The De-Evolution Continues

On Sunday November 2, music giants Devo and The B-52’s will end their twelve week Cosmic De-evolution tour at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. New wave pioneer Lena Lovich will be opening the show.  

“It’s been delightful,” says Mark Mothersbaugh, who along with his brother Bob, Gerald and Bob Casale and Alan Myers started Devo in 1973.  

“Somehow, it works out really well together,” he says of working with the B-52’s.  “I always liked the band and like Devo, they started off as an art band. They were really good at making their own sound that’s unique. When you hear The B-52’s you know who it is and I really like that about them.”   

He describes the B52’s as an artsy party band and his own project as a more “curmudgeonly” warning to the masses with their name deriving from the concept of “de-evolution” involving societies regressing in place of progressing.  

Devo began in Akron, Ohio in 1973, on the heels of the mass protests to the Vietnam war.  Their time studying at Kent State University and experience with the anti-war protest movement, including the killing of four students by the Ohio National Guard, that greatly influenced them.  

“When all the Vietnam thing got pushed down, music changed. In the early ‘70s it turned into corporate rock with white guys doing misogynistic ‘I’m a conspicuous consumer and I’m proud of it’ kind of music. ‘I’m snorting whiskey and drinking cocaine. I think I’m gonna go insane’, that’s the kind of politics that were rock and roll.” 

Devo consciously took another direction with their art.  After seeing that protesting didn’t really make enough of a dent in the system, they decided to use their collective vision to infiltrate the systems in place by combining music and visuals, much like their pop art hero Andy Warhol and the Dada movement.  

“We looked around and we said, Madison Avenue changes things. They get people to eat things that are bad for them, drive cars that are crummy and wear clothes that look foolish and be happy about it. What if you used those subversive techniques for something good?”  

Devo’s methods worked, infiltrating pop culture with their catchy hits that had people dancing in discos without always realizing what the band was criticizing. “Disco music had incredible sounds and a lot of interesting experiments on synths. I remember Jerry saying disco is kind of like a pretty girl with no brain.” 

Mothersbaugh describes how the band used this approach for songs like “Whip It” on their iconic album Freedom of Choice, which is available for pre-order now in its deluxe digital package featuring a KiTalbum format along with new and restored artwork for the album.  

“We put those things together and then people could get into the band because they were dancing to “Whip It” in a disco but if they got the album they could listen to the lyrics and they could say, what does that mean? They could find something else in the music so that’s the path we took really.”  

The band’s ability to use their catchy rhythms, seemingly silly avant-guard aesthetics and lyrics that made the listener wonder what was really being said is the gift that made them pop icons to this day with a message that still needs repeating.  

Their recently released documentary Devo, available on Netflix now, really showcases the socially conscious roots of the band and the impact they had in the country and beyond along with many misunderstanding the intent behind their art.  The film shows how five boys from Ohio fixated on the absurdity of humanity to create one-of-a-kind music that is still relevant today.  

It is impossible not to compare the current tensions in this country and the world with the band’s original experiences which pushed them to create to begin with. Mothersbaugh believes that about every 50 years or so, people tend to forget the past and fall into the traps of the generations before them.  

“I was the optimist in the band,” says Mothersbaugh describing how he always felt humans would correct their path just before going off the edge.  

“I’m always on that side of it but it is really kind of strange where we are and that it’s so similar. I thought fascism could never be a real thing again and it’s like people forget, they don’t remember things and you kind of have to remind them.”   

When asked if the current state of things makes the band, who now features Jeff Friedle on drums and Josh Hager on guitar and keyboard, want to write new songs Mothersbaugh admits he has mixed feelings on the topic.  

“On one level, we are kind of a legacy band where we have something that we said back in 1975 and 1977 that we still represent and it’s still what we are about. On the other side you think, what if we did a Devo album that was all AI? Wouldn’t that be funny.” 

Devo has always gravitated toward technology and innovative ways of presenting their concepts. They had amassed a collection of vibrant music videos and films before the creation of MTV, a journey which is also showcased in the documentary. 

By not clinging to the idea that each member had their clear-cut role or instrument in the band, they opened the doors endless possibilities in their creative process.   

“I just love how technology has democratized a lot of the arts and made it so much easier for people to get involved and to have an idea and see it come to fruition. If you’re getting into music now because you want to be rich, that’s another story, that is tougher now than it ever was. But if you’re there because you love art or you love music or you love having your own personal opinion about something put out there so people can hear it, then now is the time. I love that, I love what’s going on.”   

Though the band isn’t working on new songs for Devo per say, Mothersbaugh often collaborates with bandmates for music through his music production company Mutato Muzika.  In a musical journey which began with his old friend Paul Reubens asking him to score the first episode of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Mutato Muzika has recently scored movies like Cocaine Bear and Minecraft. 

Mothersbaugh describes his passion for writing, a constant internal process which he cannot turn off. “I like performing a lot and if you’re going to perform in a band, Devo is a good one to perform in. It keeps you busy and on your toes, but writing music is a real love for me.”  

Despite what Mothersbaugh describes as “a lot of Spinal Tap” in the band, their longevity and continued draw is a real testament to their talent. “We really enjoy performing,” he says, “Going on stage it’s like you’ve got five crabby old men, well three of us are crabby and old, but it’s like you get to the stage and then everybody forgets that and it’s like it is back in the early days again.”  

Devo will perform with Lene Lovich and The B-52’s on Sunday, November 2 at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins. For more information visit woodlandscenter.org. $55-148.

For more information on Devo visit clubdevo.com

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