The first column is about one of my important artistic influences -- Devo!
A Brief History of Devo, Part 1:
On October 12th, Devo performed a free concert in New York’s Times Square for the CBGB Film and Music Festival in celebration their new film Hardcore Devo Live that premiered in the festival on Friday, Oct. 10. Filmed at Oakland’s historic Fox Theatre, the film documents a performance from last summer’s ten-city tour featuring the band’s “hardcore” material: avant-garde proto-punk songs originally recorded between 1974 and 1977, many of which hadn’t been performed in almost 40 years.
Coincidently, in the author photo on the back of my latest book, I am wearing a Devo T-shirt. It’s not just an expression of my admiration for the groundbreaking — and often misunderstood — new wave band; it’s a tip of the hat to one of my important artistic influences.
Read the rest here.
The second column continues my profile of Devo.
Last month, Neil Young premiered the director’s cut of his 1982 cult film Human Highway at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Young under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey, the film stars Young, Dennis Hopper, Sally Kirkland, Russ Tamblyn, Dean Stockwell, and all five members of Devo as hapless inhabitants of Linear Valley, a small town about to be destroyed by nuclear war.
Devo appear in the film as workers at Linear Valley’s nuclear power plant. It’s a compelling bit of casting as the band’s dark humour and foreboding philosophy of de-evolution dovetail seamlessly with the film’s odd vibe and apocalyptic premise.
Read the rest here.
More to come.
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