Doc Shoe's Music Blog

Twenty years ago, someone in the band decided that guitars were obsolete and nobody would be using guitars 20 years from then, and they tried to make that a reality, which really didn’t work for us.

That’s Bob Mothersbaugh in an interview with Premier Guitar.  Devo was one of the few bands who were always able to find new and interesting ways to use synthesizers (unlike just about every other ’80s band), but I think their early work was better primarily because of the amazing guitar work by Bob Mothersbaugh.  He’s one of the great forward-thinking guitarists of all time, riffing away with his Ibanez “Spud” and other custom-made guitars, and always experimenting with new electronic effects.  I can’t tell you how happy I was when I finally got to listen to Devo’s new record, Something For Everybody, and found that they’d brought the guitars back.

Anyhow, here’s a track from Devo’s very first release, the Be Stiff EP.