X-Cops was the first side project from Gwar. It consisted of Gwar members and their extended “family” of musicians, as each member of X-Cops was, or had played in Gwar at some point. Each member of X-Cops performed in a police uniform and had their own character. X-Cops came out after the Ragnarok tour had ended. They released the album You Have The Right To Remain Silent… on Metal Blade Records in 1995. Included on the album was a cover of Deep Purple’s “HIghway Star” with altered lyrics to match to police theme. They also release a 7” single with the songs “Junkie” and “Beat You Down” on Man’s Ruin Records in 1996. The band was started by Pete Lee after being shot in a failed car jacking attempt. The idea itself happened when filming a commercial segment for Skulhedface. Lee and Brockie were dressed as police officers. Lee said, “What would be cooler than a bunch of cops playing kick-ass rock and roll?” Which then led to Lee, Brockie, Gwar’s drum technician, Mike Dunn starting out as a three-piece band. They later then added Casey Orr for vocals, and Mike Derks as another guitarist. By the time of their first show, their ranks had grown considerably. X-Cops did open for Gwar on some dates of the 1994 tour, which meant they literally just opened up for themselves. They did also play some tour dates in 1995 and 1996. Two X-Cops songs that were never officially recorded, but performed live, were “Nurture My Pig” (Which was a cover), and “Conflict Management”. Their final show was played in 1996 as Orr, Dunn, Lee and Musel had all left X-Cops and Gwar. Though, Dave Brockie Experience has since been known to cover X-Cops songs during live shows. X-Cops reunited for one show only at the 4th annual Gwar-B-Q in Richmond, VA, on August 17, 2013. 3 short skit-like videos of X-Cops was uploaded to the Gwar youtube channel in 2016. The videos consisted of most former members (besides Dave Brockie, Mike Dunn, and Dave Musel), “fighting crime” and what not. Merchandise was also released alongside the videos.
