.”
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You’re taking over as Gwar’s lead guitarist in place of Brent Purgason. How did that go down?
“I go way back with Gwar; I was friends with Dave Brockie [founder and rhythm guitarist who died in 2014]. We had Dave in an animated cartoon associated with an old project of mine, and I stayed in touch with all the Gwar guys over the years.
“But I hadn’t talked to them since before Covid, and I’d started a band called Cancer Christ, and one of my main goals was to tour with Gwar. I actually said that out loud.
“About two years later I got an email about opening for Gwar on an East Coast tour. We did a whole month. Brent and I were hanging out a bunch, talking about guitars, and he said, ‘This is gonna be my last tour with Gwar.’ It was a huge decision for him. That’s when he started pushing for me to give it a go and talk to the guys about trying it.
“Brent got me up on stage one night in Pennsylvania, and that was the first time I played music with Gwar. I got to know them from there. We started talking more and went through an audition process. I’ve been going above and beyond to let them know I really want to play with them.”
Gwar have been through a lot of guitarists outside of Brent. Is the plan for this to be permanent?
“As far as it stands currently, we’re talking about a permanent situation. We’re both feeling each other out with this upcoming tour. But there are logistics – they live in Richmond, Virginia, and I’m in Los Angeles. We’re figuring out the logistics. But I’ve been sharing a lot of demos with them and bouncing ideas back and forth.”
Considering your style is very different from Brent’s, what makes you a good fit for Gwar?
“It’s a style that’s different and not necessarily natural to me. There have been many guitarists in Gwar, and there’s been a lot of passing of techniques and information, so I’ve been learning songs from the whole catalog. There’s a lot of stuff with delay, and some cheesy cock-rock, which I haven’t played much of lately. For this first tour I’ll emulate what’s come before me.”
What types of sounds do you plan to bring to the table?
“I’m excited to infuse some nasty, dirty, effects-laden stuff, potentially. If we decide to write an album together, I’d like to bring some dissonance and atonal mods and rigs. I like the potential of bringing that stuff to Gwar and making it sound disgusting sonically. It’ll be interesting to see if we can get there.”
And what effects do you lean on most when creating those types of sounds?
“There’s a company in Japan called Banana Effects, and they make these little yellow pedals. One that I like is called the Mandala, which is a glitch pedal. It’s very interactive with what you put into it regarding samples and snippets. I’ve leaned hard on that lately.
“I like the Apocalypse, which is fuzz by Death by Audio. It’s disgusting and distorted. The other big one I’m using is the Electron Fuzz by Retro Mechanical Labs; it’s gross and noisy, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. And there's the Tone-Lok series by Ibanez, which are from about 20 years ago and heavily repped by Limp Bizkit.”
How about amps?
“I’ve been rocking an Orange Dual Dark 100. I use it with all my bands, and I’ll have it with Gwar. I also have a Verellen Skyhammer, which is amazing – especially since Verellen is no longer making amps. And I have various cabs, like this old Marshall I got when I was 14. It’s beat to shit, but it’s one I’ve used forever.”
Brent was more into Floyd Rose-equipped shred guitars – that’s very different to what you’re known for.
The story is going to be that Pustulus went out for a pack of smokes and never came back. We need to figure out where he’s at in the storyline
“My main guitar is a custom guitar from the Electrical Guitar Company. It has a Fender Jazzmaster-style tremolo. It’s all aluminum, the neck is super-thin, and it’s heavy as hell. It’s covered in fake blood and sweat and it’s all dinged up; it's supposed to look shiny and beautiful.”
What about shred guitars?
“I just ordered a new guitar from Radical Instrument Products that’s like this gnarly shape: the Star Destroyer shape. It’s hot pink with bangle strips, and I’ll be rocking that as my new Gwar character.
“I’m also going to be rocking a Jackson with a Floyd Rose as part of my rig. As you said, Brent had leaned into that sound before me, so it’ll be fun to revisit that after so many years of not playing with a Floyd.”
What will your Gwar character look like?
“As we’re still feeling each other out for this tour, the character will look a lot like Brent’s Pustulus Maximus character. It’ll be from that bloodline, with a lot of similar features. Physically, there will be pieces modified from recent Pustulus designs.
“I’ll have my own name. The story is going to be that Pustulus went out for a pack of smokes and never came back. We need to figure out where he’s at in the storyline and have meetings on that. That’s all I can say now. Oh – and I think I’m gonna have a mullet!”
Gwar aside, what’s next for you?
“My band Squid Pisser is doing a four-song EP with Skin Graft Records. It’s a teaser for a full album and a 24-page comic book coming out later this year. We’ll have a tour in Europe based around ArcTanGent Festival. My other band, Cancer Christ, is also planning its next record.
“Beyond that, I’ll be feeling out the Gwar situation and seeing what comes of it. We’re vibing on the potential of working on music together, and Gwar is also working on another movie. We’ re chatting about my involvement with that – musically or otherwise.”
- Gwar’s first tour with Meehan aboard kicks off on March 3. See Gwar.net for full dates.
