Artist Biography by Steve Huey

One of new wave's most innovative and (for a time) successful

bands, Devo was also perhaps one of its most misunderstood. Formed in
Akron, Ohio, in 1972 by Kent State art students Jerry Casale and Mark
Mothersbaugh, Devo took their name from their concept of "de-evolution" -- the
idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed, as evidenced by
the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society. Their music echoed this
view of society as rigid, repressive, and mechanical, with appropriate touches -jerky, robotic rhythms; an obsession with technology and electronics (the group
was among the first non-prog rock bands to make the synthesizer a core
element); often atonal melodies and chord progressions -- all of which were
filtered through the perspectives of geeky misfits. Devo became a cult
sensation, helped in part by their concurrent emphasis on highly stylized
visuals, and briefly broke through to the mainstream with the smash single
"Whip It," whose accompanying video was made a staple by the fledgling MTV
network. Sometimes resembling a less forbidding version of the
Residents, Devo's simple, basic electronic pop sound proved very influential,
but it was also somewhat limited, and as other bands began expanding on the
group's ideas, Devo seemed unable to keep pace. After a series of largely
uninteresting albums, the band called it quits early in the '90s,
and Casale and Mothersbaugh concentrated on other projects.
Casale and Mothersbaugh both attended art school at Kent State University at
the outset of the '70s. With friend Bob Lewis, who joined an early version
of Devo and later became their manager, the theory of de-evolution was
developed with the aid of a book entitled The Beginning Was the End:
Knowledge Can Be Eaten, which held that mankind had evolved from mutant,
brain-eating apes. The trio adapted the theory to fit their view of American
society as a rigid, dichotomized instrument of repression ensuring that its
members behaved like clones, marching through life with mechanical,
assembly-line precision and no tolerance for ambiguity. The whole concept was
treated as an elaborate joke until Casale witnessed the infamous National
Guard killings of student protesters at the university; suddenly there seemed to
be a legitimate point to be made.
The first incarnation of Devo was formed in earnest in 1972,
with Casale (bass), Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals), and Mark's
brothers Bob (lead guitar) and Jim, who played homemade electronic
drums. Jerry's brother Bob joined as an additional guitarist, and Jim left the
band, to be replaced by Alan Myers. The group honed its sound and approach

for several years (a period chronicled on Rykodisc's Hardcore compilations of

home recordings), releasing a few singles on its own Booji Boy label and
inventing more bizarre concepts: Mothersbaugh dressed in a baby-faced mask
as Booji Boy (pronounced "boogie boy"), a symbol of infantile regression; there
were recurring images of the potato as a lowly vegetable without individuality;
the band's costumes presented them as identical clones with processed hair;
and all sorts of sonic experiments were performed on records, using real and
homemade synthesizers as well as toys, space heaters, toasters, and other
objects. Devo's big break came with their score for the short film The Truth
About De-Evolution, which won a prize at the 1976 Ann Arbor Film Festival;
when the film was seen by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, they were impressed
enough to secure the group a contract with Warner Bros.

Recorded under the auspices of pioneering producer Brian Eno, Q: Are We

Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was seen as a call to arms by some and became
an underground hit. Others found Devo's sound, imagery, and material
threatening; Rolling Stone, for example, called the group fascists. But such
criticism missed the point: Devo dramatized conformity, emotional repression,
and dehumanization in order to attack them, not to pay tribute to them.

While 1979's Duty Now for the Futurewas another strong effort, the band
broke through to the mainstream with 1980's Freedom of Choice, which
contained the gold-selling single "Whip It" and represented a peak in their
sometimes erratic songwriting. The video for "Whip It" became an MTV smash,

juxtaposing the band's low-budget futuristic look against a down-home farm

setting and hints of S&M. However, Devo's commercial success proved to be
short-lived. Released in 1981, New Traditionalists was darker and more
serious, not what the public wanted from a band widely perceived as a novelty
act, and Devo somehow seemed to be running out of new ideas. Problems
plagued the band as well: Bob Lewis successfully sued for theft of intellectual
property after a tape of Mothersbaugh was found acknowledging Lewis' role in
creating de-evolution philosophy, and the sessions for 1982's Oh, No! It's
Devo were marred by an ill-considered attempt to use poetry written by wouldbe Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley, Jr. as lyrical material.

As the '80s wore on, Devo found themselves relegated to cult status and critical
indifference, not at all helped by the lower quality of albums like
1984's Shout and 1988's Total Devo. With the band's shift toward electronic
drums, Alan Myersdeparted in 1986, to be replaced by exSparks and Gleaming Spires drummer David Kendrick. After the Rykodisc
label issued E-Z Listening Disc in 1987 -- which collected "Muzak"-style
version of fan favorites, originally issued on cassettes only sold at shows
-- Devo recorded another album of new material, Smooth Noodle Maps, in
1990, after which the bandmembers began to concentrate on other
projects. Mark Mothersbaugh moved into composing for commercials and
soundtracks, writing theme music for MTV's Liquid Television, Nickelodeon's
Rugrats, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, and the Jonathan Winters sitcom Davis Rules.
He also played keyboards with the Rolling Stones, programmed synthesizers
for Sheena Easton, and sang backup with Debbie Harry. Buoyed by this
success, Mothersbaugh opened a profitable production company called Mutato
Muzika, which employed his fellow Devo bandmates. Jerry Casale, meanwhile,
who directed most of the band's videos, directed video clips for the Foo
Fighters' "I'll Stick Around" and Soundgarden's "Blow Up the Outside World."
No reunions were expected, but as Devo's legend grew and other bands
acknowledged their influence (Nirvana covered "Turnaround," while "Girl U
Want" has been recorded by Soundgarden, Superchunk, and even Robert

Palmer), their minimalistic electro-pop was finally given new exposure on six
dates of the 1996 Lollapalooza tour, to enthusiastic fan response.

The following year, Devo released a CD-ROM game (The Adventures of the
Smart Patrol) and accompanying music soundtrack, in addition to playing
selected dates on the Lollapalooza tour. A pair of double-disc Devo anthologies
were released in 2000: the first was the half-hits/half-rarities Pioneers Who Got
Scalped: The Anthology (on Rhino), while the second was the limited-edition
mail-order release Recombo DNA (on Rhino's Handmade label), the latter of
which consisted solely of previously unreleased demos. In 2001,
the Mothersbaugh and Casale brothers reunited under the name the
Wipeouters for a one-off surf release, P'Twaaang!!! Casale would introduce
his Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers solo project with the 2006 album Mine Is Not
a Holy War. That same year, the band teamed with Disney for Dev2.0, a
band/project/album that involved a set of preteens re-recording
classic Devo tracks, although some lyrics were adjusted to be more "family
friendly."

Devo got back to releasing their own material in 2007 with the downloadable
single "Watch Us Work It," but a promised new album failed to materialize. In
2008 they returned to Akron for a rare show in support of Barack Obama's
presidential campaign, with all proceeds going toward the Summit County
Democratic Party. After deluxe 2009 reissues of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We
Are Devo! and Freedom of Choice sent the band back on the road to play said

albums live in their entirety, work resumed on a new album. By the end of the
year, it was announced that the band had once again signed with Warner for an
album originally titled "Fresh." An Internet campaign where fans got to choose
the full-length's 12 tracks inspired the 2010 effort, Something for Everybody.
Sadly, Bob Casale died suddenly and unexpectedly from heart failure on
February 17, 2014; he was 61 years old. In 2016 the Futurismo label reissued
Ryko's E-Z Listening Disc as EZ Listening Muzak with a new recording
of Something for Everybody's "Human Rocket" added to the lounge-style
collection.