Greetings Men of Devo.

This is from Mr. Zouba, a longtime fan (and previous winner of your "Win a Box of Random Crap from DEVO" contest, a victory some might consider a pinnacle of my personal achievement...)

As I'd stated at that time, I am a member of a small but rabid cotillion of spuds located in the Radiation Belt, outside Harrisburg, PA.

As you may or may not be aware, there is currently a major court issue fought over in our federal court house in downtown Harrisburg regarding the Dover school boards' decision to teach the "theory" of "Intelligent Design" in classrooms. This has generated intense interest in the media, both local and national.

this has also prompted many of the most ferverent supporters of ahem "intelligent design" to protest outside the courthouse, apparently something they intend to do daily.

Several members of our Devolutionary Brigade were considering donning our Yellow Tyvek Suits and going out to form a sort of "Counter-Counter-Counter" protest.

We'll assemble across the street in tyvex and energy domes, carrying appropriate signs to convey OUR message - "WE'RE ALL DEVO!" and "GIVE THE PAST THE SLIP!" and "WE'RE THROUGH BEING COOL!", etc.

If we could possibly be lucky enough to get interviewed by any media, we will repeat our demands - that the truth finally be told to every man, woman and mutant of the Truth about De-Evolution, and the pressing need for more Devo in our schools...

I am composing this first to make sure we would be acting in the proper spirit of Devo.

If receive the authority to do so, and we manage to perform this, I'll make certain to have documentary video evidence and pass it along.

Duty Now For The Future,

Joe Zouba

p.s. my brother just saw you in cleveland and he's still
feeling the after-effects. Bob "zouba" Hooke.

I like it. Open the door to total chaos. Seriously put forward that you have the only theory to bridge the gap between evolution and intelligent design - De-evolution. It proves that the other two explanations each have only half the picture.

-- GVC, Devo Inc.

My life is now complete...

I have been a positively mutating DEVO fan as long as I can remember. The ninnies and the twits were never able to change me because they can't comprehend MY potato. In fact, I have turned my closest friends into mutants because I insist DEVO be played at every gathering. Now we're all DEVO. And get this, one mf my best friends has a 14 year old who now can not get enough DEVO. The devolution continues...

It has been a long time dream of my to see the spuds in action. I missed the chance when they played near my home town (Albany, NY) when I was but a young spud because my momma unit saw a commercial for the concert and said there was NO WAY she was going to let me go, despite the fact that my sister and her Zappa-loving husband offered to take me. I could not twist away the gates of steel.

So, when I heard that they were going to be playing in Denver on August 23rd, 2005, I made damn sure I was the first person on the Ticketbastards website to get tickets as soon as they were on sale, and I rounded up as many of my very closest spuds to attend. Wild blockheads couldn't keep me away.

I gotta tell ya, it was one of the best damn concerts that I have seen, period, no foolin'. And my friends all thought so too, including my friend's 14 year old who wore his energy dome with pride. I have been to shows that I yawned through and drank to forget. Not this one. From the second DEVO hit the stage until the last encore it was one perfect rendition after another. DEVO, if you are reading this, you are truly awesome on stage, the BEST. And if you're reading this and you are a spud, mutant, or some other form of genetic mishap and have never seen DEVO live but you have the chance, GET - OFF - YOUR - ASS. My friends and I are still talking about it, it was that good.

And yes, I bought myself an energy dome and one of every t-shirt they had. Now I have more in my wardrobe than the bland work uniforms that they make me wear at the factory. I have a job, I wear a hat, and I bring home the bacon.

Thank you, DEVO, for saving my mind.

Duty now.

-rklsrcl

Thanks for the pro-Devo sentiments, spud! -- GVC, Devo Inc.

Here's a lil'l picture I doodled. Hope ya'll like it:


-- from Troy Lowe

Have you heard the new Elvis Costello song? It sounds pretty darn familiar:

MONKEY TO MAN by Elvis Costello

A long time ago, our point of view
Was broadcast by Mr. Bartholomew
And now the world is full of sorrow and pain
And it's time for us to speak up again

You're slack and sorry
Such an arrogant brood
The only purpose you serve is to bring us our food
We sit here staring at your pomp and pout
Outside the bars we use for keeping you out

You've taken everything that you wanted
Broke it up and plundered it and hunted
Ever since we said it
You went and took the credit
It's been headed this way since the world began
When a vicious creature took the jump from Monkey to Man

Monkey to Man

Every time man struggles and fails
He makes up some kind of fairytales
After all of the misery that he has caused
He denies he's descended from the dinosaurs

Points up to heaven with cathedral spires
All the time indulging in his base desires
Ever since we said it
He went and took the credit
It's been headed this way since the world began
When a vicious creature took the jump from Monkey to Man

Monkey to Man

Big and useless as he has become
With his crying statues and his flying bomb
Goes 'round acting like the chosen one
Excuse us if we treat him like our idiot cousin

He hangs up flowers and bells and rhymes
Hoping to hell someone's forgiven his crimes
Fills up the air with his pride and praise
He's a big disgrace to our beastly ways

In the fashionable nightclubs and finer precincts
Man uses words to dress up his vile instincts
Ever since we said it
He went and took the credit
It's been headed this way since the world began
When a vicious creature took the jump from Monkey to Man

-- from Sean Proctor

Thanks DEVO for coming "Down the Jersey Shore" and playing in Atlantic City! I just wanted to let you know that I had a great time and I thought your show was one of the best I have ever seen. Unfortunately after I left the club I noticed that the people in the Casino were pointing at me, children were running in fear, even the locals thought I looked strange. Could you perhaps explain how it is that my physical appearance could change so drastically after spending an evening with DEVO?

Help & Thanks! -- Spud girl

mailed 8/15/2005:
Subject: DEVO live in DC

I don't know how many truly DEVOted fans there are in the Nation's capital, but I am one and I was on hand to see DEVO perform what I believe was their first show ever in Washington, DC, at the famous 9:30 Club on August 13.

The show opened at 11 p.m. with what I was told was about 400 people on hand. A few energy domes were in attendance, and one Mongoloid was wearing an actual flowerpot. The opening DVD -- featuring footage of General Boy talking about the fashion one wears to a DEVO concert -- had a couple of hiccups and, after five tries without getting past some sort of skip in the DVD, the concert started without it. Sirens, lights, and the five yellow hazmat suits went to
work.

They opened with That's Good, to the delight of the crowd -- about half of whom knew the words, and probably remember seeing DEVO perform "That's Good" at a school dance on the old TV show "Square Pegs", and the other half of whom just
liked it because it was high-energy and loud.

Moving into Girl U Want, Whip It, Satisfaction (I Can't Get No), Mongoloid, Blockhead, SmartPatrol/Mr. DNA and others... eventually closing with Come Back Jonee, DEVO proved that their music is timeless, their war on devolution
relentless, and their fan base still vibrant (if not growing)! The only shortcoming was that the show was only an hour long... I'd hoped to see them play a little longer but it was still a great show. The drummer, Josh Friese -- who is very good by the way -- played the show with only one hand, having broken his other one. You'd never have known it. He was playing with gusto, and the show didn't suffer one bit.

I should go on record as saying it was the first concert I've been to in at least 10 years. I'm not really into concerts generally, but theirs was definitely something I've been waiting for. It's nice to know that they are still on the road, and I hope I'll have a chance to see DEVO perform live again. And to see them in a club like I did? It felt like seeing John Coltrane play his sax, or Louis Armstrong his trumpet. Tell your friends, and see for yourself. It was truly amazing to see.

Are they rock and roll? Not really. They are the post-punk, pre-new wave godfathers of techno and electronica. They are the pioneers who got scalped, but not before warning us about Space Junk and Swelling Itching Brains. They are to music as Andy Warhol was to soup cans. Are they not men? They are DEVO.

Duty Now for the Future!
Doug Hecox
Washington, DC

Let me just tell you how Devo helped me find the love of my life that lead to marriage and well, divorce. See, I met this Goth chick in the rain while waiting forever at a bus stop in Seattle Washington, otherwise known as "The Haunted Shit Hole Home of The Illegitimate Descendants of Bastard Longshoremen and Fire-breathing Bitches From Hell." Well, anyhows, we had nothing in common; but that didn't stop me from trying my best to bite off her Frankenberry-patterned panties and banging her big time at her dungeon. Anywhat, mission accomplished. When the good times were over and after I wheeled her pooped ghost-white body to her broomstick in order to show her how I wanted the place cleaned, I casually mentioned that if she didn't like Devo, she'd have to hit the fog in the street pronto-like. She said that she could live with Devo if I could live with 1,000 dollar monthly phone bills because she digs the psychic hot-line. Well, it worked for a spell; I even married her. Her pussy didn't stink so bad, until I started getting the phone bills. I went through the roof in front of her ghost-white face to our favorite Devo song. It was our song, so I calmed down a bit and became weepy. I said: "Hear that babe? It's our song." She said: "Yeah, I love that song by The Cars." Divorce papers were finalized two days later. The moment she said “The Cars” I chased her back into her coffin and kicked her and her eternal container out of her own dungeon into the street like I promised a week earlier. The law said I had to give the dungeon back and I still owed the phone company her debt because it's a community-property-state. Damn community property state! I should have known she was an air-head. One time I called her a sadistic bitch and she wouldn't speak to me all day. Then I took her out for Chinese food to make up and she said: “I can't believe you called me a nympho maniac.” I said: “I didn't call you a nympho maniac, I called you a sadistic bitch.” She said: “What's that suppose to mean?”

-- Scott Snot

Why write my own rant when there's plenty of ranting written?

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article8499.htm

"It's February, and 900 of America's staunchest Christian fundamentalists have gathered in Fort Lauderdale to look back on what they accomplished in last year's election -- and to plan what's next. As they assemble in the vast sanctuary of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, with all fifty state flags dangling from the rafters, three stadium-size video screens flash the name of the conference: reclaiming america for christ. These are the evangelical activists behind the nation's most effective political machine -- one that brought more than 4 million new Christian voters to the polls last November, sending George W. Bush back to the White House and thirty-two new pro-lifers to Congress. But despite their unprecedented power, fundamentalists still see themselves as a persecuted minority, waging a holy war against the godless forces of secularism. To rouse themselves, they kick off the festivities with "Soldiers of the Cross, Arise," the bloodthirstiest tune in all of Christendom: "Seize your armor, gird it on/Now the battle will be won/Soon, your enemies all slain/Crowns of glory you shall gain."

Meet the Dominionists -- biblical literalists who believe God has called them to take over the U.S. government.
The godfather of the Dominionists is D. James Kennedy, the most influential evangelical you've never heard of.

"Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost," Kennedy says. "As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."
It helps that Dominionists have a direct line to the White House: The Rev. Richard Land, top lobbyist for the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, enjoys a weekly conference call with top Bush advisers including Karl Rove. "We've got the Holy Spirit's wind at our backs!" Land declares in an arm-waving, red-faced speech. He takes particular aim at the threat posed by John Lennon, denouncing "Imagine" as a "secular anthem" that envisions a future of "clone plantations, child sacrifice, legalized polygamy and hard-core porn."

At Reclaiming America, most of the conference is taken up by grassroots training sessions that supply ministers, retirees and devout churchgoers with "The Facts of Stem-Cell Research" or "Practical Steps to Impact Your Community with America's Historical Judeo-Christian Heritage." "We're going to turn you into an army of one," Gary Cass, executive director of Reclaiming America, promises activists at one workshop held in Evangalism Explosion Hall. The Dominionists also attend speeches by supporters like Rep. Katherine Harris of Florida, who urges them to "win back America for God." In their spare time, conference-goers buy books about a God-devised health program called the Maker's Diet or meet with a financial adviser who offers a "biblically sound investment plan."

In the conference's opening ceremony, the Dominionists recite an oath they dream of hearing in every classroom: "I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe." "
And what of the infidels?

Take all extremists from around the world
Put them together in a great big ring
Televise it as the lowest show on Earth
and let them fight like hell to see who's king
Gather up the pieces when the fight is done
Then you'll find out winning really can be fun

--sent by Anthony Petrecca

Thanks, man! -- GVC, Devo Inc.

For the last Devo recording, I wish you would call it "People Stink." That would be your final report on human beings from an alien point of view. And the beautiful thing about it would be that no one could possibly disagree with the statement, because we do stink so very much not only from body odor but from the stench of our behavior. Maybe for the cover art you could have the Devo alien head delivering his report to the big boss alien. I think I'm going to change my major from media arts to Misanthropology. I'll send The Troubled Bugs one day when I think it's ready. After listening to "Freedom of Choice," again, I became incredibly critical of everything we've made. And now that my little brother Tim has had another nervous breakdown, he's decided that he only wants us to write jangle pop (Kinks influenced) songs about his love for his dog "Sugar." I can't stand that idea. He's gone wacky I tell you, says he's been dreaming about songs for his dog. He even gave the dog a birthday party with hats and presents and fed it fried chicken. I told him he was a crazy nutcase and left his porch for good. We've stopped talking to one another. I think all that acid has finally kicked in big time and flipped his lid. At least I've found a way to modify my insanity to the simple task of merely monitoring a small ball of chocolate pudding carefully wrapped in tin foil every two hours. But a birthday party for a dog? Now that's just crazy. Maybe I should find other people to play with and change the name to The Human Plungers or The Shit Patrol.

-- CV