Devo: "The First 50 Years" Exhibition in Los Angeles; tour dates

One day only: an exhibition in Los Angeles about Devo, the highly influential satirical art-punk band, who used the term "devolution" to explain that humanity was no longer moving forward, but backward. On April 24 from 6-10pm at founder member Mark Motherbaugh opens his MutMuz Gallery for a collection of photos and memorabilia will tell the tale, well sort of, about a bunch of guys who did not play by the rules and whose unique conceptualist take on music somehow made some inroads into the charts.

They baffed record buyers and the suits at their record company who could never keep up with their shape shifting approach and piss-takes at rampant commercialism.

Devo: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch American rock band Devo play four songs for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Audience participation included during Praying Hands.

Setlist:

1. It Takes a Worried Man
2. Blockhead
3. Praying Hands
4. Come Back Jonee

» clubdevo.com

Cover Me: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Watch the original Devo promo video for their take on the Rolling Stones classic I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

» clubdevo.com

Devo: tour dates

photo: Joshua Dalsimer

Pranksters/inventors legends Devo are on the road in the States this Summer, showcasing tracks of their latest album Something for Everybody.

Live dates:

• 07/27 Belly Up, Aspen, CO
• 07/28 Belly Up, Aspen, CO
• 07/30 Denver County Fair, Denver, CO
• 08/04 San Manuel Casino, San Bernardino, CA
• 08/05 The Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
• 08/19 Del Mar Racetrack, Del Mar, CA
• 08/27 The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA

» clubdevo.com

HCTF review of Something for Everybody.

Devo: Something for Everybody

photo: Joshua Dalsimer

Devo have split up and reformed more often than most bands. With their left-field synth pop they were the ultimate geek band, who decontructed the Stones' I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and crossed over to the kids with the S&M pastiche Whip It in 1980. Over the years the band was involved with various film projects, including the infamous Human Highway film made by Neil Young in 1982, with Devo member Mark Mothersbaugh scoring and recording much of the soundtrack, his first of many.

Although they made some inroads into the mainstream - they even worked for Disney, Devo remained a cult favorite with a hardcore fan base that was kept wondering if there would ever be a follow-up for their 1990 studio album Smooth Noodle Maps. Their patience has been rewarded with release of Something For Everybody. Was it worth the wait? The album was created with a lot of outside people helping out. They hired Greg Scholl to serve as COO for Devo, Inc., and had advertising agency Mother LA conducting a series of studies to find their fans feelings about album art color selection and song mixes. The results could have been disastrous - a middle of the road hodgepodge of an album that would take a short cut to the cut-out bin. As it stand all the corporate honchos and quibbling fans failed to kill off the signature rhythms and "I'm-cooler-than-you" vocals.

Something for Everybody isn't the new Freedom of Choice, but is way better than their latter day studio output. With the new single Fresh, the sci-fi love song Mind Games and the neo-Krautrock anthem March On, Devo extends its lease on life, continuing a career that has lasted more than 30 years - not bad for a bunch of geeks.

Devo:
Gerald Casale: bass guitar, bass synthesizer, vocals
Mark Mothersbaugh: synthesizers, vocals, mutated guitars
Bob “Bob 1” Mothersbaugh: guitar, vocals
Bob “Bob 2” Casale: guitar, keyboards, bass synthesizer
Josh Freese: drums

Something for Everybody is released on Warner Bros Records. UK release: June 14, US release: June 15

Tracks:

1. Fresh
2. What We Do
3. Please Baby Please
4. Don't Shoot, I'm a Man
5. Mind Games
6. Human Rocket
7. Sumthin'
8. Step Up
9. Cameo
10. Later Is Now
11. No Place Like Home
12. March On

» clubdevo.com