The band released their first album in 20 years, Something for Everybody on June 15, 2010.
Their style has been variously classified as punk, industrial and rock, but are most often considered to be the 70s/early 80s New Wave band that ushered in the synth pop of the 1980s, along with other acts such as Gary Numan and The B-52s.
Devo's music and stage show mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary, often dealing with the concept of De-Evolution, in sometimes-discordant pop songs that often feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures.
Their work has proved hugely influential on subsequent popular music, particularly New Wave, alternative and grunge music, they created some memorable music videos popular in the early days of MTV.
The name "Devo" comes from the concept of Devolution (also referred to by the band as de-evolution). This idea was developed as a joke by Kent State University art students Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis as early as the late 1960s. Casale and Lewis created a number of art pieces in the vein of Devolution. At this time, Casale had also performed with the local band 15-60-75. They met Mark Mothersbaugh around 1970, who introduced them to the pamphlet Jocko Homo Heavenbound, which would later inspire the song Jocko Homo
The pivotal moment for the formation of Devo was the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970. Casale knew two of the murdered students, and even saw one student, Allison Krause, with exit wounds from the M1 Garand rifle. At this moment, Casale claims he changed the idea of Devolution into a serious concept.
The first form of Devo was the Sextet Devo which performed at the 1973 Kent State performing arts festival. It included Casale, Lewis and Mothersbaugh, as well as Gerald's brother Bob Casale on guitar, and friends Rod Reisman and Fred Weber on drums and vocals, respectively. This performance was filmed and a part was included on the home video The Complete Truth About De-evolution. This lineup only performed once. Devo returned to perform in the Student Governance Center (featured prominently in the film) at the 1974 Creative Arts Festival with a line-up including the Casale brothers, Bob Lewis, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Jim Mothersbaugh on drums.
Devo later formed as a quartet focusing around Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale. They recruited Mark's brothers Bob Mothersbaugh and Jim Mothersbaugh. Bob played electric guitar, and Jim provided percussion using a set of homemade electronic drums. This lineup of Devo lasted until 1976 when Jim left the band. The lineup was occasionally fluid, and Bob Lewis would sometimes play guitar during this period. In concert, Devo would often perform in the guise of theatrical characters, such as Booji Boy, and The Chinaman. Live concerts from this period were often confrontational, and would remain so until 1977. A recording of an early Devo performance from 1975 with the quartet lineup appears on DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years, ending with the promoters unplugging Devo's equipment.
Following Jim Motherbaugh's departure, Bob Mothersbaugh found a new drummer in Alan Myers, who played a conventional, acoustic drum set with mechanical precision. Casale re-recruited his brother Bob Casale, and the popular line-up of Devo was formed. It would endure for nearly ten years.
Devo embarked on a Euro-Tour 2007 on June 16th in Barcelona. They also performed concerts in Brighton, London, Manchester and Glasgow. More information about it can be found here.
In May 2020 Devo re-opened their online store where face masks with logo designs and an infamous Energy Dome with the attacheable protective shield can be pre-ordered to help their fans protect themselves from Covid-19.
Come Back Jonee
Devo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bought himself a guitar
Now he's gonna go far
You gotta love 'em and leave 'em
Sometimes you deceive 'em
You made her cry
Jonee you're bad
You're gonna make her sad
Drove out on the expressway
Went head-on into a semi
His guitar is all that's left now
He made her cry
Now she calls his name
Jonee you're to blame
The song 'Come Back Jonee' by Devo talks about a character named Jonee, who buys a guitar from a pawnshop with the hope of hitting it big in the music industry. The song follows Jonee's journey and how he abandons his lover for his music, which ends up in a fatal car accident. The lyrics suggest that Jonee is not steady in his relationships, and he often deceives his lovers. The lines "You've got to love them and leave them, sometimes you deceive them" bring out this point.
The song takes an ironic and satirical approach to the story of Jonee, who wishes to become a rockstar. Jonee's bad decisions lead to his ruin as he crashes into a semi-truck with his Datsun, and all that's left of him is his guitar. The song ends with the woman calling out Jonee's name and holding him responsible for breaking her heart. The lyrics highlight that success comes with a price, and sometimes, it can cost too much.
Line by Line Meaning
Jonee went to the pawnshop
Jonee visited the pawnshop
Bought himself a guitar
Jonee bought a guitar for himself
Now he's gonna go far
He believes he can go far with the guitar talent he possesses
You gotta love 'em and leave 'em
One must love and leave people sometimes
Sometimes you deceive 'em
Occasionally one deceives them
You made her cry
He caused her to cry
Jonee you're bad
Jonee's behavior was bad
You're gonna make her sad
He will make her sad
Jonee jumped in his Datsun
Jonee jumped into his Datsun car
Drove out on the expressway
Jonee drove out on the expressway
Went head-on into a semi
Jonee had an accident and collided head-on with a semi-truck
His guitar is all that's left now
All that remains now is his guitar
He made her cry
He caused her to cry
Now she calls his name
Now she calls his name for help
Jonee you're to blame
Jonee is the one responsible for the situation now
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GERALD CASALE, MARK MOTHERSBAUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris
It wasn't that these guys were ahead of their time - its that there was no one like them before or since.
elderly poodle
Chris you are correct sir.
joog is slightly okay
Chris I don’t see DEVO as much of a band, but rather 5 De-evolved guys embracing what everyone else was (and still is) too afraid to. Duty Now.
maru bo
Chris p
Viewbob
Iunno, The Coneheads and Toyota are pretty good too
American Born Patriot.
Well, I'm sure there were artists making their own identities, so you're missing the point.
LetzChat
I was on holiday at my grandmother's in Torquay, England, when I first saw Devo's Come Back Jonee video on the Old Grey Whistle Test. This fantastic video is what got me hooked on Devo. I still Love it to this day, 45 years or so later.Each episode of the OGWT was shown twice a week. I believe Tuesday night & then repeated the following Saturday. After seeing Come Back Jonee the first time, I was ready with my cassette radio player with a built-in microphone for the second showing a few days later. I recorded the audio as best I could. As you can imagine, it wasn't great audio quality.
A couple of days after my recording, it was time for me & my Mum to make the drive back to Birmingham, about 200 miles. I played Come Back Jonee in my mono one-piece earphone over & over the whole drive back.
Walt65
Great story - I remember seeing this video and, I think, two others played before the first time I saw them in Vancouver back in 1979. Epic. I hope you got so see them live.
Sir Real
Only Devo can make a cool sounding punk cowboy song .
Pallas-Dance & Yoga Pallas
I adore D E V O bigtime, but I disagree with this statement. Case in point: The Vandals’ “Urban Struggle” sometimes referred to as “I Want to be a Cowboy”. Killer tune.