The Devo FAQ

Last revision: 2002-Feb-22
Collected by Raju Tavadia.
These pages are no longer being updated.

ACHTUNG!
Now you can read the official Devo newsgroup on the web! This is the easiest way to keep up with what's going on with Devo these days.
Also, be sure to check the official Devo sites: Club Devo and Mutato Muzika!

Men Who Make the Music
Devo members, past and present
Products
Audio and video releases
Mutato Muzika
The post-Devo music project
De-Evolution Worldwide
Side projects, movies, and television appearances
Jerry Tells It
Information from Jerry Casale
The Printed Page
Books related to Devo
Cover Songs
Contemporary versions of classic songs
Miscellany
Miscellaneous tidbits
We're All Devo
More Devo sites on the Internet
Pay to Consume
More Devo that will cost you money
Beautiful World
The beautiful mutants who helped me assemble all this
About
About this site

Click here for a printable version (everything on one page).

Members and Machinery

1974-Early 1976:
Mark Mothersbaugh (voices, synths), Gerald V. "Jerry" Casale (bass, vox), Bob Mothersbaugh (guitar) and Jim Mothersbaugh (homemade electronic drums). Jim eventually went to work for Roland (one of the top electronic musical instrument companies in the world) and he is listed as a technical consultant on Total Devo. Roland equipment figured, uh, *kind* of prominently on that album.
Late 1976-1985:
Mark (voices, synths), Jerry (bass, vox), Bob "Bob 1" Mothersbaugh (lead guitar), Bob "Bob 2" Casale (rhythm guitar), and Alan Myers (all kinds of drums, none of them homemade).
1986-1990:
Alan Myers replaced by David Kendrick, friend of Bob 2. Dave was formerly in a band called Sparks, which was a something of a merge between two other bands called Bates Motel and Gleaming Spires (members of one band were "lent" to the other on occasion.) "Somewhere With Devo" on Now It Can Be Told is from Gleaming Spires' cover tune. Jim Mothersbaugh was a tech for Sparks in 1984 before Kendrick went to Devo. Alan left the band because he saw his role diminishing as electronic drums became predominant. He now plays drums in his wife's band, Babushka. He's also an electrical/sound technician.
1991-1994:
Devo, fed up with the Spinal Tap-isms they've endured over the last few years, decides to break up. Mark starts Mutato Muzika, a film/television scoring company. Bob 2 becomes his resident sound engineer while Bob 1 works on some of the scores. Jerry explores filmmaking and is the driving force behind getting the Hardcore Devo albums and The Complete Truth About Devolution laserdisc released. David Kendrick vanishes!
1995:
No one seems to know who played drums on "Are You Ready?!" and the new version of "Girl U Want." However, it should be noted that "GUW" was played in a similar style on the ill-fated smoothnoodlemaps tour, when David was part of the band.
1996:
Josh Freese was the drummer for Devo's "reunion show" in Park City, Utah (Jan 26th), and Devo's portion of the Lollapalooza '96 tour. He has also played with Suicidal Tendencies, Paul Westerberg, Juliana Hatfield, School Of Fish and Infectious Grooves.
1997:
David Kendrick is spotted drumming for Andy Prieboy!

Bob 1 has sung lead on "Secret Agent Man", "37", "Baby Talkin' Bitches", "Midget", and also sings backing vox. We used to think Bob 2 sang on "Blow Up", "Working In A Coalmine" and "Bread & Butter", but it's been suggested that It's Not Right; it could be Mark, pitch-shifting his voice. After much debate and many citings of an article from Roland, Scott Orsi seems to have come up with an explanation that sort of satisfies me: they used a harmonizer back then, which offered a primitive version of pitch-shifting.

Still, I think the first "It's never straight up and down...." in "Wiggly World" on The Men Who Make The Music speaks volumes as to what Bob 2's voice sounds like. It sounds like the guy in "Blow Up".

Birthdays

Mechanical Man

Guitars and Basses

Devo had an effects box built for them called the "Devobox"; I'd appreciate any info on it...

Bob 1 has used plenty of different guitars. These are the ones I can recognize:

Jerry has used Steinberger and Gibson (or Epiphone?) 4-string bass guitars, in addition to numerous bass synths. The bass he plays in "Satisfaction" was a Ripper with the horns sawed off.

Mark plays a Fender Telecaster in the "Satisfaction" video. (Most of them don't require quite that much cable, though.)

Synthesizers

From Chimera7 (edited for clarity)

Lately, I've been reading a lot of inquiries about Devo's synthesizer setup. Hopefully, the list below will answer some questions. For each synth, I've listed an album, song, or time period in which the synth was used. Please keep in mind, however, that Devo was *very* much infatuated with the electronic and bizzare sounds, so they used everything from synthesizers, toys, and homemade equipment to space heaters and toasters.
ARP
Odyssey: "Gates Of Steel" lead sound, "Girl U Want" lead sound.
Casio
Concert usage
Eika Aoshima MIDI Wrist Watch
Total Devo
Electronic Dream Plant
Wasp: One of Jerry's first bass synthesizers.
EML
ElectroComp 500: "Whip It" whip sound, "Through Being Cool" V-2 rocket sound, "Race Of Doom" explosion sound.
Poly-Box: Seen in the "Satisfaction" video.
Emu
Emulator: Oh No! It's Devo!, Shout
Fairlight
Series IIx: Shout, Total Devo (used only for sequencing on this album)
Hohner
Clavinet: Q: Are We Not Men?
Linn
LM-1: New Traditionalists, Oh, No! It's Devo!, Shout
LinnDrum: New Traditionalists, Oh, No! It's Devo!, Shout
Mellotron
Early studio use
Moog
Liberation: Freedom Of Choice
Minimoog: "Mongoloid" lead, "Whip It" bassline, etc. Heavily used by Devo from the 1970's through the early 1980's.
Custom dual Minimoog: A six oscillator 'monster' custom built for Devo. Mainly used by Jerry for basslines.
Prodigy: Another one of Jerry's early bass synths.
Source: "Through Being Cool" lead synth, "Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth" lead synth
Vocoder: Used on early demos and various albums.
Optigan
Early studio use, E-Z Listening "Beautiful World"
Roland
D-50: Total Devo
Jupiter 6: New Traditionalists, Oh, No! It's Devo!
Jupiter 8: New Traditionalists, Oh, No! It's Devo!, Shout
JX-3P: Shout
JX-8P: Shout, Total Devo
MKS-80: Total Devo
MKS-100: Total Devo
S-10: Total Devo
S-50: Total Devo
S-550: Total Devo
SH-101: Oh No! It's DEVO, Freedom Of Choice (the red one "Whip It")
SVC-350 Vocoder: New Traditionalist, "Beautiful World".
Sequential Circuits
Prophet 5: Used by Devo from the late 1970's until New Traditionalists (1981).
Suzuki
Omnichord: Oh, No! It's Devo!
Synare
Various drum pads, reputed to have been used in videos because "they looked like little UFOs".
Vox
Continential: Early studio use.
drumbox: New Traditionalists
Yamaha
DX-7: Used on Devo's albums during the early 1980's.

We also know that Mark used Fairlight and Roland equipment on his Muzik For Insomniaks albums and now at Mutato Muzika. Mutato uses all kinds of recording equipment, including Mitsubishi, Sony, and Tascam.

Video (Compilation) Releases

The Men Who Make The Music
(1980 Warner Bros, originally from Time-Life) VHS
We're All Devo
(1990 Rhino, originally 1983 Sony) VHS
The Complete Truth About Devolution
(1993 Voyager) Laserdisc only
Devo Presents: Adventures of the Smart Patrol
(1996 Inscape) Mac/Windows CD-ROM

Each of these compilations has unique videos and ones that can be seen on one or both of the other two, so you've simply got to buy all of them. :-)

Devo mentioned in their IRC chat that they will try to release the Sundance/Park City performance on video someday. They may also release some of the Lollapalooza '96 shows.

Video Characters

Booji Boy:
Himself (actually Mark Mothersbaugh)
General Boy:
Robert L. Mothersbaugh, Sr.
Rod Rooter:
Michael Schwartz
Donut Rooter:
Larraine Newman
Dr. Byrthfood:
Dr. Timothy Leary
Spazz Attack (from the "Satisfaction" video):
Craig Allen Rothwell
Daddy Know-It-All:
Earl "Petie" Peterson

Chuck Statler generally helps out on video production/direction. He was the director of Devo's first film, "The Truth About De-Evolution." He is not a member of the band (nor is Jerry's name "Corsalis") as "reported" in Wired magazine. There's an interview with him on the laserdisc.

The Laserdisc

A review of the laserdisc follows, courtesy of Sammy Larson:

OK guys, I've just had a run-through of the laserdisc, so here is What I Know:
This laserdisc contains EVERYTHING that Devo still has in the way of video products that they made. Unfortunately some video has been lost over the years (video shorts that they did for concerts) and some video they do not have the rights to (Honda Scooter commercial). But just a quick scan of the contents assures you that they went to great pains to make this as complete as they could.
There are two soundtracks to the disc, as mentioned in this group before. The digital track consists of the basic soundtrack, i.e. the music. The analog track consists of the music plus commentary by Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, describing the details and circumstances surrounding what is being shown, as well as anecdotes about the Devo legacy. Side 1 is in extended play format (CLV) while side 2 is Full Feature Format (CAV) which allows stills to be shown.
So without any further ado, here are the contents of the disc:

Side One (CLV)
  1. Logos
  2. Titles
  3. Devo Corporate Anthem (1979)
  4. In The Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-evolution (1976-1977)
  5. Satisfaction (1978)
  6. A word about laserdiscs
  7. Come Back Jonee (1979)
  8. The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise (1979)
  9. Worried Man (1979)
  10. Whip It (1980)
  11. Girl U Want (1980)
  12. Freedom Of Choice (1980)
  13. Another word about laserdiscs
  14. Through Being Cool (1981)
  15. Love Without Anger (1981)
  16. Beautiful World (1981)
  17. Time Out For Fun (1982)
  18. Peek-A-Boo (1982)
  19. That's Good (1982)
  20. More about laserdiscs
  21. RU Experienced? (1984)
Side Two (CAV)
  1. The final word about laserdiscs
  2. Disco Dancer (1988)
  3. Post Post-Modern Man (1990)
  4. Post Post-Modern Man, Rocky Schenck remix (1990)
  5. Devo music video credits
  6. Supplement opening/directory
  7. Chuck Statler interview
  8. Tour film
  9. Early live gigs
  10. Photos
  11. The deal
  12. Albums, singles, CDs
  13. Posters
  14. Devo-wear and T-shirts
  15. Buttons, pins, badges
  16. Miscellaneous de-evolution
  17. Kindred spirit
  18. Laserdisc production credits
  19. Color bars

Notes:

The rest is pretty self-explanatory. The audio track is priceless for the hardcore devotee. Jerry and Mark explain the ideas behind each video and exactly how each one came about, and then how well they were received (and perceived). It gives the listener a real feel for what the band was going through during their career. It's not pretty, but it's real devo.

Some of you have asked where to get ahold of this gem. I suggest you go to a video rental store and ask them to order it for you. Expect to pay about $45 - $50, but rest assured it is worth it. The word 'Complete' in the title is not an idle boast, as I have attempted to show. Even if you do not own a laserdisc player (I'm probably not alone here) many video stores will rent you one, and then you can dub it off onto a VHS tape. You'll have to dub it twice if you want a copy with and without the commentary of course. BUT THIS WILL NOT EVER BE RELEASED ON VHS because of its interactive nature. So get it now before it becomes unavailable.

sammy

p.s. Jerry signed my copy by writing "Were we right? Or just Devo". Pretty cool.

The CD-ROM

"DEVO Presents: Adventures of the Smart Patrol" was released in 1995. Furthermore, a plain-vanilla soundtrack was also released because, according to Jerry, "The audio on CD-ROM is so crummy."

Devo PRESENTS ADVENTURES OF THE SMART PATROL
Inscape's Fall 1995 release on MPC/Windows and Mac is the timely and totally deranged, "Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol." (TM) Now that we have Beavis and Butthead who needs devolution anymore? In fact, we need it more than ever! And you'll get plenty of it when inscape brings you Devo's interactive, live action, surrealistic adventure in Spudland - a land created for you by the "whip it" boys where new diseases, virtual drugs and subhumans abound at every twisted turn. Can Boogie Boy and the Smart Patrol recapture Turkey Monkey, the hideous recombinant beast, before the evil Rod Rooter of Big Entertainment gets him first? You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you may even escape this ROM-mare before you contract the dreaded disease that turns your bones to jelly.

Jerry Casale was the software's author and overall creative director; Mark Mothersbaugh developed the CD-ROM's audio track and music.

An interesting coincidence is that the actor who plays "Grady" on the disc happened to be the author of the (original) Mutato web site.

Mutato Muzika

Mutato Muzika is Mark's own label; Bob Casale and Bob Mothersbaugh work with him. Mark and Bob 1 write the music, Bob 2 engineers it. Denis M. Hannigan often works on the same shows as Mark, and emails his MIDI data to Mutato via America Online. They're doing quite well finding contracts these days. Their address is:

Mutato Muzika
8760 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 650-0561
boojiboy@mutato.com

Their web site is http://www.mutato.com.

Much of the Devo-and-friends discography is currently available there, as are copies of the books "What I Know, Volume 1" (Mark's art & autobiography) and Booji Boy's "My Struggle". If you're looking for the latest Devo output, check there.

TV Credits

Mark has been nominated for about 3 Emmy awards!

Movies

CD-ROM

Art

Other Stuff

Devo's World Service

Music

The Moog Cookbook
Did a version of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" on their second album; Mark does the synth solo.
David Byrne
Feelings contains a track called "Wicked Little Doll", which was recorded at Mutato Muzika and has Jerry doing backup vocals.
The Daredevils
One of the Devos hooked up with Brett Gurewitz (formerly of Bad Religion) and called themselves "The Daredevils".
Andy Summers
... (guitarist for The Police) did a project called XYZ that was engineered by Bob 2. The video for the Big Single was directed by Jerry Casale - a black and white video of two people at a party (Andy and a girl) looking for each other.
Visiting Kids
Mark+Jerry+Bob 1 played instruments and their children sang. It's distributed by New Rose Records (Rose 230 CD). The video for their Big Single "Trilobites" is in the Devo Bootleg Archive. Incidentally, Alex Mothersbaugh is pictured on the cover of Shout - Bob 1's daughter. Alex Casale is thanked on smoothnoodlemaps as being born on March 5th, 1990. Nancy(e?) Ferguson was a member of the Visiting Kids, (obviously one of the older ones) and Mark has been married to her since about 1993. I'm guessing she's one of the girls in the liner for Now It Can Be Told, since they both match her description. She's also in the "Disco Dancer" video.
Toni Basil
Her Word Of Mouth album was produced by Devo and some of the boys played on the album. There were covers of "Pity You", "Be Stiff", and "Space Girl Blues". Spazz Attack performed in the "Be Stiff" video.
Jermaine Jackson
They sang backup on "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy".
Martini Ranch
... was a band with Bill Paxton (he played "Hudson" in the movie Aliens) and Andrew Todd. Bob Casale produced the track "How Can The Laboring Man Find Time For Self-Culture?", while Mark and Alan played on it. Mark sang additional vocals on one other track, "Fat-Burning Formula". Ivan Ivan, who remixed a lot of Devo's later material produced two other unrelated-to-Devo tracks. The album was called Holy Cow. The disc is out of production but a 12" mix of "Hot Dog" appears on the Just Say Yo compilation disc, the second disc of the Just Say Yes series.
Barnes & Barnes
Bob 2 produced a cover of "What's New Pussycat" on the Zabagabee album. On the Soak It Up EP, Mark co-wrote "Before You Leave (Positive Life)", which used the music from Devo's "I Desire". Barnes & Barnes are Bill Mumy and Robert Haimer, who also worked on "Adventures In Wonderland" when Mutato didn't. Annerose B¨cklers, who sang backup on "Deep Sleep", also co-wrote B&B's "Monkey Life" from Soak It Up. Rocky Shenck, who did one of the "Post-Post Modern Man" remixes, also worked on art and photography for several B&B albums, including Soak It Up. Booji Boy appeared in the "Zabagabee" video, talking about how B&B taught him to "wax his carrot", and then proceeded to demonstrate...
Barnes & Barnes gained notoriety with their "Fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads" song.
Hugh Cornwell and Robert Williams
The Mothersbaugh brothers are featured on one song on the album called Nosferatu, done by Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers and former Captain Beefheart drummer Robert Williams in the late 70's. The name of the song is "Rhythmic Itch", which Mark helped write. It's on Liberty/United records cat # UAG 30251.
The Boogie Boys
Mark and Booji made an appearance in the "You Ain't Fresh" video.

Jerry Casale, music video director

Soundgarden
"Blow Up the Outside World"
Silverchair
"Freaks"
Foo Fighters
(Dave "Nirvana drummer" Grohl's band, also featuring Pat "Sometimes Nirvana backing guitarist" Smear). The name of the video is "I'll Stick Around". An MTV interview with Grohl revealed that he picked up We're All Devo and was amazed by what he saw. He found Jerry's name under the directing credit and approached him. Dave "wanted to make a video like a Devo video - without being a parody of one."
Jane Siberry
"One More Colour"
The Cars
"Touch & Go" and "Panorama"
Rush
"Mystic Rhythms" (from Power Windows) & "Superconductor" (from Presto)

TV

"The Last American Virgin"
... used "Whip It" and had a scene where a partygoer wore an energy dome and a New Traditionalists t-shirt.
"Clueless"
"Freedom of Choice" was used.
"Miami Vice"
"Through Being Cool" and "Going Under" were used.
"Rudy Coby, The World's Coolest Magician"
... used "Puppet Boy" in his 1995 (94 if you're English) TV special.
Honda Scooters, Coca Cola
Devo did commercials for them in the eighties. Commercials these days capitalize on "Whip It" (Twix candybars in '96, a Sunbeam cover version in '96, and a White Castle ad featuring an energy dome replica).
"21 Jump Street"
"Uncontrollable Urge" was used in an episode centered around some M.I.T. nerds.

Movies

Boogie Nights
"Jerkin' Back 'N Forth" was used in the trailer.
Mike's Murder
"Beautiful World" is used during a male strip scene.
Rockula
The Visiting Kids' music was used in this movie starring Dean Cameron, Thomas Dolby Robertson, Toni Basil, and Bo Diddley.
Supercop
Devo covered nine inch nails' "Head Like a Hole" and provided the original song "Supercop" for this Jackie Chan movie.
Casino
"Whip It" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" were used in Martin Scorcese's 1995 movie. The original version of "Working In A Coalmine" is also used!
Happy Hour
Devo starred with Tawny Kitaen and Jamie Farr.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
"Are You Ready?!" is on the sountrack and is featured prominently during a fight scene in the movie.
Tank Girl
"Girl U Want" was completely reworked, rerecorded, and played over the opening credits. The sountrack CD has Mark's vocals, but the movie uses a version with female vocals.
Big Meat Eaters
"Pink Jazz Trancers" is used.
Nine and a Half Weeks
"Bread and Butter". This one is easily availible on the soundtrack album; However, the liner from the CD says that the song does not appear in the US theatrical version of the film.
Fright Night
"Let's Talk"
Dr. Detroit
"Theme From Dr. Detroit" and "Luv Luv" for ("Theme..." has a video on We're All Devo but not The Complete Truth...)
Tapeheads
There is a Swedish version of "Baby Doll" on the soundtrack. Doug says:
The two main charcters (the tape heads) are hired to produce a video of "Baby Doll" for a Swedish band. It's presented as an original tune, rather than a Devo cover. The song appears nearly in it's entirety as a big Sweedish guy and his band have paint poured and sprayed on them. Pretty good movie. Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedy's fame makes a cameo as an FBI agent.
Slaughterhouse Rock
They worked with Toni Basil on the soundtrack. Brian Larson wrote:
Anyway, Devo did the music for it (that's what the credits say, but I suspect it's more like Mark Mothersbaugh did the music). It's mostly just electronic background music as the undead are biting off heads and (in one memorable scene) punching fists through a guy's face all the way through the back of his head. There was one song in the movie that Toni Basil (of "Hey Nikki you're so fine..." fame) sings. This song is pretty good, but I don't remember it. It is heard several times throughout the movie. This song was written by Devo but not performed by them for the movie.
The Human Highway
Devo was featured in the Neil Young film. This is where the footage used in the video "A Worried Man" comes from. They had Booji singing "Hey Hey My My" with Neil and they also did "Come Back Jonee". A quote from Denis C Warburton:
The film "Human Highway" was a film by Neil Young. It starred Devo, Dennis Hopper, the guy who played Al in "Quantum Leap" (sorry, I can't remember his name at the moment), and of course, Booji Boy. It was originally billed as a nuclear comedy. What it actually turned out to be was a really pathetic film, although there is some great Devo footage in the film ("Worried Man" song, misc. bits w/ the spud boys & Booji, and "Come Back Jonee" live footage from Mahubay Gardens, and Booji & the spud boys playing some song with Neil Young.) You can get a copy of this movie from the Devo Bootleg Archive, although I recently heard (I believe it was this newsgroup) that "Human Highway" was going to be released on video sometime in the near future... Bottom line: Devo parts are good, the rest of the film sucks.
There's an article on the film in the Aug 19, 1995 issue of Billboard; Devo's mentioned a lot. The video has finally been released and should cost you under $20. It's been re-edited, so now the Devo parts are longer and the really horrible parts are shorter. Oh yeah, I've heard that Neil made everything up the night before each scene was shot.
Spirit of '76
Info from robert@nfinity:
Also, DEVO did cameo in this movie "The Spirit of '76", the one about the future people who try to time travel to 1776 to retrieve the constitution to save the future. Instead they wind up in 1976. Mark, Bob, Gerald (I think), and David Kendrick are all in the film at the beginning and end. I *think* David Kendrick had an actual part. They were in the credits as "Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO!"
Pray-TV
Devo was featured as DOVE. They sang a rippin' version of "Shrivel Up".
Revenge of the Nerds
There was a band dressed up as Devo, and for the second movie Mark and Jerry wrote tunes and had Devo perform them.
Neuromancer
Devo is rumored to have written a complete soundtrack for a movie version of William Gibson's Neuromancer novel. The movie was never made. Some people say they released the songs as an EP, but this is doubtful. "Some Things Never Change" from Total Devo was sampled in the intro screen for the Neuromancer computer game and was used in an instrumental version as the background music for the entire game. My best guess would be that they included the songs from the would-be movie on the Total Devo album, which is why it is so long (52 min. CD instead of the usual 30-35 min. albums--although we must consider that they had four years to work on it!). Some more info comes from JoeRo:
I talked to Gibson about this a couple of years ago. The movie was never made. The guys who optioned the movie rights for Neuromancer were "complete amateurs" according to Gibson (apparently they named their production company Cabana Boys Co because that's what their last day jobs were!) Unfortunately Gibson at the time was almost as clueless about this part of the game as they were and sold the rights to the wrong people for less than they were worth. However, they revert back to him after some years (I don't recall how many) so he may eventually get a movie made. Too late for Devo, though.
Maybe not. I don't know how successful the Johnny Mnemonic movie eventually was, but at the time of its release I started hearing rumors that Gibson was going to finally get Neuromancer to the silver screen because of Johnny. Supposedly, this was why the "Molly" character was written out of JM; something about legal troubles if she was used in Neuromancer. I asked Interplay if they planned to rerelease or redo the game, but they said they had no such plans. Maybe if a movie actually gets made, they'll change their tune.
Urgh...A Music War
... doing "Uncontrollable Urge" live.
Heavy Metal
They (sort of) appeared in the film. A spudly band performs "Through Being Cool" towards the end of the movie, and "Working In A Coal Mine" is played over the closing credits.

Devo Performing on TV

Many of these performances can be had from the Devo Bootleg Archive.

The PBS series "On Tour"
... featured Devo in two episodes (#3 and #18).
"Ellen"
Devo performed the theme song dressed in yellow suits and blonde wigs. ('96)
"American Bandstand"
In 1981, they lip-synched "Snowball". Bernadette Peters was also on the show.
"Saturday Night Live"
Twice; the first was October 18, 1978 when they played "Satisfaction", and the second one was during the oh no! it's DEVO era (The boys sang "That's Good" and shot rubber chickens out of the air during the "POP!" parts in the song.)
"The Merv Griffin Show"
Around '81-'82, They wore the plastic hairpieces and gave one to Merv. The first time, they did "Freedom Of Choice", "Whip It", and "Snowball". The second time, they performed "Jerkin' Back 'n Forth" and "Working In a Coalmine" on treadmills and showed the video for "Beautiful World".
"Mike Douglas"
"Whip It" lip-synched
"Square Pegs"
"That's Good"
"Late Night with David Letterman"
During the Oh No! It's DEVO era.
"The (pre) Halloween TV Concert in 3-D"
Broadcast to various college campuses on 10/30/82.
"The King Biscuit Flower Hour"
The Devo Live 1980 EP was recorded at the Fox Warfield for broadcast on the show. I saw an interview with Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum who said that that was the first concert he ever attended.
"Solid Gold"
"Peek-a-Boo", where they were all playing the wrong instruments for the "live" performance. They also played "That's Good" that time, and another time "Jerkin' Back N' Forth" and the "Through Being Cool" video.
"Fridays"
Three times, once doing "Girl U Want" and "Gates Of Steel", once doing "Whip It" and "Uncontrollable Urge", and the third time doing the "NuTra Theme", "Jerkin' Back N Forth", and "Working In A Coal Mine". "Through Being Cool" was also performed with a special intro by "DOVE, the band of Love" (a semi-common DEVO disguise):
Jesus by the river bed-ooooh
Jesus lay down by me-oooh
Jesus by the river bed-oooh
Jesus came into me
Now I saw Jesus in the morning by the burning bush
I saw Jesus in the afternoon too-oooo
I saw Jesus at dinner swimming in my stew
that Jesus, he's everywhere
"Don Kirschner's Rock Concert"
Video: "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize", then live "Secret Agent Man" and "Blockhead", then an excerpt from The Men Who Make The Music, live "Mongoloid" and "Uncontrollable Urge", finishing with the video for "Devo Corporate Anthem" (which is just the five of them saluting).

Info From Jerry Casale

The following was posted by Sammy Larson during the summer of 1993, so some of this is invalid now. Thanks Sammy!

As promised, here are the major things I learned from my conversation with Gerald V. Casale. These are in no particular order, except the order in which they popped into my head (sort of).
Devo
Devo is dead. The band will never get back together. Jerry said he would love to start back up again, but Mark Mothersbaugh doesn't want to do it anymore. (And without Mark, it isn't Devo.) [Mark explained his feelings about this in an issue of Roland Users' Group Magazine. He talked about how he much preferred the way film and television scoring works: you contract to do the music for certain scenes by a certain date, and when you deliver, you get a check. Apparently, Devo's experiences were much more convoluted.]
Pronounciation
On the pronunciation of Devo: When the band formed, the emphasis was on the second syllable (dee-VOE). But when they moved to California, everyone started calling them DEE-voe. So I guess either one is valid. Jerry said that the name is already butchered up so much (being short for de-evolution) that it doesn't matter how much worse it gets.
Spelling
On the spelling of Booji Boy: The original concept had the spelling Boogie Boy, just like it sounds. But when they were making a film, they did the text using an electro-set. Well, they ran out of 'g's in their electro-set so they had to use a 'j'. Then Mark started to put the 'e' on the end, and Jerry said "Hold it - that looks good right there."
Enigma
Enigma sucks. Jerry called them the worst label they ever could have signed to. He said he's never seen a label that could make a CD disappear so fast, referring to Now It Can Be Told, a CD that Jerry was really fond of, which was extremely hard to get soon after its release.
Behavior
I told Jerry that I considered Devo albums to be textbooks on human behavior instead of rock records, and since I would never get another volume, what would he tell a spud like me who was ready for his next lesson? He told me that now it's time to go teach.
Film
Jerry is busy trying to get a film project off the ground. It is a story about Betty Page entitled "Pin Up" which he will direct. [This project has since been snatched from Jerry's hands and handed to a Trendy Female director.]
SNM
The reason Devo never toured the US for smoothnoodlemaps is that they lost big money on their first few shows, so they cancelled the tour.
Commercials
The commercials they did for Honda and Coca Cola were done purely for financial reasons, not to poke fun at the commercial industry or anything. The commercials were done during that turbulent period when Devo was splitting with Warners and with their management. They needed money or would cease being a band. They had complete creative control of both projects, though, and would not have done them otherwise. Devo had been offered many, many commercials to do in the past which they turned down because they didn't have any say in them.
Reams
All the money they ever made from Devo is long gone, what little there was. Jerry said that most people don't understand that bands are the last people to make money from their work, that they are labor owned by a company. A prime example of this was a world tour of theirs that grossed over $2 million. Each member of Devo got a check for $16K.
Betrayal
They lost a lot of money from the Club Devo fan club and mailorder, and ended up having to sue the people in charge of it.
Goodies
Nothing is left of the Devo paraphernelia (energy domes, yellow suits, plastic hair, etc). Mark rented storage space to keep a copy of everything they ever made, but Jerry has given away pretty much everything he had kept. [Much of the stuff has been re-manufactured and is now sold at Mutato.]
Music
What Jerry is listening to these days: everything. He doesn't listen to any certain band or style, but he particularly enjoys what is coming out of the british club scene these days.
Recording
Devo Studios is gone. [Now replaced by Mutato Muzika, natch...]
Covers
When asked what he thought of all the recent remakes of Devo songs, he replied that he wished a huge band like Guns 'n' Roses would do one! [G'NR's EP of cover songs, The Spaghetti Incident?, is Devo-less.]
Staying Power
When asked why so many bands are doing Devo covers instead of Talking Heads and other bands that got way more credit for innovation at the time, he replied that it was because Devo's music was interesting.
Mutato
About Mark Mothersbaugh doing TV commercials these days: He doesn't understand how Mark has all these industry connections all of a sudden, when all Devo had were enemies. When asked if he thought it was ironic that Mark was doing commercials for the very corporations they used to make fun of, he just smiled, paused for a few seconds, and said that Mark is doing what he likes to do.

Devo In Print

The Beginning Was The End
This book by Oscar Kiss Maerth has the exact same cover as Now It Can Be Told, right down to the phrase "How Man Came Into Being Through Cannibalism - Intelligence Can Be Eaten." It's basically scientifically-justified racism, according to those who've read it. The Library Of Congress data looks like this: 
(First entry)
Maerth, Oscar Kiss, 1914-
The beginning was the end; translated from the German by Judith Hayward.
London, Joseph, 1973. 236, [16] p. illus. 23 cm.
LC CALL NUMBER: GN281.4 .M313 1973
SUBJECTS:
Human Evolution.
Brain.
Cannibalism.
DEWEY DEC: 573.2/01
NOTES:
Translation of Der Anfang war das Ende.
ISBN: 0716111036
LCCN: 73-169648

(Second entry)
Maerth, Oscar Kiss, 1914-
[Anfang war das Ende. English]
The beginning was the end. Translated from the German by Judith Hayward.
New York, Praeger [1974, c1973] 236 p. 21 cm.
LC CALL NUMBER: GN281.4 .M313 1974
SUBJECTS:
Human evolution.
Brain.
Cannibalism.
DEWEY DEC: 573.2
NOTES:
Translation of Der Anfang war das Ende.
LCCN: 73-19834 r83

Sheet Music
Hal Leonard released sheet music for Freedom of Choice and New Traditionalists. Unfortunately, the books are long out of print.
The Hollow Men
T.S. Eliot's poem was probably the inspiration behind "The Shadow" off Total Devo.This was the poem that Marlon Brando recited near the end of "Apocalypse Now".
Grooks 1
Peit Hein's "Grooks 1" book of short poems and drawings may have inspired the happy/sad face on Total Devo. Or maybe it was in reference to the famous symbol for Theater: the Comedy and Tragedy masks.
What I Know
Mark's "autobiography" is a collection of selections from his 3000+ item "Secret Diary." This diary seems to consist mostly of the backs of Japanese postcards that Mark has drawn and/or painted on. The pieces from his gallery shows (where I got the book) are also drawn from the Secret Diary. Each drawing is accompanied by a couple-paragraph story or description of the scene. The drawings are often disturbing/twisted/sexual, and often extremely funny, especially after repeated readings. There are several Devo references. The drawings are mostly from 1986-1987.
Fox Trot
There's a "Devo Reference" in the cartoon book "Fox Trot", page 137.
Ninja High School
The comic book "Ninja High School" contains Devo references when Steve Ross writes it. Look for "NHS Yearbook 1991".
Watchmen
The DC comic "Watchmen" had an issue in 1986 that dedicated a whole page to discussing how, when Nite Owl wears goggles, he looks Devo.
Pirate Corp$ / Hectic Planet
The letters column for the comic "Pirate Corp$" (now called "Hectic Planet") was called "Mr. B's Ballroom".
Zot!
The comic "Zot!" contains two alternate universes, where evil monkeys called the Devos are men in one world and monkeys in the other. They yell "DEVOLVE!" and Cool Stuff happens.
Howard the Duck
When Bill Mantlo took over the "Howard The Duck" comic, in the black-and- white issue #4, the Playduck issue, 3 Spuds appear as apparitions (along with KISS and a Beatle or two) and one says "We are not men. We are Devo."

Some of these and many more await you in the Devo Print Archive.

Covers

Bands

Members of Gerty Farish, Fat Day and Pissed Officers had a Devo cover band. They played two shows in Cambridge, MA.

Mongoloid: A tribute band based in San Francisco. Send snail mail to LOID, 3025 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114

The Devo Babies: See the video on MuteWeb.

Covers of Devo tunes

Sepultura
Covered "Mongoloid", which is available on the bonus CD for the Roorback album.
We Are Not Devo
We Are Not Devo is a compilation album of cover songs by SNFU, Face To Face, The Aquabats, Ridel High, Don Knotts Overdrive, Possum Dixon, Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Vandals, Red Faced (members of Face To Face and Red 5), Jughead's Revenge, Supernova, Lagwagon, and One Hit Wonder. It's on Centipede Records #CR-003 (POBox 691691, West Hollywood CA 90069) and features interior artwork by Mark. The tracks are about 50/50 straight grunge-ified cover/imaginative weirdness.
Shihad
... is a band from New Zealand that covered "Gates Of Steel".
Sweaty Nipples
Covered "Freedom of Choice" on a radio promo sampler called CRZD Management Sampler.
Greasy
Has a "Devo megamix"
My Monkey The Uncle
Did "Devo Corporate Anthem" and e-z listening versions of "Mongoloid" and "Gates of Steel" on General Boy Records.
Skankin' Pickle
A ska band, did "Gates of Steel" on The Green Album
The Cocktails
"Devo Corporate Anthem" on a 7". All horns.
The Clockouts
"The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize"
D.I.
A Californian hardcore band, covered "Uncontrollable Urge".
The Goovie Ghoulies
"Gates of Steel" (available from Lookout Records).
Econochrist
"Uncontrollable Urge".
Devo 7"
There is a Devo cover 7" featuring Cocktails and Chrome Cranks on Insipid, an Australian label.
Love Gutter
"Mongoloid"
Willy Porter
"Whip It" on the Gag Me With A Spoon comp.
Sin 34
"Uncontrollable Urge" on Do You Feel Safe?
The Trenchcoats
An acapella group, did "Whip It" on their 1994 album, Your Joy. It is also available on their 1993 concert video, and the '94 National Harmony Sweepstakes compilation disc (they won, incidentally). You can contact them at PO Box 1444, Tacoma, WA 98401-1444.
Big Daddy
"Whip It"
The Chipmunks
"Whip It".
Poison Idea
"Blockhead" on Religion and Politics, Vol. 1
Wreckless Eric
two versions of "Be Stiff" on his eponymous album. (Repertoire Records, REP 4217-WY)
The Mummies
"Uncontrollable Urge" on a Sub Pop 7". Also "Girl U Want".
The Didjits
"Mr. DNA" on Full Nelson Reilly.
Pussy Galore
"Penetration In The Centerfold"
Def Dames
"Whip It" (5 versions, 1991 Zoo Entertainment)
The Del Rubio Triplets
"Whip It" on "Full House" and "These Boots Were Made For Walking" on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse". They also performed "Whip It" on an episode of "Sliders".
The Devotees Compilation
This was a project that happened soon after Q:Are We Not Men? was released. Bands were asked to cover songs from the first album and Jerry picked the best. Very rare, very weird. One band used a touch tone phone for "Jocko Homo".
Soundgarden
"Girl U Want" on the SOMMS (Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas) disc included with some pressings of BadMotorFinger. Some import (non-US) singles for "Fell On Black Days" include "Girl U Want" as a B-side. Since the SOMMS disc is very hard to find, you ought to grab the single if you intend to ever hear the song.
Hot Glue Gun
"Girl U Want"
Superchunk
"Girl U Want" on the Freedom of Choice compilation, an "Artists of today cover the hits of the Eighties" deal.
Nirvana
"Turnaround", (a "Whip It" B-side) on the Incesticide and Hormoaning comps.
Flourescent Echo
"Beautiful World", a B-side of their ltd. ed. 12-inch "Piranha Dance" single.
The Funk Junkies
"Uncontrollable Urge"
Clawhammer
The whole Q:Are We Not Men? album. (which became Q:Are We Not Men? A:We Are NOT Devo!, on the Sympathy For The Record Industry label.) Mark "supervised" the recording [probably more like "watched"] and an essay of his appears on the CD case's back cover. NOTE: It's HORRIBLE unless you can stomach the guy's voice, and most people can't.
16 Volt
"Freedom Of Choice" on the Shut Up Kitty comp.
Big Drill Car
"Freedom Of Choice" on their Batch LP.
Lene Lovitch
"Be Stiff" on the The Stiff Years, Vol. 1 comp.
Robert Palmer
"Girl U Want" on Honey.
Flop
"I'm a Potato"

Misc. Info and References in our Neo-Pre-Macro-Post-Modern Society

Linux
If you run Slackware Linux, you may see the following fortune come up:
"Last week a cop stopped me in my car. He asked me if I had a police record. I said, no, but I have the new DEVO album. Cops have no sense of humor."
There are also related fortunes in the "art" section of the RedHat distribution:
"Oh Dad! We're ALL Devo!"
"Whip it! Whip it good!"
(Run "fortune -im devo" to match all occurences of "Devo" in the fortune databases.)
Pittsburgh
Devo was interviewed for the Pittsburgh City Paper just before Lollapalooza '97, and the Sci-Fi Channel shot footage at Blossom Music Center.
American Cybercast
Mark started writing for American Cybercast around December 1996. Around Christmastime, he was coming out with a column a day! AMCY filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early '97, so it's anyone's guess how long the site will be around...
Neil Young
Devo and Neil Young's relationship goes way back; Neil took the title "Rust Never Sleeps" from a commercial about an anti-rust product Mark and Jerry made back in Ohio!
Cleveland
The site that the Blossom Music Center was built on, in Cleveland, was once owned by Bob and Mark Mothersbaugh's elementary school bus driver. After selling the property, he went out and bought a bunch of Cadillacs and lined them up across his front yard. Devo played the BMC for Lollapalooza '97.
Fast Times
In "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Mike Damone has a Devo poster (in energy domes and khaki shorts), in his room and another (NuTra cover) in his locker.
EVO
There's a hardcore techno group called EVO who have a 12-inch out called "We Are Not Men".
Get Shorty
In the movie "Get Shorty", when John Travolta and Gene Hackman are driving down Hollywood Boulevard, you can see the (bright green) Mutato Muzika building in the background!
Chocolate Chicken Cabin
There is some kind of "rock 'n roll cookbook" out there that has a recipe by Mark. It involves dunking bits of fried chicken in choclate sauce and stacking them like logs.
Space Ghost
On the super-hip Cartoon Network show "Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast", Zorak was seen wearing an energy dome.
Adventures of the Smart Patrol
If you're having problems in Adventures of the Smart Patrol, click this.
Barbie and Ken in a great big fight
Shedding new light on the Barbie & Ken fight in "Love Without Anger", DJER says:
The fight was not between Barbie and Ken but rather between Barbie and Shawn (I learned this watching the video with a Barbie expert who then produced the dolls used in the video). To throw salt on an open wound, Barbie is wearing Shawn's shirt. So, the natural question, where was Ken and what was that fight really about anyway?
Casual mistake or DEVO messing with our heads, one wonders.
Devo's arrest in Texas
One of the most frequent points of debate on the newsgroup is Devo's arrest in Texas. Here, I've quoted two people who were actually at the show.

Lance Hirsch:
It was the Oh No tour. They did two shows that night at Cullen Auditorium at the University of Houston. During the second show, the aisles up front got crowded and the fire marshal ordered the aisles cleared. The ushers had no luck so the house lights were turned on. After the current song, Jerry announced that everyone needed to clear the aisles or, "the piggies would take Devo to jail." The aisles were cleared, and Devo finished the concert (just another couple of songs). However there was no Booji Boy Beautiful World encore. Jerry was arrested and released soon thereafter. If he hadn't called them piggies, they might have left him alone. Mark never said we could rush the stage, or if he did no one heard him or paid attention to him. I didn't see a gutiar solo with a foot on a cop's head either. Maybe they were handcuffed, maybe not - only Jerry was arrested. I still have the news paper report which I may type in if I feel energetic.

From the audiences point of view. it was no big deal. The light came on half way through a song, Jerry said something when the song was over, and the concert continued.

Brett Kruse:
DEVO was arrested in 11/82 in Houston, TX. They were playing two shows in Cullen Auditorium on the University of Houston campus. The late show was particularly inspiring! Cullen is not too big, about 1,000 capacity max (it has a small balcony). The spudboys were in particularly fine form...perhaps due to a return to Cullen (last time there was the Freedom of Choice tour; the New Traditionalists tour was in the much, much larger Sam Houston Coliseum). Everyone was bouncing the entire show, frenzied by the music, I SWEAR the whole place was shaking! A truly GREAT experience! Personnel from the U of H tried to get the boy's attention as the mean, old Houston Police Department was getting ready to shut them down. Finally, they cut off the power and came out and announced that, if everyone didn't return to their seats and sit down (CAN YOU IMAGINE??), that the show would be ended. After several warnings, people finally kind of sat down at the nearest seat and the boys started up again. (Needless to say, they took several shots at the morons interrupting the show!) They were allowed to do one more song. It was "Beautiful World"...complete with the stage lined with cops with nightsticks drawn! The irony was fantastic!! It is probably one of the most poignat moments from any concert that I have seen. After ending the song, Mark (dressed as Boojie Boy) announced that they "had been bad spuds" and were going to get arrested. They were charged, I believe, with inciting a riot. What a farce! Still, I've seen DEVO quite a few times, although nothing could touch that memory.

Here's hoping they tour again!!!!
Metal Blade
There is a mispressing of Total Devo with the Metal Blade logo next to the Enigma one (Metal Blade had nothing to do with the album).
Name changes
The original name for "Whip It" was "Dumptruck", and "Red Shark" became "It's Not Right".
StangFilms
The "Are You Experienced?" video is available on "PreDobbs StangFilms", a collection of films that Rev. Ivan Stang worked on before becoming a SubGenius. Stang also provided the Barbie and Ken animation in "Love Without Anger" (Bob's picture is on the wall) and other effects in Devo vids.
Shaped vinyl
There was going to be a single around the time of FOC made on red vinyl in the shape of an energy dome, but it never made it past the test press stage.
Mark's Opcode endorsement
There is a promo-only poster out there from Opcode Vision software featuring Mark endorsing their product.
Go Digital and Blender interactive magazines
... did previews of the Smart Patrol CD-ROM around summer 1996. Go Digital had secret bonus hidden Quicktime videos of Devo vids - you have to poke around on the CD, they won't come up if you "play" the CD-mag as you're supposed to.
Rubber in Akron? Really?
Mark Mothersbaugh had a rubber stamp store in o-HI-o before Devo hit the bucks.
Raymond Scott
The music for "Fraulein" comes from Raymond Scott's 1936 song "Powerhouse". His songs are often borrowed and have surfaced in Warner Brothers cartoons, Kronos Quartet, They Might Be Giants, Soul Coughing, Foetus and Rush recordings. Mark is a Raymond Scott Archive chairmember, and owns one of Raymond's inventions.
Retail growths
There is a bakery in a rough part of Chicago, IL named Devo's Bakery. On Pembridge Street in London, there's a restaurant called "SpudUWant". In Santa Barbara, California, there's a donut shop called "Spudnuts".
First video LP
The Men Who Make The Music was going to be the first Video LP released when it was made in 1979. However, legal troubles between Time-Life and Warner delayed its release 'till 1981, by which time Blondie's "Eat to the Beat" video LP had stolen the crown. History repeated itself in 1996, when Smart Patrol lost the title of "First CD-ROM Soundtrack released on Audio CD" to Capcom's Fox Hunt. Fox Hunt was scored by Mutato Muzika, but the soundtrack was comprised of pop bands rather than Mutato's work.
Opening bands
Bands that have opened for Devo include X, Chi Pig, Miss Xanna Don't, aMiniature, and U2!
Mongoloid video
Underground filmmaker Bruce Conner directed a music video for "Mongoloid" just before Devo got into the music business. Look for a compilation video of his in a university film department or perhaps an underground video store.
CD+Graphics
Total Devo is a CD+G, according to The CD+G list. What that means is that there are graphics stored on the disc so that properly equipped players can display them on your TV screen. The list doesn't mention if the Restless rerelease is a CD+G or not. It would kind of make sense that Devo did use CD+G technology at that time, since they went so far as to even release Total Devo on Digital Audio Tape (DAT)...
Devo on Bollywood
"Disco Dancer" was inspired by an indian pop music video with the chorus, "I am a disco, I am a disco!"
Find Out
If you don't feel like shelling out the money to buy the rerelease of Oh No! It's DEVO from IZ just to hear the never-before-released track "Find Out", look for the Infinite Zero Promotional CD #2: PRO-CD 95.ZERO.1 (9 00000-2).
History
"The History Of Rock and Roll" video series includes some words from Jerry in at least two episodes ("Punk" and "Up From The Underground"). They also show and discuss most of the "Whip It" video, including some of the reactions they got at the time.
Lesser-known covers
"Working In A Coal Mine" was written by Allen Toussaint and sung (first) by Lee Dorsey in 1966. "Morning Dew" was written by T.Rose and B.Dobson (or was it Buffy St. Marie?) It was *not* the Grateful Dead; they only covered it.
Songs Booji Boy has sung in concert
Bob Dylan's "You Gotta Serve Somebody" as "You Gotta Serve Yourself"; "In Heaven, Everything Is Fine" from the movie "Eraserhead"; "Roll Out The Barrel" (the music that's played when Devo meets Rod Rooter in TMWMTM); "Worried Man" and "Hey Hey My My" from "Human Highway"; "The Words Get Stuck In My Throat" from the Japanese monster movie "War Of The Gargantuans". The lyrics from a bootleg sleeve, thanks to Mark Lodge:
"If I had a tiny microphone
Hidden in my heart
It would amplify my love for you

But the words get stuck in my throat

If I had a little telegraph
Tapping in my brain
It would tap out a morse code line to you

But the words get stuck in my throat

If I had a little viewmaster
Snapping in my brain
It would snap out pictures all of you"
Dimensions for the Energy Domes (a.k.a. Flowerpot Hats) from Klilin:
This taken from a hat I caught at a concert:
material-thin plastic (vacu-formed), crimson red
form-4layer slightly conical crossection stack
base-9.3/8 tapers to 8.5/8 , 1.3/4 tall
next-7.1/2 tapers to 7 , 1.3/4 tall
next-5.5/8 tapers to 5 , 1.1/4 tall
top- 3.3/4 tapers to 3.1/2 , 3/4 tall
total height-5
logo on top-
 EV
D  O
letter size-3/4
top embossed 3/64
all dimensions in inches

By the way, the domes sold through the fan club are not the same as the ones actually worn by DEVO - DEVO's domes are bigger and don't have the letters on top.

Freaks
When they used to do "Jocko Homo" in The Old Days, Devo would chant "We accept you, we reject you! One of us! One of us!" This is from an old film called "Freaks" (1935, MGM) which was actually made in '32 but was banned due to its controversial nature.
Max Fish
The Max Fish bar on Ludlow Street in NYC has/had Hardcore Devo on their jukebox.
School
The Mothersbaughs went to Woodrige High School.
Pronunciation
Jerry and Bob 2's last name is pronounced "cuh-SAHL-ee".
Apple Computer
From a press release:
... The company also launched a support program for musicians and music publishers creating multimedia content for the burgeoning interactive music market. The Interactive Music Track extends the well-established, 1,500-member Apple Multimedia Program (AMP) to musicians, providing multimedia and interactive music information, contacts, networking opportunities and discounts on software and hardware. Members also receive Apple's QuickTime interactive music tools announced today at no additional charge exclusively as part of the program. Initial members of the Interactive Music Track include: Ray Manzarek of The Doors, Lady Kier of Deee-Lite, Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO.
Muzik For Insomniaks
Mark has released two solo albums called Muzik For Insomniaks, volumes one and two. Supposedly, volumes three through seven were released in Japan only. The music on these is quite different from Devo; it's extremely minimalist, un-poppy and, of course, instrumental. If you can only get one disc, start with #2. They're very hard to get because 1-Enigma had very crappy distribution, as Jerry mentioned, and 2-Enigma closed up around 1991. :):(
Weird Al
"Weird Al" Yankovic has poked fun at Devo on two occasions: first in "Polkas on 45" (from IN 3-D) where he uses the first verse of "Jocko Homo" (plus bits from "Smoke On The Water", "Hey Jude", and "My Generation", plus others), and second in "Dare To Be Stupid" on the album of the same name and also on the Transformers: The Movie soundtrack. The video for "Dare..." is really well done. They're both both a parody and praise of Devo's sound, but because there's a video for "Dare To Be Stupid" it's easier to pick out the individual songs he's using.
Keyboard magazine
... lists Q: Are We Not Men?/A:We Are Devo! as one of the Top 20 Keyboard albums of the past 20 years in the Sept. '95 (20th Anniversary) issue. The point of their blurb was that this album proved that synths had a place in "garage bands". "Whip It" is named one of the top 20 singles of the period. Other musicians on the list include Kraftwerk, Isao Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, Peter Gabriel, the Eurythmics, Thomas Dolby and Brian Eno.
Al Mothersbaugh
Brian Dedrick:
If you don't already know, Mark's cousin, Al, is in the Kent, Ohio based band called the Twist-Offs. I have seen the band 11 times, and let me tell you, they are one of the best bands around. Al plays trombone among the rest of the musical chaos. See them live or order their CD's through Dill records.
Frank Zappa
His Does Humor Belong In Music video-concert injects a few bars of "Whip It" into Zappa's own "Tinsel Town Rebellion". Not for anyone but the hardcore fan who can take some ribbing. It's not included on the Tinseltown Rebellion album, so Lookout. Jerry mentioned Zappa awhile back:
From RE/SEARCH issue 11, PRANKS:

"When we started Devo it was really that--a serious prank. People would constantly ask, 'This is a joke, right?' looking to us for some kind of confirmation. Of course, we weren't going to give them any. Our intention was always to subvert the accepted obvious reality behind anything we presented--whether fashion, lyric, role, stereotype, etc.

We never wanted to be like Frank Zappa, where you can be passed off as purely a wierdo, or 'Hey, I know that you know what's going on here (wink, wink)'"
There's a great picture included of Jerry in a priest's outfit, holding "totems of the modern age": rubber lips and a gun. The hand holding the lips is making the peace sign, with the fingers together like Jesus used to make it. :-)
A summary of the short film, "The Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-Evolution", from Keithstans:
Opening Title: Close up of a TV screen with the title "IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE END - THE TRUTH ABOUT DE-EVOLUTION"

Next: We see our heroes (Boogie boy included) in a plant, strange clear masks over their faces, blue outfits, hard hats. They leave the plant, get into a blue Chevy, drive to a club, go inside.

DEVO performs Secret Agent Man with Bob Mothersbough on vocals in front of big painted DEVO sign. Insert film clips of men in monkey masks, and other odd things throughout. Exit with someone in JFK mask waving.

Next, we see Boogie Boy running up back stairs into a building, meets up with General Boy.

GB: Come in Boogie boy, you're late. Have you got the papers China man gave you?

BB: (Boogie gives him envelope) Here it is dad, is it a surprise?

GB: Yes, Boogie. In the past this information has been suppressed, but now it can be told. Every man, woman and mutant on this planet shall know the truth about De-evolution.

BB: Oh Dad! We're all DEVO!

Cut to Neon Letters spelling out DEVO with "Mechanical Man" in background.

Next, Jocko Homo video. Mark Mothersbaugh dancing the Poot. Everyone in masks..

After song, cut to extreme close up of video screen with the following written on screen:

  1. wear gaudy colors or avoid display
  2. lay a million eggs or give birth to one
  3. the littlest may survive & the unfit may live
  4. be like your ancestors or be different
  5. we must repeat
    6.

Next scene, Boogie Boy tied up in chair, no shirt on. Man with no shirt comes up and pulls mask off, stabs Boogie Boy in chest. Closing credits.

Kim Cattral
I found an old interview with Kim Cattral that was done right after Star Trek 6 was released, and she mentioned that she was dating one of the spuds - "He used to be in a rock group called Devo. They were big in the 70's and 80's." She never got more specific than that, but I have it on some authority that it was Jerry.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
... occasionally uses Devo allusions. (A mad scientist donned his protective goggles and tilted his head, while Joel asked the question, "Are We Not Men?") Look for "The Unearthly", "Crash of the Moons", "Teenagers From Outer Space", "The Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy", "The Corpse Vanishes", "Mitchell", "Outlaw", "Skydivers", "Starfighters", and others.
Lousy Virgins
The Virgin UK-combo-album-"remastered"-limited-edition-three-disc-box-set STINKS. There are dropouts and the sleeve design is really pathetic. You don't get lyrics and there are about 3 different pictures on each sleeve. (That's not a lot considering there are two albums on each disc.) You can get all the albums domestically except for Devo: Live (1980, not The Mongoloid Years). New Traditionalists, Duty Now For The Future, Shout, and Oh No! It's DEVO were recently released by Henry Rollins' label, Infinite Zero. They run a great service called the Ultimate Band List. Nearly everyone agrees that IZ does a first-rate job of rereleasing classic Devo.
Guitar noise
Devo's axe-meister extraordinaire Bob "Bob 1" Mothersbaugh once said his favorite personal contribution was the bleepy noise in Uncontrollable Urge. Everyone probably thinks that was Eno's work, but it is the sound made by touching the guitar cord tip with his finger. You can't get it with an ordinary amplifier, just with a wierd German amp that Bob found in Germany during the Q/A sessions.
The Simpsons
In the episode of "The Simpsons" where Homer has to pass a nuclear physics course, there is a poster on a wall with five Simpson-esque heads wearing energy domes. It's in the geeks' dorm and only appears for a second. Watch the left side of your screen as Homer is pacing back and forth. Also, in another episode, they showcase three possible "spinoff shows". One of these involved Smithers in a black leather cowboy outfit (hmmm...) singing "Crack that whip! Licorice whip!" while he pranced about with said item.
David Bowie
... is said to have "discovered" Devo. I have been told that this was not entirely true. There's a picture of him with Jerry Casale (both fully dressed) in the liner for Now It Can Be Told. Bowie also supposedly got Brian Eno to produce the first LP. (Eno definitely produced it, but how much Bowie was involved remains to be seen.) As the story now goes, Bowie simply sat in a corner and watched the recording process. It doesn't matter.

Smart Patrol Hints

If Turkey Monkey is getting on your nerves, hold down the shift key when you arrive at each site. He won't appear.

Passwords:

Mark Mothersbaugh's Opcode Vision endorsement

Mark Mothersbaugh's Vision ad

Other Devo Sites

(Besides, of course, alt.fan.devo and alt.slack.devo...)

MuteWeb
A damn fine Devo page!
MuteWeb FTP.
If there's something on the net related to Devo, it's here.
Devo Throbber - Be Happy Or Not!.
A replacement I made for the throbber (the "N" with the comets) in Netscape 3.x.
Scott V. Orsi
He wrote "The Spirit of JFK" on the ASP soundtrack, and would like to hear from his fans! He has completed his first full-length album and is presently shopping it around to record companies. Rev. Ivan Stang has played several of Scott's songs on his "Subgenius Hour of Slack" syndicated radio show.
The 80's Server
A web server dedicated to all things Eighties.
Reload
Brian Applegate's new project. He provided the song "34-C" for AOTSP. Get in touch at:
Brian Applegate/Reload
4518 NE Hancock St.
Portland, OR 97213
USA
The Truth About the Truth About Devolution
An interesting interview with Devo's forgotten founding member, Bob Lewis.
Lazlo's Discography Machine 
Get your discographies here.

More Devo You Get To Pay For

I'm not associated with any of these! Don't sue me! Ever!

The Mutato Muzika Catalog
The official site from which to officially purchase official Devo merchandise.
Ten Year Olds With Suckerpads
A musical compilation by the denizens of alt.fan.devo.
The Devo Bootleg Archive
...was started by Mike Watters. He has tons of audio and video tapes for sale containing hard-to-find Devo stuff that was never commercially released. Quite a few of the appearances mentioned above are available here. From one of Mike's announcements:
There's either a video or audio tape of EVERY tour (sometimes both). Quality is naturally quite variable from good to crap. There might be more material entering the archive in future, but there are no immediate expectations.

For anyone who is wondering, this project has been checked and approved by both Mark and Jerry. We haven't and WON'T be including any material that is commercially available. After all the commercial copy would be MUCH better quality than what we could provide. There are a few things here and there on the tapes that DO duplicate something available commercially (especially the radio interviews which include tracks off the albums). These were left intact mostly to preserve continuity and shouldn't be viewed as an alternative to a copy of the record.
This is a really worthwhile deal, (and you'd be a strange spud not to be interested in it) but please be patient; the tapes are basically copied by Mike and two other guys, which obviously makes for a slow Turnaround. If you can help out with distribution, please get in touch with Mike! Not only would you help defeat bootleggers, but you'd also get the Satisfaction of helping other spuds such as yourself.
The Devo Print Archive
...is run by Sammy Larson and is over 300 pages' worth of stuff you won't even find in THIS file! Send $15 to:
Devo Print Archive
660 Veteran Ave #107
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Make checks payable to Sammy Larson. Foreign orders should discuss costs through email first.
And the promo...
This is a compilation of various printed material documenting DEVO's whole career, from the pre-contract days of 1977 thru the 1994 laserdisk review. Over 100 magazine articles and interviews, 100 reviews from every major album and concert tour, magazine advertisements and all five letters From The Desk Of General Boy, all photocopied and bound into a reference book fit for every student of de-evolution.

Learn the trivial:
  • why the Duty Now album cover is covered with UPC symbols
  • the original TEN de-evolutionary precepts
  • jobs the spudboys had before DEVO
Learn the profound:
  • theories of "high DEVO" and "low DEVO"
  • the meaning of lyrics, album themes, and video concepts
  • DEVO's overall message, motive, and method
Learn the factual:
  • the events surrounding the split between Devo and Warner Bros.
  • DEVO's arrest in Texas
  • DEVO's music equipment

All this and more await you. Interviews with the band show a witty, intellectual side to Devo that goes beyond their albums and concerts.
Being a product of The DEVO Archive, this collection is of course offered AT COST to those who wish to take their conscious mutation to the next level. The price: a mere $15, which covers over 300 pages of photocopies, a professional Velo binding, and first-class postage. Donations to help offset the cost of acquiring the articles will not be refused.

And don't forget, there is a lot that isn't in this FAQ yet and most of it probably won't ever be.... so go buy a copy of the Print Archive!
Primarily A Cappella
EAR/Rational Music

Contributors

Many thanks to everyone who's dropped by over the years. FAQ's don't get this big without a lot of help — and a very interesting topic.

Sammy Larson!
Mike Watters!
Denis M. Hannigan!
Gerald V. Casale!
Brian Applegate!
Scott V. Orsi!

Brian Larson, olaf, Robert Chao, Eric Eiverson, jmjones, ibpunk, dmost5+, Sam Cramer, fnord, Ggreg, blankm, joero, dhm, sinsfdwf, davidbro, Jason Medwid, Michael Francis McDougall, Pat 2E, Per Henrik Johansen, Jo Rourke, Ronald Cole, Cheloveck, Michael Hooper, Paul Bruneau, Craig Hlady, Mark Turner, Chuck G, Opus37, Jason Landsbach, Eric Solorio, Simon Leo Barber, Scott Huffines, Erik Thoresen, Magnus Johansson, KenVT, Glennb, devotee, Kevo X, Anh-Tuan Duong, Brent Nathaniel Robertson, Mark Terranno, Terrence M Ryan, Guybrush7, Matt Kimmel, ZipTrip, Nelson Fernandez, r0xy, Richard Hancock, NedWard94, Avidacer, Denis C Warburton, Robert Schmeltzer, chimera7, Lazlo Nibble, Mark Feldman, Garr Godfrey, Paradox, EdGreen452, Greg Hanssen, Alan Rosiene, Goldbase, Rev. Innacurate Decay, Brian Dedrick, Be Stiff, Klilin, Ken Lieck, Lee Wilkinson, Dennis Pantazis, Dave Warker, Robert, Andy Jukes, Tit Wrench (hey cool!), Zachary Adams, Steve Pasko, Charles B Fishman, Mark Condon, McDeath, Keithstans, Jeff Economy, Michael & Kim, Greg Padlowski, Alyn O'Megalopolis, James Stuckey, Lazlo Nibble, Prophet, Tom X. Chao, John Stuart, Rob Warmowski, mattyj, David Copeland, Joshua Samuel Guenter, Nutra, Robert@nfinity, Shawn Bogard, Harlan Whitley, Holger Hanraths, Jenn Griffee, Michael Kovnick, Michael J Agostino, Michele Corda, The Nixtr, Zeusz, Hamburger Lady, Jay Onyskin, pnchdrnk, Obin Robinson, Seth Perlman, Jeffrey H Krulik, Gary Schultheis, Theresa Fagan, April Cech, Amy Faust, Alex Smith, Devin Reiche, YPT, the Reverend Miss S. Sakamoto, Jeff Fox, Brett Kruse, Boojiboy21, Adam Tyner, toolrod, Kevin Teague, Donald R. Dunlap, Dave Dumanis, Rev. Kojo Von Stuben, Andre Perkowski, Patrick Kearney, Jonathan C. Dunn, Catherine J. Mark, Michael Pilmer, Toe Frophauser, JoshBot, Misteradio, Jaysson, Odysseus, Ampex456, Steve Marlow, Mischoulon, BLKRBOY, Annnnna Truwe, stevie@interport, Elwood, THX-1138, Rory Philip Prendergast, HotRats, John Bickers, Verbal Kint, Lance Hirsch, LennyBloke, DJER, Mr. E, Eric White, Joseph M. Clemente, G. Manderin Olf Linnlie, Raul Gonzalez, JonYo, Cynot3, Roy Gbiv, Borzz, GenLand18, Noah Smit, The Righteous Black Duck, Johnny Hugel, Laura DeMarco, Boojiboy21, Stephen Boyd, Quixage, Res Dog, Bronwyn, Mike V, Jimi, Mike Wood, Jennifer Jeffery, Erin C Johnson, Matt Keeley, Andy G, BobTG, Luetjens, Kombiz Lavasany, Gabby Hayman, Trevor Hicks.

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This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file is Copyright © 1990-2000 Raju Tavadia. All cited authors retain their individual copyrights.

About the Devo FAQ

Devolved Tux

(Original "Tux" by Larry Ewing; modified by Raju Tavadia)

The Devo FAQ is powered by Red Hat Linux (naturally!!)

This FAQ has been my pleasure to maintain since I started assembling it on FIDOnet, ten years ago as I write this in the year 2000. Unfortunately, since Devo is mothballed for the foreseeable future, I will not be updating it further. However, I will keep the page up for as long as it entertains and enlightens new devotees. I hope that you have found it useful.