An Interview with Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo

[@PeterChatteris]

Mark M is an incredibly creative chap. Added to this he is humble... and did you notice anything? NO swearing, NO one upmanship, and NO bragging... a breath of very fresh air

[@romakayak]

as a 15 year old school boy My freind and I took a day off school to go see Devo at the colston hall Bristol ,UK 1979.

[@clazza65]

A wise choice.

[@kineticsurf]

He may have wished he had gone to music school but that DIY punk ethos really added to the sound and feel of his work IMHO. Love your stuff Mark, don't stop, keep it coming.

[@Fingerboarder83]

Unfortunately he is dead now. Very smart guy, rest in peace

[@elizabethgillard6605]

Fingerboarder83 He's not dead.

[@Xcorgi]

Fingerboarder83 Other members of Devo have passed on but definitely not Mark!

[@danbam3411]

Fingerboarder83 Bob Casale and Alan Myers (both RIP) are passed away, but Mark is still hanging with us :)

[@musiccollector]

No, Mark is alive and well!

[@jeffdawson2786]

The great people always say, “I wish I had gone to school for this,” and yet they’re the ones that create interesting things and redefine the arts.

[@lostinspacerobinson1527]

One thing is for sure Mark ,not only do we love ya in Youngstown ohio, but the whole world is a better place because of DEVO ! You Guys gave me the most lasting and fond memories of my youth and I'll never forget that. J.d from Youngstown ohio.

[@captainkaboom2384]

love listening to DEVO talk about anything

[@michaelharris4651]

Never seen DEVO in concert but I got to say Mark is a genius and wow what a great front man !

[@ThatsWhenItkickedin]

Devo is/was my favorite band. Mark needed no schooling. Great times at their concerts.

[@tigertruckerman]

Your right,and still beautiful

[@jasonlieberman4606]

I think he just meant it woulda been less stressful learning in school versus his path of figuring things out on the fly, especially when it came to scoring. None of them seemed to doubt what they made was great, but who could known his lifelong passion for visual arts would be overtaken by music? It seems like they didn't at all choose to be, let alone realize they were, some of the original punks

[@lostinspacerobinson1527]

Hi Linda , you truly remind me of those smoking Hott chicks from the 80s , and you still look fantastic baby !! J.d in Ohio.

[@PedroPetracco]

@@jasonlieberman4606 Yeah. I think he meant that more about his "composer" (scoring) carreer.

[@kurtboldt3476]

Genius. Humble. Amazing.

[@andershammer9307]

I had a friend who went to the Julliard school of music and he taught me how to take the music apart and learn from it but I no longer enjoyed the music because it was work. I had to forget what he taught me so I could enjoy music again. The best musicians out there are self taught.

[@jammin0591]

Anders Hammer watch out with that last statement. That is certainly not true

[@musiccollector]

Thanks for the great music, Mark! I am glad you are still doing your stuff! Long live Devo!

[@celiumpictures]

This man singlehandedly created the sound Wes’s films are known for even to this day. Doesn’t get the credit he deserves!

[@westyavro]

Yay Peewee and Life Aquatic ... Mark has done wonderful work over the years.

[@cymatic83]

As a reluctant Berklee grad, I find it ironic that the institution would create a scholarship in the name of a man who never took a single music class, in order to make their exorbitantly priced curriculum "slightly" more affordable for kids who they can then beat the creativity out of. I hated that place. Love Mark Mothersbaugh though.

[@arnehanna3092]

+Kyle Rasmussen Hmmm that's a shame. Seems like a common experience unfortunately.

[@deweypug]

+Kyle Rasmussen I've played with a few Berklee products and I thought they all approached a specific theme with an identical (and formulaic) manner(s)

[@cymatic83]

+deweypug There's a lot of kool aid drinking there. It certainly churns out a lot of "good" players, but you can't teach creativity. I really had to stick to my guns in order to make it through. I learned a lot no doubt, but what a gauntlet it was.

[@mjrydsfast]

There are several institutions that utilize the name or association with people who never were formally trained.

[@seanvine39]

Having gone to music school, I understand what he's saying. I'm sure he reinvented the wheel a couple times over.

[@jasoncallan]

A true genius.

[@Punkfilms4605]

A ture SUBgenius

[@greenxxghostie]

What an adorable spudboy indeed! Love this guy.

[@sci-figuy6668]

What a potato

[@homefront3162]

I grew up with Devo, only saw them once and It was amazing!

[@MrDmfan]

Thank you for all your awesome music and memories!

[@parttime9070]

When they first hit the radios in the mid 70's to me they were trans-fixative DEVO's music transcended what came before.. Praise Bob..

[@ricovali9245]

Going to school would have been the worst thing he could have done.all great talent in all fields left university's mainly because they felt it impeding with their progress.

[@picmajik]

It would help to know some 'conventions'--such as time codes, principles of orchestration. You need to be familiar with the rules before twisting them.

[@Vdalem]

I always believe you can be around forever if you have even a handful of fans.

[@ACM9407]

His glasses are pretty coo :) Wish I had em'!!!

[@ArtistsHouseMusic]

@Andybaby Welcome to Devo world.

[@Lazarus1095]

But would they have let him in? I tried to go to music school, and was told point blank I could not get in because I had not taken music classes nonstop from prettty much elementary school. Must of the schools I encountered were basically feeders for orchestras that expected you to be a prodigy from childhood.

[@alanc1491]

What's with the dumb jingle in the background?

[@ExploringCabinsandMines]

What's with the background bell music???

[@arthurcabral9561]

You Go, Brother Mark!

[@tommytippee5900]

Genius

[@chadfrahm5344]

They really got screwed in the early days.

[@neilnash5661]

A lovely guy

[@simonbarber2098]

Genius...Devo are totally unique

[@dannoonan7094]

Brother you don't need music school you have the internet now

[@freizakun]

What's the music name in BG? I know it was composed by him But idk the name lmao

[@justinfossa1254]

Why didn't they give you an Honorary Degree?

[@dacosta0656]

he is the main reason I believe the rock n roll Hall of fame is utter nonsense

[@kimberly9000]

Agreed!

[@markraza9762]

devo is marks first, but his movie and television were a bigger success.

[@TheTestingGrounds]

you do realize this is the father of Booji boy

[@MrMicklethal]

Yup....

[@mikefallopian3191]

Actually HIS father was the father of Booji Boy

[@johntechwriter]

He seems so reserved and mild-mannered. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[@zindi1138]

a wizard

[@Andybaby]

1. He had a career without education 2. He now has a vested interest in selling the course 3. Weird choice for backing music

[@ladeedacook]

He’s still a cutie.

[@guitarmemoir]

More confidence!? Wow! Playing experimental music live in industrial coveralls with hats fashioned after a light sconce with semi-automaton choreographed moves took balls like boulders FFS. Credit where credit is due.

[@OnlyEdandTheAlmost]

Not knowing the rules is often beneficial to an artist, as all kinds of fortuitous accidents may happen that a more experienced composer would have avoided altogether in his quest to make "successful" (and boring) commercial music.

[@gogoyubari366]

I love tacos and Chinese food.

[@bojangles2644]

Oh it was an advertisement lmfao 😆 I thought he was being too hard on himself by mentioning his lack of schooling but they just edited it that way to get kids to enroll. If anything he is proof he didn’t need it.

[@ghostexits]

I don't know... I think Mothersbaugh probably had just the right amount of music background for Devo. They were melodic and musically inventive but still crude and primitivistic. One only has so much time and maybe if they'd studied music more they'd have less time spent forming the conceptual side of Devo.

[@sadcracker]

This is preposterous! Why is there romper room children's music playing in the background? WTF!!!!!!

[@mopeoshpingo7257]

He composed it.

[@sadcracker]

@@mopeoshpingo7257 Pretty sad, this man is as dark as they come. Does the preschool ensemble really help?

[@it3257]

Have you never listened to his scores? You'd recognize his style immediately. He's done many children's show scores his Rugrats music made it bearable for me to watch it when my kids were into that show. MM is so insanely creative.

[@sadcracker]

Creative is usually based around "inspiration" that the artist must find whithin themselves . Would Drakula ever be inspired to do a tic-tok video? NO! Let me guess...if you threw enough money at him Drakula would sing along to Disney films. So like all great artists, this numbnut gave into economic pressure. Sad!

[@MealDealSupreme]

@@sadcracker Dracula's a vampire dude...

[@chadfrahm5344]

If crap tom. Why did u watch it.

[@chriswilloughby48]

No one would know you now if you'd gone to music school.

[@Dakdizzy]

RugRats

[@tomlangley8852]

This crap sucked then...sucks now...and will always suck!

[@samuelmarmolejo4378]

wow and what do you find as good

[@tomlangley8852]

Eric Lee Its not even music...Just noise.

[@abneryokum]

Tom Langley is proof of devolution.

[@tomlangley8852]

Bob D. is proof that lead paint destroys brain tissue.

[@samuelmarmolejo4378]

***** heard a comedian once say that people named Karen are douchebags i would have to agree