Flattus Maximus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Flattus Maximus | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Dewey Rowell Pete Lee Tim Harriss Zack Blair Cory Smoot |
|
| Genre(s) | Thrash metal Punk rock Shock rock |
|
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist | |
| Years active | 1985-present | |
| Label(s) | Metal Blade Records DRT Entertainment Slave Pit Inc. |
|
| Associated acts |
GWAR | |
| Website | GWAR official site |
|
Flattus Maximus is a guitarist in the heavy metal band GWAR. He is known by his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" implies (verified by various concerts) a flatulent character. His speaking mannerisms suggest a childlike intelligence and naivety (until recently; his entries in the current website's blog depict a different, more violent Flattus).
Contents |
[edit] GWAR Lore
Very little about Flattus Maximus is explained in GWAR lore. What is known is that he originates from the planet Home, he is illiterate, and that he attributes his "explosive guitar style" to a strict diet of vegetarians.
[edit] Flattus' History
The first man to portray the "armored clown" (taken from the pre-2005 web bio) was Dewey Rowell, who played on Hell-O and Scumdogs of the Universe. He left the band shortly after the "Tour De Scum" tape, and before America Must Be Destroyed, GWAR's third album, was recorded. Until mid-1992, after GWAR's now-(in)famous "Phallus In Wonderland" was released, there was no Flattus Maximus character. America Must Be Destroyed had all of its guitar parts (save two solos) played by Balsac the Jaws of Death. When playing those songs live today, in particular "The Road Behind" (that album's big single), it is typically Balsac, not Flattus, who plays the lead.
For the filming of "Phallus in Wonderland," a sculptor friend of the band, who goes by the name of "Stretch," played Flattus in the few scenes in which he was featured (the video for "Gor-Gor" features Stretch falling off of a building, and he plays piano in "Have You Seen Me?").
After a mini-tour in early 1992, Peter Lee was hired, at the recommendation of Ministry guitarist Mike Scaccia, as the new guitarist (Scaccia had turned them down to continue working with Ministry - Scaccia and Lee were both in a band together, along with future GWAR bassist Casey Orr; it was Lee who enlisted Orr in 1994). He first played on This Toilet Earth. In 1993, Lee was shot in an attempted carjacking, and was unable to film much of "Skulhedface" due to injuries to his stomach. He did manage to film a commercial segment with Dave Brockie, where Lee first suggested the idea of police officers (both were dressed as policemen) playing rock music. This joke turned into GWAR's first true spin-off band, X-Cops. One music video from that period, "Jack The World," features Lee as Flattus, and he is seen wearing a colostomy bag, which he also wore during a brief tour in October of 1993. Lee played on the next two albums, RagNaRok and Carnival of Chaos, and was in the films from that time frame (1995-late 1997), "Rendezvous With RagNaRok" and "Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins." In the interview segments of "Rendezvous...," Flattus is seen more than any other character (the others were a paranormal investigator played by Bob Gorman, Beefcake the Mighty, Balsac the Jaws of Death and Techno Destructo), and it is here where the childlike mannerisms truly surface. Lee left in December 1997, due to his recurring stomach problems stemming from the carjacking. His leaving of GWAR also forced the dissolution of the X-Cops.
In 1998, there again was no Flattus for some time. When GWAR's 1998 Halloween tour came around, Michael Bishop, who was filling in for Casey Orr as Beefcake, suggested Tim Harriss (who had previously played one GWAR show twelve years prior) of his band Kepone. Harriss would remain the Flattus character through the recording of We Kill Everything.
In 1999, after Orr returned, and before We Kill Everything was released, GWAR auditioned several guitarists for the role of Flattus Maximus. Zach Blair won the part, and became the reptilian cro-mag guitarist. He is seen in the film "It's Sleazy," and the music video for "Fuckin' An Animal," the last song on We Kill Everything. In 2001, GWAR, with Blair on guitar, recorded Violence Has Arrived, from which one music video, the concert favorite "Immortal Corrupter," was recorded. However, Blair was not featured in the "Immortal Corrupter" video, and was replaced by Tim Harriss for the video shoot. Blair, along with Casey Orr, left after the Blood Drive 2nd Campaign Tour (the second tour for Violence Has Arrived).
In September of 2002, a new Flattus was needed, and Corey Smoot, who had previously auditioned in 1999, was recruited. Smoot, being a talented producer, lent his technical skills to the recording of "War Party," and recently co-produced, as well as co-mixed (with Dave Brockie) GWAR's 2006 release, titled Beyond Hell. The two albums were recorded at Karma Studios, owned and operated by Smoot. He has been in the videos for "War Party", "Bring Back The Bomb", "Womb With A View", "School's Out" and "Eighth Lock" thus far.
[edit] Costume Evolution
As GWAR evolves from album to album, so must their characters. Flattus began life with a helmet with large horns, dinosaur-skull shoulder pads, a painted red face and long dreadlocks. During the 1990 Tour De Scum, Flattus' helmet changed into something resembling the horns of a ram, but this was a short-lived change. Flattus' three appearances in "Phallus In Wonderland" used his "Scumdogs" helmet. The second incarnation did away with the helmet, and the shoulder pads were enlarged. By "RagNaRok," the shoulder pads were brown dinosaur heads instead of skulls, and he had a tail and loincloth (scaly and brown). His face was still red, but was a mask, and his dreadlocks were shorter and stuck out like a palm tree. His shoulder pads changed slightly for "Carnival of Chaos," and would be the last change until after "We Kill Everything" was recorded. "We Kill Everything" has a photo of Flattus (presumably Michael Derks in said costume), and he is more or less the same (it is the same costume), minus the tail and taller. Blair's Flattus is the most drastic change: the shoulder pads became green (with some exposed bone and muscle, but mostly scale), the tail reappears (for the "WKE" photo shoot, Derks did not wear one), and, like the feet, shoulder pads and loincloth, is green and scaly. The face is less comical, and more like a bulldog (still red, though). The dreadlocks are white, and at their shortest. In the "Fuckin' An Animal" video, Blair's Flattus costume featured a tail, though in subsequent tours and videos it did not. Smoot's changes to the costume (to coincide with War Party) were mostly in the face and hair. The face is larger and more distorted, and the dreadlocks are white and black, and are pulled back. They are also considerably longer than before. The tail is gone. The shoulderpads are a bit larger and longer, whereas Blair's were more compact.
Beyond Hell-era Flattus has grey shoulderpads, green feet and a slightly redesigned face. The face closer depicts a Cro-Magnon (or GWAR's take on one), which fits Flattus' current description of himself ("It is me Flattus Maximus your reptilian/cro-mag/alien of flatulance and fury." Taken from his Oct. 18, 2005 blog entry), as well as the pre-historic theme of the costume.
[edit] Equipment
Like Balsac, Flattus uses ESP Guitars. (Smoot) uses discontinued Marshall Valvestate amplifiers and a Marshall JMP-1 preamp as his main rig (though, Krank amplifiers are used as backup). Also, he is known to use a Floyd Rose bridge extensively (unlike Balsac, though his newest guitar is equipped with one), and a Morley Bad Horsey wah-wah pedal.
