That Thor Ragnorak soundtrack is amazing. I didn't know he wrote it when I watched the film, but I was in love with the music. I was so happy to see it was Mark's music.
How many times do you hear of music companies taking talented people for a ride. This guy is one of the all time great musicians, ahead of his time by decades. In fact we may never catch up with his wonder.
Mark Mothersbaugh is my biggest inspirations for playing and writing music. I love synthesizers and would love to meet this guy! That is a nice Memorymoog behind him.
Good insight and advice for someone looking to enter this field. As a trained artist, and intuitive noise music person, I wholeheartedly relate to his understanding of process and product. I need funding to do both art and music, but I have not been successful at either. I've been a DEVO fan since the beginning, '78. Being in my mid 50s now, I still do not know what I want to do when I grow up.
Mark Mothersbaugh:- a prodigious and awesome talent, perfectly juxtaposed with the most humble and compassionate nature. A well deserved accolade. Both he, his two brothers (Jim & Robert), and the Casale's (Robert & Gerald); the original DEVO line-up. Were then and still are awesome! I've neglected to mention their most notable drummer - Alan Myers (according to a some of my drummer mates - Mr. Metronome). Duty Now for the Future.
I gotta agree with you. Sometimes just learning on your own by trial and error only helps an artist dig deeper into their creativity. I think it's quite possible that formal training puts a rigid "box" around one's natural talents.
He has all kinds of vintage synthesizers in there. He's quite an enthusiast. His instruments range from the very common to the exceedingly rare to the bespoke. One of his most treasured possessions is a Hammond Novachord, the world's first polysynth.
I see so many people saying that. I am experiencing the change right now. I'm 33 and I discovered DEVO less than 3 weeks ago. Some serious life bullshit has gone down since then, and I don;t know if I would have made it through without DEVO
This is a great interview. The part about time codes was hilarious. A guy that successful and creative, and did it the hard way for a long time. Then had the guts to admit it. Great artist.
I was 15 when I first heard DEVO in 1979. I was an angry non-conformist teen in a small clueless town. I had a few close friends and DEVO really brought us together, and let us know that we weren't alone. Music was so important to us at that age, and we were persecuted in high school for being DEVO fans. This strengthened our bond and widened the rift between us and those who went out of their way to hate DEVO and their fans. Oh well, ignorance fear and hatred go hand in hand. It's human nature.
you are probably right that someone with mm's god given talent and desire will eventually get to the top. but others may have quit in frustration because the difficulty was multipled by not having all the tools and knowledge available. best to learn from others who have already made the mistakes and have already built a better mousetrap so to speak. everyone enjoy the great world of music!
@Trendkillertrendy Strange you should say that. I discovered them when I was 11 and I am 42 now but their music does have a way of getting your mind off all the seriousness of life that could normally crush you mentally. They got me through alot as a kid and still do to this day as an adult.
The technical things he might have learned in school might have helped him, but I really wonder if he could have come out of a school with his creativity left in tact. Mark's sideways slant at looking at things have contributed greatly to his genius. School might have straightened out his view . . . and we might never have seen the great work he has done for a career.
@ibaDEVOtee I have a mild form of autism and DEVO and alt music in general is better than any medication I've been on too I think alt music is the most purist form of emotion and it smooth my world !
Most people weren't ready for Devo at the time. At least now people appreciate the band now. Also, it's great that kids are being exposed to Mark on Yo Gabba Gabba.
Very interesting interview! After watching the first year of Pee Wee, you can tell what he's talking about. Watch the second year, and it's alot smoother in form using the time code. Must've been a reeeal bitch sync-ing on the fly! As for Mark in general, his ideas, composition and sounds in nearly all his work is refreshingly minimalist compared to almost anyone else.. For instance, Danny E's work, which IMHO seems to get more and more cluttered with every score. True genius, but cluttered.
That Thor Ragnorak soundtrack is amazing. I didn't know he wrote it when I watched the film, but I was in love with the music. I was so happy to see it was Mark's music.
he's one of my heroes. DEVO is one of my favorite bands and I think this dude is ultra cool
How many times do you hear of music companies taking talented people for a ride. This guy is one of the all time great musicians, ahead of his time by decades. In fact we may never catch up with his wonder.
Mark Mothersbaugh is my biggest inspirations for playing and writing music. I love synthesizers and would love to meet this guy!
That is a nice Memorymoog behind him.
Good interview. Been a fan since 1980. I enjoy Mark's solo music and art very much.
An extremely underrated artist. Way ahead of his time. I'm glad he's still successful... and a down to earth fella as well.
WOW!! What an informational bit. This from the mother of DEVO and the music maker for so many shows that we've all seen on tv.
Awesome,
Dm
I've known and worked with Mark for years. Wrote a major label song with him. Just saw him a few months ago at Mutato.
Talented interesting guy...
Good insight and advice for someone looking to enter this field. As a trained artist, and intuitive noise music person, I wholeheartedly relate to his understanding of process and product. I need funding to do both art and music, but I have not been successful at either. I've been a DEVO fan since the beginning, '78. Being in my mid 50s now, I still do not know what I want to do when I grow up.
I think he also wrote the theme music for a show called beakmans world
Mark Mothersbaugh:- a prodigious and awesome talent, perfectly juxtaposed with the most humble and compassionate nature.
A well deserved accolade.
Both he, his two brothers (Jim & Robert), and the Casale's (Robert & Gerald); the original DEVO line-up. Were then and still are awesome! I've neglected to mention their most notable drummer - Alan Myers (according to a some of my drummer mates - Mr. Metronome).
Duty Now for the Future.
I gotta agree with you. Sometimes just learning on your own by trial and error only helps an artist dig deeper into their creativity.
I think it's quite possible that formal training puts a rigid "box" around one's natural talents.
Excellent, Inspirational and far ahead of his time! Great Interview!
i give a close listen to everything i bump into... and you are correct, a simplest things are the most rewarding sometimes!
He has all kinds of vintage synthesizers in there. He's quite an enthusiast. His instruments range from the very common to the exceedingly rare to the bespoke. One of his most treasured possessions is a Hammond Novachord, the world's first polysynth.
I see so many people saying that. I am experiencing the change right now. I'm 33 and I discovered DEVO less than 3 weeks ago. Some serious life bullshit has gone down since then, and I don;t know if I would have made it through without DEVO
This is a great interview. The part about time codes was hilarious. A guy that successful and creative, and did it the hard way for a long time. Then had the guts to admit it. Great artist.
That's pretty brave to admit he didn't know what timecode was.
Very entertaining and informative clip. Thank you...
Devo single-handedly expanded my love for music... 1 of the greatest band of new age pop culture history!
I've done several art projects with Mark, and he is easily my favorite client!
do you know Matthew Wellington? He's a sound engineer.
I was 15 when I first heard DEVO in 1979. I was an angry non-conformist teen in a small clueless town. I had a few close friends and DEVO really brought us together, and let us know that we weren't alone. Music was so important to us at that age, and we were persecuted in high school for being DEVO fans. This strengthened our bond and widened the rift between us and those who went out of their way to hate DEVO and their fans. Oh well, ignorance fear and hatred go hand in hand. It's human nature.
you are probably right that someone with mm's god given talent and desire will eventually get to the top. but others may have quit in frustration because the difficulty was multipled by not having all the tools and knowledge available. best to learn from others who have already made the mistakes and have already built a better mousetrap so to speak. everyone enjoy the great world of music!
Devo and the beastie boys.. two bands that we really need proper feature length documentaries of..
@Trendkillertrendy Strange you should say that. I discovered them when I was 11 and I am 42 now but their music does have a way of getting your mind off all the seriousness of life that could normally crush you mentally. They got me through alot as a kid and still do to this day as an adult.
His score on Rugrats is really unique and refreshing. Give it a close listen some time!
Freedom of choice is my favorite devo song...then gates of steel and most of the others tie at 3rd place
huh..I knew he did music for Rugrats, Crash Bandicoot, and a whole lot of other stuff, but I didn't know he was in Devo haha
Great interview!
The technical things he might have learned in school might have helped him, but I really wonder if he could have come out of a school with his creativity left in tact. Mark's sideways slant at looking at things have contributed greatly to his genius. School might have straightened out his view . . . and we might never have seen the great work he has done for a career.
@ibaDEVOtee I have a mild form of autism and DEVO and alt music in general is better than any medication I've been on too I think alt music is the most purist form of emotion and it smooth my world !
makes sense to me.
timecodes are purely for vhs and beta? do they still do that?
saw that SNL -- what year was that? '77?
who performs the background music in this vid? and what is the title of this track?
He is great
i love him!
What a nice guy!
underrated musical genius......enuff said!
Was "Come Back Jonee" a Devo-ised version of "Johnny Be Good"?
As a Berkleemusic Scholarship Celebrity Sponsor, how would somebody go about contacting him for a scholarship opportunity?
damn i want to meet this dude. we were both born in akron ohio. my dad played with some of the devo members, but he doesn't remember which ones.
Is that a Memorymoog behind him?
8:06 made the interviewer laugh!! ah-ha! got 'im.
memorymoog, i have one too :-)
Most people weren't ready for Devo at the time. At least now people appreciate the band now. Also, it's great that kids are being exposed to Mark on Yo Gabba Gabba.
No, but it referred to Johnny B Goode.
confidence
Of course he still has the glasses. He needs them to see.
rugrats rules and so do you!
i bet you listened to GUT FEELIN a lot, huh
Very interesting interview!
After watching the first year of Pee Wee, you can tell what he's talking about. Watch the second year, and it's alot smoother in form using the time code. Must've been a reeeal bitch sync-ing on the fly!
As for Mark in general, his ideas, composition and sounds in nearly all his work is refreshingly minimalist compared to almost anyone else.. For instance, Danny E's work, which IMHO seems to get more and more cluttered with every score. True genius, but cluttered.
Whip it whip it good
Crash Bandicoot!!!wow,i new he was in DEVO but...
On the cool scale of 1-10, a bzillion.
do you really think someone like lou bega or vanilla ice could create anything close to his huge body of music?
This man composed for Rugrats.
So did his brother Bob
Sounds like george lucas
Are we not men?!
Are we not men?
WE ARE DEVO