Gerald Casale: Oral History of Devo
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- Опубліковано 28 лют 2015
- This interview was originally intended to be used in a documentary on the history of rock 'n' roll in the mid-1990s. The interview contains tons of background information on Devo along with interesting insights into the histories of the punk and rock genres.
the most articulate, smart rock musician I've ever seen interviewed. I can't even hear the questions most of the time, but it doesn't matter at all. Total respect
Well him and DeeDee Ramone
"We were punk scientists! We were doing something that looked wrong, sounded wrong, we talked about things that nobody was talking about." Brilliance.
Gerald Casale is too smart ,,They should show this in to art schools as a MUST
Easily one of the SMARTEST musicians of all time. Amazing interview.
Zappa
I thought of Zappa too when I read that. But there have been some really great smart musicians, one that good are a rare breed though.
Imagine KISS explaining themselves honestly like this
Zappa had an elite smugness Devo never had
No doubt, most young Millennials see his cigar as fascist, sexist, racist, homophobic, and offensive to the environment..... and saw little else.
This is such a delight. I'm a professor and this is one of the best lectures I've ever heard. I would put Gerald Casale up against any theorist today worth his/her weight in salt.
Teach it
This was a delight to stumble upon. I went on a deep dive on some DEVO vids to have a flashback in time. I never knew the topology and concept that was behind DEVO because I was so young when they hit the mainstream.
@@chrisccc22 I was 10 when Whip-it came out too. I immediately got Freedom of Choice and LOVED it. I was already music obsessed. The depth of their messages was over my head, but I picked up on bits and pieces of it and knew they were important and progressive. It was wondrous and exciting, like I had something special. My friends just liked Whip-it. So DEVO was like a secret joy of mine alone. I wish I'd had just one friend who liked them like I did. Regrettably, I never saw them live since my friends were all going to punk shows in the following teen years and beyond.
@@snfu6574 I would love to. It would take more than one class, one semester. There's the history of Marxism, Absurdism and the Da Da-ist movements; the hirstory of the European anarchgists, the VietCong, so much, not to mention the history of rock and roll and where it was in the mid 1970s.
"The expression of art, music, dance- it's getting worse. I see less creativity, less diversity..." More true every day. De-Evolution is real.
The non degenerate degeneration paradox:
Art is degenerating because it lacks degeneracy, for everything is sanitized, polished, calculated and market-studied, specially so when it pretends to be nasty and edgy.
Idiocracy baby.
@@brentwalker3300 free gas at Carl’s Jr. extra big ass fries aka frys
Perhaps the issue is where you are directing your gaze. There's a near endless supply of Good to Very Good individuals/groups creating Art/Music/Dance, but if your bar is higher there is also a vast number of Great to Amazing of the same. For goodness sake, the internet exists, we have access now to the world's Art/Music/Dance. There's no excuse for the above perspective at this point.
Devo is still light years ahead of everyone 45 years later..
some of their earlist recordings are more creative and ahead of their time even now.
For whatever it's worth....Gerald Casale is my hero.
Jon Engman same here, him & Mark. period.
J. Beamrider Ohio boys are one step above.
Same here
Devo has many rules 💃💃💃
that rarest of things, an intellectual discussion about popular music, thanks Devo
I never understood them for years when I first heard Whip It, thinking it was some song related to bondage. Now I know Devo’s songs and performances are a satire, a parody of the worse excesses of establishment. It took me years to understand them. I am catching up with their work and I love them. Their live acts are amazing.
DEVO, ideas formed from junk. And thats genius
Having seen the shows in the early 80's it's sad they got panned. The experience was magical.
Fascinating interview. Extremely insightful. Gerald Casale is very intelligent, articulate, and has a deep understanding of the business, while maintaining the "artist's" perspective. ...and he's absolutely correct, they were never punk; they were completely different from the punk scene, both musically and aesthetically.
dwodo21 but as he said, that made them the most “punk”. I consider Devo a punk band, as punk was originally intended to be at least. It fits better than “New Wave”
@Captain Brandon Cinema Lover New Wave was marketing term made up by record companies. I like a lot of new wave bands, but to me Devo is a punk band. "Punk" is it was originally intended; a way of thinking, not a specific sound. I understand why people call Devo new wave, but if you really dive deeper into their philosophy and especially their early music before their radio songs, you see it was pretty extreme. They have little in common with The Cars or Duran Duran
@@cardigansarecool Exactly. DEVO's sound was futuristic like other bands categorized as New Wave (Missing Persons, B52s, etc...). Their mission was Punk, being FAR more advanced and outspoken. Typical American "punk" bands had a narrow scope and comparatively unoriginal content and look.
What a wonderful, patient interviewee!!He indulges the interviewers questions even though hes probably answered them more times than hed like in the past.Have to admire Casales humility.
Thank you for this great interview. Its really helping me comprehend Gerald’s potato
Gerald is a genius and Devo has always been under-rated. De-evolution is truly here…..just look around you.
And it’s accelerating like a car with a jammed gas pedal heading for a brick wall
Underrated by whom? DEVO has had a huge following since the 70s.
These guys are not poorly educated🍻
I just found out rick Scott is a crook and a fraud☹️☹️☹️
@@machinelanguage5108 The Hall of Fame?
While I identified with punk I, without shame or fear, fully embraced Devo while staying true to punk circa 1978. In retrospect there was never a more original band to ever exist in sound, cadence, style, and intention. That includes Eno. Hats off. Thank you for the music and this interview.
I'm so happy to hear this that I'm crying. This is gold.
☹️
With joy
I have fallen back into a deeper love with DEVO and what thoughts they tried to illicit. Wow! He and Mark have blown my head open!
I'm sure he and I occupy different parts of the philosophical spectrum -- but wow, I could listen to this dude all day. This far exceeded my expectations. 👍
Me too. I'm no leftist like he is by any means, but most of what he says is spot on. It's a beautiful world 🌎we live in.
🙄only since 1975. Get straight move ahead💃💃
I will never forget seeing them on Saturday night live. I had never heard of them. After about 10 seconds of W.T.F is this. I loved it.
I actually thought they were robots!
I met and had a drink with this genuine, professional awesome man....
Who paid?
25 years after this took place and I enjoyed every second of this. Love these guys.
My life would not have been complete without having known Devo my mom and dad divorced back in 79 and those were my go-to people I love Devo very much thank you for everything
I have to admit, when I saw "oral history" and Devo in the same sentence, I wasn't sure what the hell I'd get. This is really fascinating.
I love that he called out Byrne. He was totally imitating Mark, it's so completely obvious in Once In A Lifetime.
Wicked little doll. Byrne. Feelings 1997🤓
maybe theyre just both autistic
Gerald V was straight up saying Byrne biting my boys shit haha i love it.
I was 10 when "Whip It' came out. It literally swept the nation by storm. SNL shortly after. That was big time. I was never old enough to understand the concept. I dove back in about a year ago and stumbled on this. SO glad I did. Thanks guys.
Happy to have found this interview. Fortunate enough to see Devo in '79. This interview, discussing music creativity and reinvention, is as relevant today as 1995.
Great interview! Everything he says is even more apropos today than it was then! DEVO FOREVER!
"Really being smart but appearing stupid." I've been trying to figure out DEVO for 30 years and that comment summed it up. I've always loved them but now I understand them.
That was a small but very difficult part.
I got them from the git. Dressed up as DEVO in high school 1980. I'm from Cleveland, 45 miles from DEVOland. BTW they were quite a bit harder-edged in the 70's.
@@KingCast65 That was the Devo I liked (the 70's). After years of rock going pop in the 70's, Devo was a beacon of truth, sarcasm and originality.
Edit: Suburban Robots that monitor reality!
@@tomjeffries58 Clockout too. All of it. It's all mixed up in a Big Mess.
I've been playing music for 35 years and I don't think I've ever met any musicians who haven't been in a band that was paid to leave at least once.
Finally somebody compiled the full interview in one video. You have won the youtubes.
Wow. The most articulate I have seen anyone be. I can’t get enough of interviews with this group and Gerald Casales.
I took my future wife to Metro (Chicago) in 88 (?)- best first date possible. Awesome concert- super energy, great music. I always loved DEVO through the early 80s in rural wisconsin high school. It warped me in the best way. I can never repay the debt.
“We were having fun at the time making people angry.” That was punk in a nutshell, at least for us in the mid 80s
As I'm watching this on UA-cam, I see the following video ads on the right: Visit Fukushima, Why People Are Eating Tide Pods, Horseshoe Crabs Saved My Life. So in 2018, Gerry is right on the mark.
they use Horseshoe Crabs blood cells to develop a test called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate, or LAL, which checks new vaccines for contamination.
an amazing interview that makes DEVO as a band even more amazing...... way ahead of their time Musically and Politically... they have a simple common sense that reflects how humanity has DE-EVolved and fails to see so.
Really. Twice impeached unreliable financial statements and contempt lying children marked cards embezzlement prostitution shoplifting wire fraud falsified divorce settlement. 😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝outstanding credentials priceless💃💃💃💃💃💃
@@mikehersh6192 I love their music but I view them differently today even though I have not heard of the stuff you mention.. it does not surprise me...nothing surprises me any more ,for I look where others fail to... they are part of a bigger system that sells their souls....
Think George Carlin covered the de-evolving of humans, especially Americans quite well
I'd love to see a movie about the band. Call it Devolution.
Uncontrollable Urge
Devolution is REAL.
Devo needs to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Along with Kraftwerk. .. just shameful they arent already.. Ohio ;)
your avatar scares the fuck out of me. and a fellow sp fan as well. hi
@@johnb5057 that is cEvin Key
Thanks for posting this. Fantastic!
Feeding a guy in gimp suit with an enema bag at an art show. The image in my head is so horrific l can't stop laughing. XD
Everything Gerald says is absolutely exactly how I feel, right down to his feelings on grunge "music". Unfortunately, humanity had already devolved to a level of minimal understanding of the depth and meaning of Devo.
That because they're still so far into the future. WAY beyond our time.
incredibly interesting interview. devo were most certainly ahead of their time - and right on the money when it comes to de-evolution!
Really interesting interview, I occasionally listen to devo , usually uncontrollable urge but I think they were one of the most original bands to come out of America from that era, devo and talking heads were the 2 that stood out. I didn't know Brian eno produced them until now 👍
we Always need people like Gerry Casale around !
YES! Roxy Music.. I was at art college in Cleveland 74-79 and DEVO played there early on. Two school mates became huge Devo fanatics and would crash campus/Dorm parties in Devo gear and take over the sound system, driving the students crazy but I loved it. They were like our first pre-Punks.
What a band , pioneering and headstrong.
Fascinating interview - so much inside/early info from Casale - a feast for true DEVO fans.
Absolutely fantastic interview...intelligent, informative, amusing at times!!!
I love DEVO. DE-evolution...is very real.
Still WAY ahead of the times.
Brilliant interview. Saw them on my 21st birthday at the Ritz. Thank you DEVO
love the cigar lighting moment
You guys were my 80’s. I was asleep but somehow internally aware that something wasn’t right on Earth. Devolution-I get it! We’re witnessing this right now. Thank you 🙏
As a kid in Canada I set out to "become New Wave" in 1981 and my first two albums were Blondie and Devo's Duty Now For The Future. I became an artist and ever subversive person as an adult. I am sometimes surprised a twenty something knows a Devo song these days but Devo stands the test of time!
@Gay Believe it or not, my own father created the now-iconic design featured on DEVO’s DUTY lp (on the top- left-hand side of the reverse-side of the domestic (US) release, or the design taking the full cover of the lp in foreign markets (UK, France, Germany, etc)…
@@jeffkaufman9875 you mean the 50s man overtop the atomic symbol? I used to draw it on everything!
@Gay Yes; true story… It was designed by him in 1956 as an entry in that year’s Northeastern Ohio Science Fair; his design won first prize ($50.00(!?), and was adopted as the logo for the Northeastern Ohio Science Fair until sometime in the 1970’s when DEVO appropriated it, then purchased it for use on their second album… Very cool you used to draw it!…
@@jeffkaufman9875 what an awesome story! I will treasure it!
@Gay I know what you mean! In fact, I’m currently in touch with representatives of DEVO towards having my father’s name and story added to the official DEVO historical record… Thank you for your inadvertent support of that endeavor!…
grew up in Akron. i wish i had known more about DEVO then. i wasn't ready.
Great interview, thanks for sharing! ;)
I've seen a few interviewsd of Mark Mothersbaugh and I found him to be a little more leveled and unpretentious if maybe a tad Aspbergers-esque at times. Gerry Casale is pretty smart though but I can kind of see him being the business brains of Devo
Devo: Hard work, perseverence, innovation, creativity. God Bless America, God Bless Devo
god bless America what a crap guy
..."I think David Byrne was imitating Mark"... totally agree. Watch "once in a lifetime" video and you'll agree too
cess72. naw. not so much
"I must inform you that you have made a grave error. "
Nope. David Byrne was all himself.
No David is just weird
Talking Heads were better also, just saying
Damn, Great watch. Well worth the time.
This is the best hour ive seen in a long time
I like that Jerry looks at things philosophically instead of politically - in this interview anyway. Its smart, and refreshing to hear someone who views things objectively - even though DEVO is based on group conformity.
This was 1996.. And he is correct. Music started to decline, and look at what we have now.
Duke Togo - Pitchokey666. true
:(
Duke Togo - Pitchokey666 Ya
Duke Togo - Pitchokey
It had reached a minor peak it never restrained a few years earlier for sure. But nothing like what it had been. I guess guys like Elvis and hendrix only come along once a century
this man is a truth teller and warrior
I love DEVO! Been a fan since '81.
Still listening to and digging DEVO at 66
My favorite band in high scool . I never understood the weirdness . The politics until even now. Just the complexity of the music and an escape from top 40. This is an adventure . An experiment . An understanding of what we are experiencing in 22 , Are we not men ?
31:20, "Stupid, spiritless people". Wow,,,spot on and look at what we have today. Thank goodness someone tells the truth about Beevis and Butthead; the mass marketing of idiocy. I didn't care for that cartoon and things have only gotten worse, such as reality t.v. shows. I see the result of the mass marketing of idiocy at my job also. Now days, acting stupid is the norm. Thank you Jerry!
OK Boomer.
Nah, I am a Gen Xr, lol
Too harsh on B&B. They're the devo manual for surviving the coming collapse of our so called civilization. At least on the spiritual level. They're practically Boogie Boys.
Devo was always a huge influence for me. I still compose music for our films & videos with a slight 'Devo tinge'!
I KNEW IT! These guys were on the RED pill since the '70's. They always seem to know something the rest didn't. LOVE DEVO!! ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL !!!! DEVO FOREVER!!
Sorry spud…. It’s a certifiable fact that anybody that uses the term “ red pill”, knows nothing of de evolution…
8:14 Love how Gerald mentioned Roxy Music with Brian Eno.If it wasn't for them,in particular Eno,I wouldn't know who Devo were,nor would've I been interested if I discovered them through Whip It.I always knew Devo had a harder sound.One of the best and greatest bands ever,loved them.
Watching this interview in July 2024. Gerald is/was 50 years ahead of his time.
I saw you in on the Big Mess tour with all.the screens and big tech. I must say. 81 in the small auditorium at U of H I thought you guys were better. you had better sound than you gave yourself credit for. I was there, You had great big clean sound. Everyone danced to each and every song man. That's the original Devo tours I remember.
This group will never Die. DEVO keep rocking.
this interview is just tremendous
Thank you so much. This is so awesome. Duty now.
Amazing. Thank you for sharing
Devo and Pere Ubu make me proud to be a musician from Ohio.
Wow--just spot on from start to finish
Prophetic words when viewed in 2021. I had their albums back in the early 80's and knew they were special and different. Eventually saw them in SF in the early 90's with a housemate who had dated one of the band in LA. It was a fantastic show. This video is just blowing my mind and makes perfect sense when I look back. Some of thee questions at the end were formulaic and uncomfortably idiotic. Casale must have felt like a Miss Universe contestant.
Total brilliance, so funny when people can't step outside their comfort zone and just laugh at it and ourselves.
Sensacional!!!! Devo.... Rio de Janeiro. Brasil Vós ouço todos os dias!!!! Tenho 63 anos.
Once again, life imitates art. DEVO were years ahead of their time, and have proven that Devolution is a very real thing. We may be pinheads all, but the lads of DEVO were/are geniuses all, and I thank them for that.
Very very interesting...unmistakably original
Bright, articulate, inspired. Love the marriage of high and low art. And of course he smokes cigars. 😇
watch at 144p for maximum General Boy Emergency Broadcast effect.
this is excellent, thank you
When in doubt.
Ask yourself .
What would DEVO do?
DEVO seemed to break many molds and listening to him talk they are one of the most intellectually advanced artists out in the past and now. A lot of people try to be unique and the use DEVO as a template but will never be as good. DEVO is definitely the ever devolving element in the soundtrack of our lives. ARE WE NOT MEN?
I just turned 60 and I'm still a spud. Why isn't this guy teaching a university course on de- evolution? Especially these days? I think it's absolutely valid and accurate. The man's busy enough though. ALL HAIL DEVO
White Dopes on Punk
Great interview. A very intelligent man!
29:24 "OK, Casale. I know what you're trying to do. I saw the french fry going through the donut!"
LOL........oh boy....too funny.
Nothing got past him, huh? ;)
excellent interview/oral history. great, even if you do not particularly like devo.
+Dan Hintz What mongoloid doesn't like Devo? If you don't like Devo, fuck you
Duty now spud!
Rock and roll speaks for the many unheard parts of the world.
I love that he repeatedly mentions David Bowie as an influence. In my opinion he couldn't have found a better mentor. Mr. Cassale is a very interesting man. I was the only one of my friends who bought Devo albums. All my friends were into AC/DC and Zep. I listened to it alone in my room. Couldnt get anyone into them at parties. I didn't care. I love Devo. It was perfect for my hs band kid sensibilities. It was just so different. The other band i was really into was the Tubes. Another band i couldnt get my friends to listen to. I love what he said about performing at CBGBs...he's so right about their performing at that punk club. It was just too intelectually and painterly different for the punk bands and the mass media to get.
Gerald and Mark are great men and turned protests and expression into an artform.... Their canvas is silence their Brushes are sound.....
This was awesome.
DEVO are the true punks!!!