From left, DEVO’s Bob Casale, Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh perform at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino Thursday in Highland, CA. August 4, 2011. Bob Casale died on Feb. 17, 2014. (2011/File Photo)
Bob Casale, guitarist and one of the original members of new wave pioneers Devo, has died. He was 61.
Casale’s brother Gerald, a founding member of Devo, posted the news that his brother died on Feb. 17 of heart failure on the band’s website.
“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, which started as a performance art project at Kent State University in the 1970s, landed a record deal and became one of the icons of the new wave movement.
Devo’s visual side played well to the then-emerging MTV in the early 1980s, with the hit “Whip It,” complete with a video featuring the band members wearing the red plastic flowerpot hats that became synonymous with their image.
In August of 1980, the band played was scheduled to play two shows in Riverside at Raincross Square, but after technical difficulties, the second show was canceled and a riot ensued. The band later came back to play the second show.
In 2010 Devo released the album “Something for Everybody” and later went on tours and played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino.
Visit www.clubdevo.com for more information on the band.