Devo

Devo (pronounced either DEE-vo or de-VO, sometimes spelled Dev-O) is a Midwestern music band originating from Akron, Ohio, generally associated with the Eighties despite being musically active since 1974. Their style has been variously cla

Devo (pronounced either DEE-vo or de-VO, sometimes spelled Dev-O) is a Midwestern music band originating from Akron, Ohio, generally associated with the Eighties despite being musically active since 1974. Their style has been variously classified as punk, new wave, industrial and rock, but are most often considered to be the 70s/early 80s New Wave band that ushered in the synth pop of the 1980s, along with other acts such as Gary Numan and the B-52s. Devo's music and stage show mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary in sometimes-discordant pop songs that often feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures. Their work has proved hugely influential on subsequent popular music, particularly new wave, alternative and grunge music. Definitive Nineties rock band Nirvana claimed to be influenced by Devo.

Devo first performed as the "Sextet Devo" at Kent State University in 1973. Co-founders Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Bob Lewis were students at Kent State at the time the National Guard shot and killed students at a protest against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia--the 'pivotal moment' in their founding, according to Casale.