There's sad new to report from the Devo camp, with the act revealing that founding guitarist/keyboardist Bob Casale passed away last night (February 17) from heart failure. He was 61 years old.
Bob's brother and bandmember Gerald took to the group's Facebook page to pay tribute to "Bob 2" (guitarist Robert "Bob" Mothersbaugh is billed as "Bob 1"). In addition to saluting his brother's role in Devo and as an audio engineer, Gerald notes that Bob's passing was unexpected.
Gerald Casale writes:
As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning. He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got. He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again. His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all.
Devo formed in 1972 in Ohio, putting together subversive rock tunes weighing in on the concept of humanity's de-evolution. Bob Casale played on all nine of the band's LPs, ranging from the skewed six-stringing of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! to the more keyboard-geared Freedom of Choice and New Traditionalists up to the band's most recent offering, 2010's Something for Everybody.
Last year, former drummer Alan Myers passed away following a bout with cancer.
Bob's brother and bandmember Gerald took to the group's Facebook page to pay tribute to "Bob 2" (guitarist Robert "Bob" Mothersbaugh is billed as "Bob 1"). In addition to saluting his brother's role in Devo and as an audio engineer, Gerald notes that Bob's passing was unexpected.
Gerald Casale writes:
As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning. He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got. He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again. His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all.
Devo formed in 1972 in Ohio, putting together subversive rock tunes weighing in on the concept of humanity's de-evolution. Bob Casale played on all nine of the band's LPs, ranging from the skewed six-stringing of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! to the more keyboard-geared Freedom of Choice and New Traditionalists up to the band's most recent offering, 2010's Something for Everybody.
Last year, former drummer Alan Myers passed away following a bout with cancer.
