When people think of Devo, they think of flower pot hats, yellow jump suits, and the song Whip It. However, there was so much more to this legendary band, and I would like to discuss this to you. Since their debut album, Are We Not Men? We Are Devo, came out thirty years ago, Devo has influenced countless number of bands and still have an impact to our culture to this day. Their image, live shows, and music videos are all part of an art that developed from the two main members, Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale been developing since the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when the two met at Kent State University in Ohio, which was also the place where riots happened in 1970 which resulted in four students getting killed, but that’s another story. Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were art students at the school, along with one time member Bob Lewis, began messing around with the concept of de-evolution, meaning that instead of evolving, mankind is actually regressing from the result of the dysfunction and herd mentality of society. All three of them began creating a number of art pieces based on the theory with satiristic results. Then, in 1972, the students, along with a number of various people, formed a sextet band that would become Devo. Their first performance came in 1973 at the Kent State Performing Arts Festival, which they filmed on a home recording unit which would later be on their home video The Truth about De-Evolution. In 1974, the band would again perform a live show at Kent State in the Student Governance Center for the Creative Art Festival, which would also be recorded and be on the same home video. For the next four years, the band would tour around the state of Ohio, creating and building a fan base wherever they played with different lineups including Mark’s brothers Jim and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald’s brother Bob would became a permanent member of the group. Later on, the two Bob’s would be portrayed as Bob I and Bob II. The band would also record a series of songs throughout this time period, putting together a sound that would uniquely be their own, and these recordings would be later released on anthologies and collections of the group. In 1976, Jim Mothersbaugh would leave the band and would be replaced by Alan Myers, one of Gerald Casale’s friends, and the band lineup would remain the same for the nearly ten years. Also, in that same year, Devo would release their film The Truth About De-Evolution, which would win an award at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. In the crowd for the showing of the film happened to be David Bowie and Iggy Pop, whom both were impressed by the band and film and helped Devo secure a record deal with Warner Bros. When the band started recording their debut album, Are We Not Men? We Are Devo, David Bowie was the original producer for it until he had to back out due to previous commitments. However, he was replaced by Brian Eno, whom worked with Bowie and was a well known producer at the time. Their debut album was released in 1978, it featured the songs Jocko Homo, Mongoloid, and their cover of The Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction. The album itself created a buzz around the music business, being it was one of the first “new wave” recordings. With the touring and even a guest performance on Saturday Night Live, Are We Not Men?, peaked at #78 on the billboard charts. Although it was a slow seller, it would prove to make a huge mark on music, and is now considered a classic album. With Devo being the buzz around the music business, the band immediately went back to the studio and recorded their second album , Duty Now for the Future, only nine months after Are We Not Men?. It was well received by critics and proved to be more commercially successful, peaking at #73. The album would feature the classic Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA, which would become a staple for all Devo concerts to come. It was around this time, Devo would perform in the now famous venues of Max’s Kansas City and CBGB’s in New York City. Also, during this time, and even since the formation of the band, Devo created a countless number of home videos of their performances and even made music videos almost three to four years prior to MTV. It was this time they created their now classic home video, The Men Who Make the Music, which featured a collection of music videos, live footage, and bits of film of characters they created, such as Booji Boy, General Boy, and the band dressed in many of their costumes. Also, during this time, Devo would collaborate with Neil Young in his film Human Highway. Guest in this film, Devo play a group of radioactive nuclear garbage men, and also would make some music for the soundtrack of the film, first of many to come. Neil Young was a huge fan of the group, so much he was inspired to make an all electronic album called Trans in 1984. With their popularity growing, Devo again went back to the studio to cut another album less than a year after their previous album release. This time, Devo put together a much tighter sound, using the synthesizer as their primary instrument, and called in Robert Margouleff as their producer, whom was an electronic innovator that produced some of the first techno albums that came in the 60’s and produced many of Stevie Wonder’s landmark 70’s albums. The result of their experiment was Freedom of Choice, a collection of tightly played, pop sensible songs with wit and character. Released in 1980, it was here that Devo made their breakthrough, the album rose up to #22 on the charts. Their first single from the album, Whip It, proved to help fuel the breakthrough, peaking at #14 while it’s video being a staple on the new television program at the time, MTV. Also, many other classic songs on the album include Girl U Want, which would later be covered by Soundgarden and Superchunk, Gates of Steel, and the title track. It was a monumental stance for the band, with TV show appearances and sold out shows brought the band to new heights. It would also give the band another soundtrack appearance with their cover of Working in a Coal Mine, featured in the movie Heavy Metal, and a release of a live EP to collect with the band’s growing popularity. The next year, after countless touring, Devo went back into the studios to record their first self-produced album, New Traditionalists. It was here, to many Devo fans, that the band peaked creatively. The album still riding high their success a year before, peaked at #23 on the charts. Although it didn’t produce another hit single as did the following year, it does include the classics Through Being Cool, and one of Devo’s greatest songs, Beautiful World, which would be featured in a Target commercial years later. Their popularity as a live show would not get tired out, as they would become a top act all through the first half of the 1980’s. Also, their videos would still be shown regularly on MTV. Then, in an attempt to produce another hit single, Devo went back to the studio to make their fifth album, Oh No, It’s Devo! The album was a critical and commercial failure, dropping over twenty points for their previous album, at #47. The band tried to push their single, Peek-A-Boo, to become a hit, but it failed to even crack the top 100. However, Peek-A-Boo would become another concert favorite for the band, and That’s Good would prove to be another fan favorite. It wouldn’t be until two years later the band would record another album, during this time they would concentrate on touring and would again score another soundtrack hit with the Theme for Dr. Detroit. Although Devo’s popularity was diminishing in the US, they remained popular overseas, especially in Australia, where they had some of their albums top their charts throughout the 1980’s. After two years since Oh No, It’s Devo!, the band went back into the studio to record Shout. It was their worst charted album to date, only peaking at #83, it was a disaster critically and commercially. The album, with their poor cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced, proved to be too much for drummer Alan Myers. The next year would see the departure of Myers, after ten years of service with the band. Shout would too result with Warner Bros. dropping the band from it’s label. Without a label and a drummer, Devo decided to take a break from each other and pursue some side projects. Mark Mothersbaugh would compose music for the popular TV show, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, while Gerald Casale would become a music video director, directing the likes of REM, Rush, Foo Fighter, and Silverchair in the years to come. Then, in 1987, Devo got back together, now with new drummer David Kendrick, signing a new record contract with Enigma Records to record their album Total Devo. Released in 1988, it failed to ignite their lost popularity, and a tour for the album proved poor. Then, in 1990, Devo decided to disband altogether and record their final album, Smoothnoodlemaps. It featured the song, Post-Post Modern Man, which made it to #7 on the Modern Rock Charts. Their farewell tour was too poorly received, due to low ticket sales, and it was immediately ended after a couple shows. After the break up, the members continued on with their side projects, Mark Mothersbaugh would start his own production company, Mutato Muzika, and brought his brother Bob and Bob Casale with him. The trio then would begin work on the music for the popular kids show, Rugrats. Gerald Casale would continue as a music video director. Over the seventeen years since breaking up, the band members would on and off perform live shows and record some new music, mainly for soundtracks. Their big comeback came in 1996 when asked to perform on some of the dates for Lollapalooza, which resulted in them headlining the concert the following year. Devo would also release a CD-ROM game called The Adventures of the Smart Patrol, in the late 1990’s. Also, just recently, the band has been talking of making a whole new album of new material and embarking on a huge tour. It has been a long journey for Devo, and their popularity and influence is still in full swing.
