Devo

Devo formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973, evolving from an art-school provocation into one of the most sonically innovative bands of the new wave era. Their early sound was built on deliberately angular, deconstructed guitar riffs — Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Mothersbaugh played cheap guitars through overdriven amps, treating the instrument as a percussive tool rather than a melodic one. By Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), produced by Brian Eno at Konrad Plank's studio in Cologne, Bob Mothersbaugh had adopted the Ibanez PS-10 — an angular, asymmetric solidbody custom-designed for him — which became the visual symbol of the band. He played it through a variety of solid-state amps, preferring their harsher, less forgiving distortion over tube warmth. The breakthrough came with Freedom of Choice (1980): the band had fully integrated synthesizers into their core sound, with Mark Mothersbaugh playing a Minimoog, a Roland Jupiter-8, and an ARP 2600. The Jupiter-8's polyphonic pads and sequencer-driven basslines on "Whip It" and "Girl U Want" replaced conventional bass guitar entirely on many tracks. Gerald Casale's bass work — on a Fender Precision when he played bass at all — was increasingly subordinate to the synthesizer arrangements. Producer Robert Margouleff (who had engineered Stevie Wonder's Innervisions) helped shape the band's transition from art-punk to synth-pop. By New Traditionalists (1981), Devo's live rig was almost entirely electronic: sequenced synthesizers, drum machines, and the guitars functioning more as texture than rhythm section. The Minimoog's monophonic leads and the Jupiter-8's layered pads became the defining instruments of their sound.