Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer, and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose single "Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US in 1980, peaking at No. 14 and which has since maintained a cult following. Mothersbaugh is one of the leading composers of Devo's music.
Mothersbaugh is thanked in the program for The Mole Show and is, along with bandmate Gerald Casale, an outspoken fan of The Residents. Both members have been rumoured as a member of The Residents-[1] [2] with Mark often rumoured to have been on keyboards during The 13th Anniversary Show[3] (which toured during Devo's first hiatus), although the rumour was later disproven when Residents associate Hardy Fox confirmed he played keyboards on that tour. Mark was briefly label-mates with The Residents, as both were signed to the failing Enigma Records in the late 1980s. His song "Speed Racer" has been described as "almost as engagingly weird as anything the Residents did."[4]
Similarly to The Residents, Mothersbaugh also appears regularly on stage as a masked character, Booji Boy; although this was likely not influenced by The Residents' masked tendencies; Mothersbaugh has been appearing masked on stage since Devo's first performance in 1973.
History[]
Mark Mothersbaugh formed Devo along with Gerald Casale, Bob Lewis, and Peter Gregg in 1973, with the lineup eventually evolving into the iconic five-piece lineup of Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, Bob Mothersbaugh, Bob Casale and Alan Myers by December of 1976.
Early Influence (1977)[]
On June 19th, 1977, after a Devo show at Hideo's Discodrome in Cleveland Heights, Mothersbaugh met with David Thomas of Pere Ubu, who shared some singles that reminded him of Devo. He played a Hawkwind song as well as The Residents' version of "Satisfaction," which Devo had just begun to play in concert. Mothersbaugh was impressed by the single[5] and began looking into the group's other material.
Shortly afterwards, members of Devo began contemplating relocating out of Ohio. Mark figured they had the option to become "the Akron, Ohio version of The Residents," releasing out niche records every year to a limited audience, or expand into other states to see how much strength the Devo aesthetic had.[6][7] [8] In July of 1977, Mothersbaugh, and the rest of Devo, relocated to California, where they were successfully signed to Warner Brothers Records.
Involvement in The Mole Show (1981-1983)[]
In 1981, Mothersbaugh suggested to his then manager Eliot Roberts and Bill Gerber that they should sign The Residents, after his recommendation of The Human League had resulted in massive commercial success, as a result, Gerber acted as The Residents' manager between 1982 and 1985, and narrated The Uncle Sam Mole Show concert in 1983.
Homer Flynn & Mark Mothersbaugh at an art gallery, circa 2014
Mothersbaugh attended The Residents' private 'Mole Show' test performance a at The House in Santa Monica on April 10th, 1982, and can be heard quipping from the audience during set up on the CD re-issue of Pal TV LP. Mothersbaugh also attended their Halloween show at Perkins Palace in Pasadena. Notably, Wall of Voodoo, The Residents' opening band, had opened for Devo the night prior for their televised 3-DEVO concert. Mothersbaugh was thanked in the program for the tour and later described The Mole Show as "The dinkiest thing they've ever done."
After the show, Eliot approached Mothersbaugh and told him, "Don't ever recommend another band to me." Mothersbaugh remained an active fan afterward and described "It's A Man's World" as his favorite Residents project.[9]
Later connections (1986- )[]
In 1986, Mothersbaugh illustrated the cover of The Cryptic Guide to The Residents and, the year following, recorded "My Home Town" for the Ralph Records compilation Potatoes. Archival footage of Mothersbaugh is also featured in the 2016 documentary The Theory of Obsucirty, during a Gerald Casale interview segment.
Most recently, Mothersbaugh has contributed a quote for The Residents art book, A Sight For Sore Eyes Volume 2, released in 2023.
See Also[]
- Gerald Casale
- Josh Freese
- ↑ https://queencitysoundsandart.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/the-residents-bring-their-weird-and-wonderful-multi-media-show-to-denver/
- ↑ https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_most_intriguing_mysterious_bands_of_all_time/s1__37672155#slide_16
- ↑ https://popdose.com/the-complete-idiots-guide-to-the-residents/
- ↑ https://trouserpress.com/forum/read.php?1,29389,29409
- ↑ https://www.kqed.org/arts/10137103/tap-into-your-inner-resident-notes-on-our-planets-strangest-band
- ↑ https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/guest-dj-project/mark-mothersbaugh
- ↑ https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturdayaudio/2018761706/devo-frontman-mark-mothersbaugh-plays-favourites
- ↑ https://chicago.suntimes.com/music/2024/05/01/devo-chicago-concert-riviera-documentary-gerald-casale-mark-mothersbaugh
- ↑ https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/mark-mothersbaugh-unedited-transcript