| 04/12/08 11:24 PM |
#4
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Kevin Kuhn
For Inquiring Minds:
Devo
was formed in Akron, Ohio, in 1972. Their style of music was known as punk, art rock, and post punk. They are remembered for their 1970's and 1980's New Wave sound. They were one group which helped introduce the synth pop sound of the 1980's. They were also pioneers to the music video world. They created many clips which were very popular in the early days of MTV.
Devo was first known as Sextet Devo which performed at the 1973 Kent State performing Arts Festival. The members consisted of Gary Casale, Bob Lewis, Mark Mothersbaugh, Geralds brother Bob Casale (guitar player), and their friends, Rod Reisman and Fred Weber (drums and vocals). This lineup only performed one time and when Devo returned to perform in the Student Governance Center. The lineup consisted of the Casale brothers, Bob Lewis, Mark and Jim Mothersbaugh. The group released their best known hit called, Whip it, and it reached the Top 40 immediately after it was released.
The Devos continued to release albums such as, New Traditionalists in 1981, Oh, No! Its Devo in 1982, and Shout In 1984. Shout was a commercial failure and their record label, Warner Bros. Dropped them from their label. Shortly after that Alan Meyers left the band and the band shut down for two years.
In 1987 the band reformed with David Kendrick as their new drummer. They recorded for the soundtrack of the horror movie called, Slaughterhouse Rock. They had also previously collaborated with Basil on her album, Word of Mouth, in 1982. She was also in a relationship with Gerald Casale. The group released the album, Total Devo, in 1988 on the Enigma Records label. Two of the songs on the album were used in the Slaughterhouse Rock movie and the song, Baby Doll (also from the album), was used in the movie, Tapeheads. After that the band went on tour.
Devo toured from August,2006 until November, 2006. They also toured in the U. K. and performed at the Brighton Dome in East Sussex on June 18, 2007. They also appeared in Barcelona just 2 days prior to that. They also appeared in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, Ireland, and in Bergamo and Azzano, Italy.
In an interview with Gerald Casale, in April, 2007, it was announced that they had an upcoming project for a movie about Devos earlier days. The script is tentatively called, The Beginning Was the End. The production has not been confirmed yet. Casale also stated that there was new material in the works. Devo recorded a new song called, Watch Us Work it, in 2007 and it was featured in a commercial for Dell. In July it was announced that there would be a full length music video for the song soon. Their song called, Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy, will be featured in the upcoming skateboard video game called, Skate.
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