In
DevoDevo , often spelled DEVO or DEV-O, is an American New Wave band formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973. They are best known for their 1980 hit "Whip It", which made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
's music videos, early concerts, and short films, the band created a pastiche and parody of the real world via the idea of "Spudland". Many characters and concepts reappeared between videos.
Played by
Mark MothersbaughMark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He was a member of the new wave band Devo for many years. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games.- Career :...
, Booji is considered the infantile spirit of Devolution. He first appeared in
The Truth About De-EvolutionThe Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video created by the band Devo. Filmed in 1974, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo...
as a member of the performing band during the
Secret Agent Man segment. He is the son of
General BoyGeneral Boy is a character created around 1975 by New Wave band Devo. He is usually seen portrayed by the father of lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr.. General Boy is the father of the fictitious character Booji Boy. This character was introduced in the movie The Truth About...
.
General Boy, played by Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr., the father of Mark, and Bob Mothersbaugh, serves as a representation and parody of authority figures, though General Boy is on the side of Devo.
In
DevoDevo , often spelled DEVO or DEV-O, is an American New Wave band formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973. They are best known for their 1980 hit "Whip It", which made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
's music videos, early concerts, and short films, the band created a pastiche and parody of the real world via the idea of "Spudland". Many characters and concepts reappeared between videos.
Booji Boy
Played by
Mark MothersbaughMark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He was a member of the new wave band Devo for many years. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games.- Career :...
, Booji is considered the infantile spirit of Devolution. He first appeared in
The Truth About De-EvolutionThe Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video created by the band Devo. Filmed in 1974, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo...
as a member of the performing band during the
Secret Agent Man segment. He is the son of
General BoyGeneral Boy is a character created around 1975 by New Wave band Devo. He is usually seen portrayed by the father of lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr.. General Boy is the father of the fictitious character Booji Boy. This character was introduced in the movie The Truth About...
.
General Boy
General Boy, played by Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr., the father of Mark, and Bob Mothersbaugh, serves as a representation and parody of authority figures, though General Boy is on the side of Devo. He made his first appearance in
The Truth About De-EvolutionThe Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video created by the band Devo. Filmed in 1974, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo...
.
Chinaman
The Chinaman, played by
Gerald CasaleGerald Vincent Casale , often known as Jerry Casale, is the bass guitar/synthesizer player, a vocalist, and one of the founding members of the new wave band Devo...
, is an embodiment of the stereotypical wise Asian master. He does not appear in music videos, except a brief shot in "
Secret Agent ManSecret Agent Man may refer to:*Danger Man, broadcast as Secret Agent in the U.S. and sometimes erroneously referred to as Secret Agent Man...
". He wrote the introduction to Booji Boy's book
My Struggle.
Soo Bawlz
Played by
Toni BasilToni Basil is an American musician, video artist, actress and choreographer. Basil is best-known for her #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
. She is the girlfriend of Chinaman. Her only appearances were in a handful of early live performances. She also had her own song "Soo Bawlz", which appears on the B-Side of the Devo single release of "Secret Agent Man".
Rodney Ethan Rooter ( a.k.a. "Rod The Man")
A parody of music executives, Rod Rooter, played by Michael Schwartz, serves as a higher-up in Big Entertainment, the entertainment conglomerate that owns Devo. His relationship with the band is extremely antagonistic. He sees Devo as a tool for marketing, and is dismissive of their artistic goals.
We're All DevoWe're All Devo! is the second home video release by new wave band Devo. Released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1984, We're All Devo! is a collection of Devo music videos from 1976 to 1983.-Synopsis:...
implies that there is an
incestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
ual relationship between him and his daughter Donut Rooter.
Floyd & Boyd Kalimba
From the PC game
Adventures of the Smart Patrol. Floyd and Boyd are Rod Rooter's trendy twin henchmen. They are also featured in
My Struggle.
Donut Rooter
Daughter of Rod Rooter. Seemingly obsessed with keeping within ever-changing fashion trends. Played in
We're All DevoWe're All Devo! is the second home video release by new wave band Devo. Released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1984, We're All Devo! is a collection of Devo music videos from 1976 to 1983.-Synopsis:...
by
Laraine NewmanLaraine Newman is an American comedienne and actress.-Early life:Newman was born on March 2, 1952 in Los Angeles, California, the granddaughter of a Jewish cattle rancher from Arizona...
.
Daddy Know-It-All
The embodiment of all that is corporate evil. He is Rod Rooter's boss, and Rod can be seen ingratiating himself to him in the film
The Men Who Make the MusicThe Men Who Make the Music was the first home video released by new wave band Devo. Finished in 1979, the film was set to be the first Video LP, but was shelved by Time Life due to concerns about its anti-music industry content. It was released in 1981...
. He doesn't care about who Devo are, as long as they make him more money and are kept in line by Rod.
Dr. Byrthfood
Dr. Byrthfood, played by
Timothy LearyDr. Timothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, advocate of psychedelic drug research, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic, spiritual and emotional...
, works for Lifeforms Unlimited and makes sure that Devo are kept in tip top working conditions. He shows nothing but loathing for Rod Rooter.
Lifeforms Unlimited
Lifeforms Unlimited is a bio-engineering company that tries to improve humanity through science. Among their employees are: Dr. Byrthfood (Devo's personal aide) and scientists Sun Wang Pin and Yoni Wang Pin. Lifeforms Unlimited inadvertently creates the horror known as "Turkey Monkey", which spreads the disease
osso bucco myelitis.
The Pilgrims
The Pilgrims are a group of religious zealots led by Reverend Vince Gassale (portrayed by
Gerald CasaleGerald Vincent Casale , often known as Jerry Casale, is the bass guitar/synthesizer player, a vocalist, and one of the founding members of the new wave band Devo...
). The Pilgrims wear business suits topped with pilgrim-style hats. They practice televangelism and believe that disease is God's way of punishing those that are morally unsuitable.
The Smart Patrol
From the PC game
Adventures of the Smart Patrol. The Smart Patrol consist of Jamie Rega, Jeremy Welt, Tanya Olszewski, Max Leidermann, and Grady Sain. (Their music is played by Devo themselves.) The Smart Patrol are the equivalent of a police force in Spudland.
Fake bands
Devo impersonated a number of fake bands in their videos and performances to satire the music business.
Parcheesi
Named after the "
oldest gameParcheesi is an American adaptation of the Indian Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Created in India around 500 BC, the game is often subtitled Royal Game of India because royalty supposedly played using costumed dancers as pieces on large outdoor boards...
", Parcheesi performed the song
Midget in the video "Roll Out The Barrel". They are never shown. The full performance of Midget appears on
Hardcore Devo: Volume OneHardcore Devo: Volume One is the first of two collections of demos released by the post-punk/new wave band Devo. It is currently out of print.-Overview:...
(1990), the first album of a two-volume collection of 1970s demos.
The Cumberbuns
A Latin lounge music group, the Cumberbuns produced one album,
We Are Degenero with the song
Softcore Mutations (an early version of
Going Under from the 1981 album
New TraditionalistsNew Traditionalists is the fourth studio album by the New Wave rock band Devo, released in 1981. It features the minor hits "Through Being Cool" and "Beautiful World". The sound continued in the vein of the previous album Freedom of Choice, with synthesizers moved to the forefront and guitars more...
). A recording of this song was played on the
Dr. DementoDr. Demento is the professional name of Barry Hansen , a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present.He created the persona in 1970 while working at Los Angeles...
show, introduced by
Booji BoyBooji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by American New Wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling resulted when the band was using letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter G...
.
DOVE, The Band of Love
Devo's
Christian rockChristian rock is a form of rock music played by bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands. Much Christian rock has ties to the contemporary...
alter-egos, and the only fake Devo band to actually perform live. Dove performs in yellow leisure suits with green accountants visors. They perform Christian versions of Devo songs. Dove has an appearance in the film
Pray TVPray TV is a 1980 comedy film spoofing televangelism. The film stars Dabney Coleman, Paul Cooper, Rosemary Alexander, and Lewis Arquette. It was directed by Rick Friedberg. The band Devo appears and plays as "Dove", a Christian rock band....
, performing the Devo song "Shrivel Up" (actually miming to the album version), and footage of a Dove performance from the 1979 M-80 Festival appears on both The Complete Truth About De-Evolution, and as a bonus feature on
Devo Live 1980DEVO Live 1980 is a DualDisc release by pioneering New Wave/Alternative rock band Devo.The release documents a performance by the influential quintet during their Freedom of Choice tour, when the band was gaining mainstream success on the strength of the Freedom of Choice album and their first...
.
The Evil Clowns
Referenced in
We're All DevoWe're All Devo! is the second home video release by new wave band Devo. Released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1984, We're All Devo! is a collection of Devo music videos from 1976 to 1983.-Synopsis:...
, The Evil Clowns are Big Entertainment's "mega-metal group". Pictures of the lead singer, Numero Uno, allegedly consist of
Mark MothersbaughMark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He was a member of the new wave band Devo for many years. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games.- Career :...
's head pasted on the body of
David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality, best known as the original and current lead singer of Van Halen. In addition to his work with Van Halen, Roth is a successful solo artist, having released several platinum and gold solo albums...
.
The Big Dirty Farmers
The Big Dirty Farmers appeared in the only "Club Devo" animation for shockwave.com, performing the song
It's All Good.
Skunk Man Fly
Skunk Man Fly were proposed for a later, unfinished installment of "Club Devo", but no material was recorded.