DEVO Answers Your Questions
To Supply Suppressed Information
Updated July 2018
Nutty Buddy melted in the heat of Devo’s rise from Akron club band to international scene stealers. Gerald Casale had a bassline progression in the early days of Devo songwriting sessions and the rest of the band jammed on it. Then Mark shared some lyrics he had written for no particular music. Gerald thought they were funny and applied them to
Why wasn't the song "Nutty Buddy" ever done in a studio version? Can you give me any information about the song, it's history, and why it sort of slid off the map? From Jesse in Alameda, CA, July 2018
Nutty Buddy melted in the heat of Devo’s rise from Akron club band to international scene stealers. Gerald Casale had a bassline progression in the early days of Devo songwriting sessions and the rest of the band jammed on it. Then Mark shared some lyrics he had written for no particular music. Gerald thought they were funny and applied them to his bass progression. The band developed the jam into a song and performed it live in 1976. Nutty Buddy was abstract subject matter and had laconic energy compared to the more agressively “DEVO” songs that were taking center stage. By the time “Gut Feeling” was written with its 5 chord revolving progression and gradually accelerated BPM’s to reach a violent orgasmic finale poor “Nutty Buddy” put the covers over his head and went to sleep.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Casale/DEVO
Alan on Shout Here is a burning question: To what degree did Alan contribute to the drums on SHOUT? Did he come up with ideas re drum programming? Did he actually play electronic drums? Were there acoustic drums used? - From jeep jones/ boogiemite@gmail.com Sept. 2017
Alan did what he could on the songs to make them more organic. The Fairlight programs were stultifying and ultimately Alan felt frustrated. The experience led to his departure from the Devolutionary Army. – Gerald Casale/DEVO
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Heavy Metal Movie. Did you like how your song was used in the film Heavy Metal, and did you like the movie as well? - Brian/Oct. 2017
I remember being amused by the inclusion of our cover of Working in a Coalmine in an animated film that was antithetical to Devoís aesthetic. Hollywood works in mysterious ways.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
The origin of the Duty Now boy logo. Hello, guys! I have been a big fan since first seeing the "Satisfaction" video in the latter part of 1978 (it was my "Beatles on the Ed Sullivan" moment). Thank you for all the wonderful music and inspiration! My question involves the origin of the Duty Now logo (as seen below) which appears on the back of the Warner's LP (and the cover of the Virgin LP). I know the logo first appeared in the book "My Struggle"...where did this hugely iconic logo originate from? Thanks so much! - Larry Garvin/Oct. 2017
The logo was morphed from a high-school science pamphlet issued back in the 1950ís in the state of Ohio.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
The Dr. Detroit Era. What was the song made with and why not a full album in 1983? - from Seth Sternberger/ Oct. 2017
We were asked to write a song specifically for the movie and I was asked to direct a music video for it that incorporated footage from the film mixed 50/50 with original Devo scenes.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Pre-concert film format I've always wondered about the film setup you were using before your concerts in the 1980s. I was never seated where I could really see the projector(s) but the image was always great and the sound obviously genuine stereo. My guess was that you were running 35mm with separate interlocked sound, but until now I never knew who to ask! If you could give a little overview, it would make this old A/V nerd happy after 30+ years. Thank you! - Jeff/ atrocity@wywh.com, Oct 2017
That’s exactly what we were doing thanks to Background Engineers in Burbank, CA. It was a special rear projection set up with a lense that bounced light through a mirror at a right angle so the throw for a large image could be short enough to use on stage.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Curious spud wants to know about inspiration on a song from New Traditionalists Question for Jerry Casale: What was your inspiration for Beautiful World, and did it have anything to do with that tragedy at Kent State May 4, 1970? I love the song, by the way. I've found it very comforting to listen to it when dealing with the world's devolution these days. - Erin Hanks/ Oct2017
The idea certainly must have been fed by my experience of that tragedy. It festered inside me for years. With the almost soporifically pretty melody I suddenly wanted to sing about my simple opinion that the world was NOT beautiful for me. Its beauty gets destroyed by the evil in human nature. I saw it all in a flash and knew what the video would be and knew I would wait until the end of the song to state ìBUT NOT FOR MEî.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Vinyl. I was listening to DEVO records backwards in reverse 45RPM trying to seek the secret message when my brain melted. Would an energy have helped? Is there a way to reverse this process? - Dan/ dna0997@centurylink.net
Energy Domes trap the energy that escapes from the top of your skull and re-cycles it back into the brain for added consciousness. It would have helped you find what you seek.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
About my favorite song Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA I have always loved the lyric "Suburban robots that monitor reality" and thought it would of made a great title for one of your albums. So my question is, which band member came up with it? - Jacob Leija/ smartpatrolgroup31@gmail.com
I wrote the song Smart Patrol , lyrics and music. Later Mark added Mr DNA to it with a section Bob 1 and he wrote together. It all worked well.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Favorite DEVO moment? What is your all time, hands down favorite moment you experienced in DEVO? - Aidan Burnett/ Sharkman269@hotmail.com
That would have to be a menage a trois after one of our shows in Sydney Australia during the New Traditionalists tour in 1981.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Devo Fantasy Camp - Can you have a camp so Devo fans can jam along on these sacred songs? - from Bad Andy English / Sept. 2017
That’s a fine idea indeed but no devo song is sacred except maybe “Booji Boy’s Funeral”. At this point your idea is unfortunately destined to remain a fantasy much to my displeasure.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Mystery song relief! Dear Devo. What is the song playing from "Rod's big Reamer" after Devo leaves the meeting? from Paulkaiju - Aug. 2017
The song is a basement recording of a DEVO instrumental from 1978 that i eventually wrote some lyrics for called “new way to be” as in “there’s a new way to be (be) there’s a new way to go (go), there’s a new way to play, so – go do it!” it never went further than that.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Last days of '79 + More Q1: What was with those two shows at the tail end of 1979? A lot of FOC material played there that was presumably being worked on, plus some outtakes like Fountain of Filth. Were they played to test the audience to see if they liked it, or was it just a celebration of the new decade? I've seen some pictures of the tour and saw the D E - V O ponchos being worn plus an energy dome on Alan's drumset, would be interesting to hear what kind of costumes and antics were done on stage since there's no pictures of these shows. Q2: Was Penetration not played in the US on the FOC tour as a jab on how America treats sex compared to Europe? - Anonymous, 8/17/17
Q1: I would like to spin a story that I had some all encompassing plan for those shows but that would be a lie. We were excited to have been writing new material in November and December of 1979 which eventually metamorphized into the fully realized “Freedom of Choice” LP the following January. We wanted to play the new songs we were excited to have written. The Devo ponchos had black light sensitive letters on them. We turned off all satge lights except for a downstage row of blacklights during Jocko Homo so we could do our primitive monkey choreography and make the letter appear to be dancing on stage. Other than our white paper outfits with silver pants from our Duty Now for the Future tour, the ponchos were the only costiume change after stripping down to wrestling shorts and Devo T’s. The hightlight of those shows was some fairly crude, dangerous pyrotechnics during the Fountain of Filth encore. Booji Boy was scorched a bit during the last show. I had created a prototype of the dome with fabricator Brent Scrivner and don’t remember why it ended up on stage.
Q2: We decided not to play Penetration on the FOC tour because it didn’t fit the look and feeling of the stage concepts, as did not many previous Devo songs. It represented the past and we were promoting the future at that point.
Answer by Gerald V. Casale/DEVO
Scientists have yet to account for 90% of the universe's mass (and while there are theories on "dark matter", this frankly strikes me as lazy scientific exposition). Do you know where it is? Best Wishes - from Alastair Craig/Brisbane, Australia, mailed 5/28/08
The universe has it’s head up it’s ass. Follow the stench and you will find the truth..
– Gerald V. Casale of DEVO
To whom it may concern, My co-workers and I are almost coming to blows over the following question: In an all-out fight, who would win - Devo or Led Zepplin? I told you it was a stupid question. I would completely understand if you didn't dignify it with a response. However, a response would be greatly treasured by all of us. Success in all your projects, Raymond Wolper, mailed 7/19/06
OK! Well, this is an apples and oranges type question. In an all out fist fight DEVO would win. There are 5 of us and 4 of them (well, there WERE 4 of them) and they are older than us and smaller than us. Bob #2 would bear hug Robert Plant to death in less than 60 seconds alone. In an aesthetic fight it would be more like figure skating scores calculated in various categories. Page’s guitar is like a triple axle, double reverse and wins hands down. On conceptual competition DEVO 86’s the Zep. Record sales: Zep aces DEVO. Memorable riffs: it’s a tie. Live show: it’s DEVO on top. Big hair: Zep puts DEVO to shame. Be thankful that the spuds could co-exist with the Hammer of the Gods.
– Nutra of DEVO, Inc.
I'm wondering what devo thinks of all the madness with the ports. Although I think it's insane that our govt is going to hand over our ports to the UAE, I think the real problem is that only 5% of the containers are searched. How long do you think it will be until 'THE' bomb crosses our borders? I'm a scared little potato. Thanks! - Clifford H . ps: just purchased your dvd of you in japan and it was brilliant! loved the little interview stuff too. I was afraid to buy it for awhile because I thought maybe you guys lost your magic on stage, but damn, you guys rock better than most young rock fools. bless you, devo!! I LOVE YOU! - Anonymous, mailed 2/28/06
Spud. There are no actual countries. It’s a branding construct to promote football-style team spirit and jingoism. Bush and his cronies are robber barons and have more in common with Putin and the Chinese Premiere than with our founding fathers. The port scandal is a diversion for the masses so they won’t ask the real questions about international corporate rape and the end of democracy. The UAE doesn’t want a dirty bomb going off any more than you do but for very simple business reasons. The insane fundamentalists with nothing to loose are able to play out their end game due to the horrific hypocrisy of supposedly “free” nations. And yes, less than 5% of the containers are inspected. It’s been that way forever. Don’t be afraid. Enjoy your flight until it intersects a skyscraper. There’s nothing you can do about it anyway unless you are allergic to peanuts.
– Jihad Jerry
Hi - I'm a Devo fan from way back and I was really enjoying the NY show on HD Net just now. However, I am also a Republican and I am wondering why there had to be negative jabs against Republicans. In fact, I don't understand why there has to be any political commentary at all. Now don't freak out -- I am not an evil right winger denying you your right to free speech. But I guess when I tune in to see you playing music at a concert -- that's what I am expecting: you playing music at a concert. I just don't really care what your political views are -- no matter what they are. I mean I was just tuning in to see the concert and hear the music. Isn't that why all those people were there for, too? - Maureen Leader, posted 8/8/2004
It’s amazing you can like a band that stands for justice and liberty and science and logic and still vote for an evil regime that wants to destroy what’s left of democracy, destroy the separation of church and state, attack the bill of rights, eliminate a woman’s right to choose, deny humane scientific research, steal from seniors, destroy the environment to keep oil cronies rich and in short institute a form of Christian fundamentalism that is only slightly less heinous than the authoritarian beliefs of the Taliban. Go ahead and vote for a dim-witted, mean spirited, menial son of a CIA man who is on the wrong side of every issue that matters to the future of humans on the planet earth. This isn’t about democrats and republicans (there’s really no difference there). This is about the end of humane values in our life time. Do you wear a backwards baseball cap and drive a Hummer 2? Remember! Freedom of choice is what you’ve got. Freedom from choice is what you want!
— Gerald V. Casale , Devo Inc.
Dear DEVO, I have three questions: Q1: In what year were the Pioneer Laserdisk promotions on the DEVO Unexpurgated DVD originally taped? Q2: Have you ever noticed the uncanny facial resemblance of the "Turkey Monkey" and the current appointed president of the US? Q3: I suppose that De-evolution is for real? - Gary, posted 5/28/2004
A2: 1983
A3: Yes, especially in the simian cranial area. But Turkey Monkey is more intelligent.
A1: Don’t suppose. Know it is. Just an observation from the devo-ted.
– NUTRA, Devo Inc.
Devo put on such great live shows that many of us "fans" who followed them throughout their band "life" find ourselves on e-bay looking for bootleg videos of tours. Can the club "dig up" video from each tour and offer it as part of the "cool stuff?" - Khaussman@aol.com, posted 2/20/02
Unfortunately, there was very little documentation of DEVO’s legendary shows. The Freedom of Choice tour was never filmed except for three songs that appear in Urgh! A Music War . The New Traditionalists tour was filmed but a technical disaster with electrical shorts forced the footage into an insurance claim – it was destroyed by the insurance company. The OH NO It’s DEVO tour with the rear projection suffered a similar fate. It was taped once only by a company attempting a 3D satellite broadcast. It didn’t work, it looked bad and DEVO had to sue them. The footage was confiscated by the court. That leaves the 1996 Lollapalooza show – stripped down and bare bones it was shot with 10 video cameras. The company who did it went into bankruptcy and the footage has been only recently recovered by the band after years of fighting. It will appear on DVD in the late spring of 2002 along with all of DEVO’s video and film work. As you can see the world of Rock n’ Roll lives up to it’s sleazy reputation.
– Duty Now for the Future, Nutra.
Who was supposed to produce DEVO's first album, and why did Brian Eno end up producing it? - Anonymous, posted 2/7/02
We have received a run on this question. Rather than answer it 100 times, here is the answer posted for all to see. David Bowie was supposed to produce DEVO’s album. His movie acting schedule conflicted with our recording schedule. Finally we couldn’t wait for him any longer. He asked Brian Eno to come see us play at Max’s Kansas City in NYC. Brian liked what he saw and we liked Brian and the work he’d done with Bowie on the album, “Low”. So, we went to Connie Planck’s studio in Germany where they recorded “Low” and recorded “Are We Not Men?” with Brian.
– Gerald V. Casale
Please Post this On TELLUS DEVO: I , like many eager spuds, out there don't get enough DEVO. So, I appreciate the tech tv spot, It was great to see de-evolution still being preached. (We can all ready see it around us.) QUESTIONS? Yes , I have a few: Has A BEHIND THE MUSIC Been done on DEVo, yet? Not a where are they now, measley little segment, but the full deal. I watch it constantly, hoping to catch DEVO: BEHIND THE MUSIC, But,Alas, All I get Is Hammer, Hall and Oates, and Boy George. - Frank Rorrer, posted 2/5/02
No, there hasn’t been any DEVO “Behind the Music” on the order of those shows. We don’t fit the formulaic cliche of anti-intellectual, drug addled musicians who lost it all and came back. We were conceptual, organized and articulate. We never amassed a big pile to lose because mainstream radio and press never liked us – we really were new and different.. Our message didn’t fit the corporate propaganda of fake nihilism and rebellion. Lastly we quit before crashing and burning and made the mistake of not coming back (Mark’s decision). You see, hardly the story that the powersthat be at VH1 want to tell?
— GVC
Once again, humans prove we are incapable of responding properly to stimuli: Stimulus: 4 airplanes hijacked by knife-wielding terrorists Response: ask all passengers if they have knives Stimulus: terrorists from oil-producing nations bomb us Response: put $2 flags on our gas-guzzling SUVs Stimulus: religious extremists kill 5000 Response: non-religious blame religion, religious blame Islam "It's not nuclear bombs we must fear, but the human mind itself, or lack of it, on this planet." - DEVO, 1981, Anonymous posted 9/19/01
Thanks for remembering that we addressed this long ago, yet some things never change.
– Nutra
Is this what you meant by conscious mutation? P.S. I did it to myself*
Well spud, although DEVO makes a stand for conscious mutation, don’t forget DEVO also calls for “choosing your mutations carefully.” Maybe a skeleton with a swastika seems appropriate for today, but for someday the Nazis may not be in control of this country, and you’ll need to wear longsleeve T-Shirts or grow your hair even longer to cover the unsightly affection.
* This specific Q&A is from DEVO’s original 1980’s Brainwasher fanzine
Why are American cars so bad?*
Because the people that make them believe in God.
* This specific Q&A is from DEVO’s original 1980’s Brainwasher fanzine
Why is liquor legal, but kids get in trouble for sex?*
There’s big money for stuff that’s bad for you!
* This specific Q&A is from DEVO’s original 1980’s Brainwasher fanzine
Why do all the dumbest pigs rule society?*
They’re right for the job.
* This specific Q&A is from DEVO’s original 1980’s Brainwasher fanzine
DEVO got this Q&A forum idea from a Fabian trading card.
