On February 17th, 2014, Bob Casale, one of the founding members of Devo passed away due to heart failure. Bob Casale played rhythm guitar, keyboards and provided MIDI sampling in Devo, but also provided back up vocals, and from 1984 served as the band’s sound engineer on their albums. Just last year In June of 2013, Alan Myers passed away due to a battle with cancer. Alan was often referred to as “The Human Metronome” and drummed with Devo until 1984. Both members were part of Devo’s classic line up.
Devo formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972, and were comprised of brothers Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Gerald and Bob (referred to as Bob 2) Casale and Alan Myers on drums. Bob initially was a trained medical radiation technician, but was asked by his brother Gerald to join Devo. The band became a seminal New Wave-era band in the late 70s/early 80’s. Most people recognize them for their quirky hit song “Whip It!”, but when the band first started out and even up to their most recent release 2010’s Something For Everybody, the music they made was based on the theory of devolution. Devolution in its simplest explanation is the theory that man was devolving into a regressive and earlier state, as opposed to be advancing in our modern society. The band first caught the attention of David Bowie at the Ann Arbor Film Festival where their short film The Complete Truth About De-Evolution won a prize at the festival. The film was shot by Chuck Statler incorporating Devo’s theories of Devolution and their music. It was essentially a music video, but following that prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the band went forward from there.
Following the initial split of Devo in 1999, Bob along with other members of the band went on to other music related ventures. Most notably Bob joined the music production company Mutato Muzika, along with other members of Devo that was founded by Mark Mothersbaugh. Bob collaborated with Mark and the company on numerous films and television related programs. Some of the company’s credits include the films Happy Gilmore, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rugrats Go Wild, and many others.
The Play List:
1. La Luz - Sure As Spring
3. La Luz - Phantom Feelings
3. Martin Van Ruin - American Moon
4. Holy Wave - Psychological Thriller
5. Temples - Shelter Song
6. Habibi - Far From Right
7. Tire Swing Co. - I Awoke
8. Middle Sister - Maudite
9. Handsome Ned - One Hundred Miles of Open Road
10 The Hidden Cameras - Doom
11. Dum Dum Girls - Cult Of Love
12. Devo - Big Mess
13. Devo - Freedom Of Choice
14. Devo - Through Being Cool
15. Roky Erickson & The Aliens - I Walked with A Zombie
16. The Hoop - Phog Lounge
17. The Vapids - Powerchords and Skateboards
18. Light Bulb Alley - Liquor Store (Rough Mix)
19. The Basements - Wrong
20. The Black Angels - Better Off Alone
21. Teenanger - Psychic Sonya
22. Wanda Jackson - There’s A Party Goin’ On
23. Handsome Ned - One Hundred Miles of Open Road
23. Stompin’ Tom Connors - The Horseshoe Hotel (Live At The Horseshoe 1971)
25. Lou Reed - Nobody’s Business
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for March 4. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
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