Finally saw the Devo Live 1980 DVD

[Pink Pussycat]

...thanks to a dear friend who caught the San Diego show,
and drove up to hang out with me for a couple days. :-)

I've only seen Devo live since 1996, as I was a few weeks
away from starting kindergarten when the footage for the DVD
was filmed. I'm used to seeing Devo in concert as middle-
aged guys putting on a damn good show, so seeing them in
their prime was a big treat.

First thing I noticed--how young they were! Oh wait. . .
I'm about the same age they were back then. ;-)

Second thing I noticed was that GVC played a Minimoog for a
good chunk of the concert. I've never seen him play a Mini
before, so I really, really dug that. He uses the Mini more
like an instrument, where Mark uses it like a synth. Wonder
if GVC would ever consider using a Mini again instead of the
D50. ;-)

Third thing I noticed was the synth setup. Wish there'd
been better shots of it... Minimoog, Odyssey (black &
orange), Prophet V, EML 500 (I think), and something else
that kinda looked like a white Odyssey, but I couldn't tell
for sure.

It was a longer concert than I'm used to, and there was a
bunch of songs I'll probably never hear live, so that was a
huge treat. :-)

And the Tunnel of Life! That was awesome! The removal of
the bandages reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode. :-)

All in all, it's the best live DVD I've seen thus far. :-)

~Pink
(with actual usenet access again!)

[Boom]

On Sat, 15 Oct 2005 09:14:05 -0700, Pink Pussycat

Post by Pink Pussycat
...thanks to a dear friend who caught the San Diego show,
and drove up to hang out with me for a couple days. :-)
I've only seen Devo live since 1996, as I was a few weeks
away from starting kindergarten when the footage for the DVD
was filmed. I'm used to seeing Devo in concert as middle-
aged guys putting on a damn good show, so seeing them in
their prime was a big treat.
First thing I noticed--how young they were! Oh wait. . .
I'm about the same age they were back then. ;-)

If memory serves me, Mark and Jerry would have been 30 and 28
respectively. I could be off by a year, but they were definitely not
kids by then.

Post by Pink Pussycat
Second thing I noticed was that GVC played a Minimoog for a
good chunk of the concert. I've never seen him play a Mini
before, so I really, really dug that. He uses the Mini more
like an instrument, where Mark uses it like a synth. Wonder
if GVC would ever consider using a Mini again instead of the
D50. ;-)

I would bet it would never happen. Jerry isn't what you'd call a
keyboard player, so I'm sure that dealing with out of tune oscillators
and turning knobs to change programs isn't his style.

Post by Pink Pussycat
Third thing I noticed was the synth setup. Wish there'd
been better shots of it... Minimoog, Odyssey (black &
orange), Prophet V, EML 500 (I think), and something else
that kinda looked like a white Odyssey, but I couldn't tell
for sure.

Ya, back in the day you really needed all those keyboards. Funny,
because on the Total Devo tour, they each had one keyboard. Can't
remember what they had, but they each only had one. Didn't seem to
slow them down, but then again, they weren't doing "Smart Patrol" and
"Jocko Homo" so their needs for synth were what they needed for the
newer stuff.

Post by Pink Pussycat
It was a longer concert than I'm used to, and there was a
bunch of songs I'll probably never hear live, so that was a
huge treat. :-)

This makes me a little perturbed about their recent concerts. I see
no reason they can't do 90 minutes. Quite frankly, I think doing 65
minutes is a bit weak. And every time they add tunes, they take away
another tune or two. Add "Wiggly World" and "Going Under," take away
"Beautiful World."

Post by Pink Pussycat
And the Tunnel of Life! That was awesome! The removal of
the bandages reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode. :-)

First time that video has been seen since that tour!

Post by Pink Pussycat
All in all, it's the best live DVD I've seen thus far. :-)

Ya, I thought it was great, too. Production values weren't great, but
it was the Devo tour I first saw in Orlando, so it brings back a lot
of memories.

[Boom]

Post by Boom
If memory serves me, Mark and Jerry would have been 30 and 28
respectively. I could be off by a year, but they were definitely not
kids by then.

Oops, got that backward. Oh well, just draw a double headed arrow
around it in your mind ;)

[Rev. Richard Skull]

I gave my copy to the Secretary at work, who saw them on the "Duty Now"
tour.

She loved it so much she ordered her own copy!

This will be my most watched DVD for a long time to come.

Also notice the audience during the show.

At first most of them had the "what have I gotten myself into" look on
their faces.

But after the switch over to the shorts & T-shirts from teh White
Suits, they got more into it. But after "Jock Homo" and Smart
patrol/Mr. DNA when Mark and Bob1 go out into the audience, they just
went wild!

Also the hair styles re 100% 1979-1981 era! 'Fro's and big side burns
abound! (Think Disco Stu on the Simpsons)!

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by Rev. Richard Skull
I gave my copy to the Secretary at work, who saw them on the "Duty Now"
tour.
She loved it so much she ordered her own copy!

Awesome!

One of these days I'll buy a copy of it, just so I can drool
over GVC playing a Minimoog. ;-)

~Pink

[Richard Anderson]

Second thing I noticed was that GVC played a Minimoog for a good chunk
of the concert. I've never seen him play a Mini before, so I really,
really dug that. He uses the Mini more like an instrument, where Mark
uses it like a synth.

I seem to recall reading somewhere (the DEVO FAQ?) that Jerry wasn't
playing a Minimoog /per se/. Moog made him a custom, six occilator
monster called the DEVOBox - basically Two Minimoogs put together.
That's likely what he was playing.

[Gary Childs]

Post by Richard Anderson
I seem to recall reading somewhere (the DEVO FAQ?) that Jerry wasn't
playing a Minimoog /per se/. Moog made him a custom, six occilator monster
called the DEVOBox - basically Two Minimoogs put together. That's likely
what he was playing.

It's true that Jerry played a custom MiniMoog, but the "Devobox" was
actually a special interface for connecting various keyboards and
electronics.

[Richard Anderson]

Post by Gary Childs

Post by Richard Anderson
I seem to recall reading somewhere (the DEVO FAQ?) that Jerry wasn't
playing a Minimoog /per se/. Moog made him a custom, six occilator
monster called the DEVOBox - basically Two Minimoogs put together.
That's likely what he was playing.

It's true that Jerry played a custom MiniMoog, but the "Devobox" was
actually a special interface for connecting various keyboards and
electronics.

And now I know... The rest of the story!

[j***@gmail.com]

When you refer to "the one by Mark" do you mean the one that is set
aside horizontally from the rest of the synths? If so, that is an ARP
Odyssey Mark III :D

I love this synth talk!

[Pink Pussycat]

In article

Post by j***@gmail.com
When you refer to "the one by Mark" do you mean the one that is set
aside horizontally from the rest of the synths? If so, that is an ARP
Odyssey Mark III :D
I love this synth talk!

I *thought* that looked like an Ody!

~Pink

[j***@gmail.com]

Does anyone know the preset for GOS on the Odyssey? Mark somehow
achieves a strange octave jumping effect when he hits the F note.

[Gary Childs]

Post by j***@gmail.com
Does anyone know the preset for GOS on the Odyssey? Mark somehow
achieves a strange octave jumping effect when he hits the F note.

Dosen't he use a bit of echo (delay) on that keyboard sound on FOC?
That might be what gives that effect.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Pink Pussycat

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Wiard 300 series, hands down. http://www.wiard.com/

I don't think I've ever seen one in person. I like the
panel graphics.

There aren't very many out there. I think the graphics are fantastic
(not everyone does, but I guess I'm a stinkin' hippie), although they
went through a few different revisions, so I think mine are three
different shades of blue.

Mine was out for show-and-tell last weekend:
http://www.cubanpetemusic.com/gallery/AH-Bay-Area-Gathering
http://www.cubanpetemusic.com/gallery/AH-Bay-Area-Gathering/DSCN1749
... if you (or the other synth geeks here) are in the SF bay area, feel
free to inquire about a demo ...

Post by Pink Pussycat
When you refer to "the one by Mark" do you mean the one that is set
aside horizontally from the rest of the synths? If so, that is an ARP
Odyssey Mark III :D

Yeah, guess I need my eyes checked. Coulda sworn I saw wood end panels
on that one.

Post by Pink Pussycat
I love this synth talk!

Me, too!

Post by Pink Pussycat
Does anyone know the preset for GOS on the Odyssey? Mark somehow
achieves a strange octave jumping effect when he hits the F note.

Hmmm ... I just play all the notes by hand on that song. Is Mark only
playing the low F of the octave by hand? It sounds like there could be
a "doubling" delay used (as Gary mentions), but not all of the notes
are doubled (the second low F isn't doubled, instead there's the grace
notes on high A and G - is that the "jump" you're referring to? I
don't think that could be programmed on an Ody unless there's a CV
sequencer going into it).

Doug

[Boom]

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 09:16:46 -0400, "Gary Childs"

Post by Gary Childs

Post by j***@gmail.com
Does anyone know the preset for GOS on the Odyssey? Mark somehow
achieves a strange octave jumping effect when he hits the F note.

Dosen't he use a bit of echo (delay) on that keyboard sound on FOC?
That might be what gives that effect.

i couldn't tell exactly, but it looked to me like he had his left hand
on a switch and he hit it when playing the octave jumps. I know that
tour is the only time they played GOS and got that sound, even though
Mark plays it the exact same way to this day.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Boom

Post by Gary Childs

Post by j***@gmail.com
Does anyone know the preset for GOS on the Odyssey? Mark somehow
achieves a strange octave jumping effect when he hits the F note.

Dosen't he use a bit of echo (delay) on that keyboard sound on FOC?
That might be what gives that effect.

i couldn't tell exactly, but it looked to me like he had his left hand
on a switch and he hit it when playing the octave jumps. I know that
tour is the only time they played GOS and got that sound, even though
Mark plays it the exact same way to this day.

That makes perfect sense. The octave select switch is on the left side
of the Odyssey (it tunes the entire synth up or down *two* octaves, and
if the switch was slightly dirty, it could cause a "misfiring" to play
different notes).

Doug

[j***@gmail.com]

That what I was thinking too, but then I noticed that when he playes
the riff again during the middle of the song, he has his left hand in
the air while hes playing.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Pink Pussycat
Second thing I noticed was that GVC played a Minimoog for a
good chunk of the concert. I've never seen him play a Mini
before, so I really, really dug that. He uses the Mini more
like an instrument, where Mark uses it like a synth.

Well, he's just playing the bass parts, which is typical keyboard
usage. Although he cheats and uses his RIGHT hand, too! ;^) (insert
joke about his left-wing politics here)

Post by Pink Pussycat
Wonder if GVC would ever consider using a Mini again instead of the
D50. ;-)

Most any Moog (RIP, Dr. Bob) is pretty damn good for bass parts;
remember that he used a Moog Source for the next tour (NuTra), probably
because it can store patches, unlike the Mini.

But don't they have some sort of Roland endorsement deal (through J
Mothersbaugh)?

Post by Pink Pussycat
Third thing I noticed was the synth setup. Wish there'd
been better shots of it... Minimoog, Odyssey (black &
orange), Prophet V, EML 500 (I think),

There are a couple shots where you can see the tape that covers "EML
500" on the back of the synth, but the bottom of all the
letters/numbers can still be seen.

Post by Pink Pussycat
and something else
that kinda looked like a white Odyssey, but I couldn't tell
for sure.

That's the EML 500. Looks to me like it's used extensively on
"Blockhead" (or at least all the shots of Mark singing are shot over
it), and Bob2 keeps hitting it for one of the "fx" sounds on "S.I.B".
It's an odd (and rare) bird, the only model in that setup I've never
touched one of. (In the world of *other* Ohio bands from that era,
it's worth mentioning that Alan Ravenstine of Pere Ubu is probably the
best-ever EML101 player.)

It's really cool to be able to see which-synth-for-which-song. Like
"Pink Pussycat" being mostly Odyssey. Or to see who's doing what on
"S.I.B."

I'm still trying to figure out which parts are synched/sequenced; I
could be wrong, but it doesn't look like all the parts on "Snowball"
and "S.I.B." are being played "live" in realtime (I also notice that
there's a bunch of pedals under the keyboard rig that you can
occasionally see Bob2 or Mark hitting, which I would guess are
triggering sequences). It sounds like Jerry's Mini is being synched on
"Snowball", but I don't notice any CV/gate cords in the back ... maybe
that's the DevoBox being referred to ... ?

But probably best not to get me started on Devo's keyboards ... I'd
want to see them tour with a proper Clavinet for "Penetration in the
Centerfold" and "Clockout"!

Doug

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Well, he's just playing the bass parts, which is typical keyboard
usage. Although he cheats and uses his RIGHT hand, too! ;^) (insert
joke about his left-wing politics here)

He does that with the D50, too.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Most any Moog (RIP, Dr. Bob) is pretty damn good for bass parts;
remember that he used a Moog Source for the next tour (NuTra), probably
because it can store patches, unlike the Mini.

True, though nothing sounds quite like a (restored)
Minimoog.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
But don't they have some sort of Roland endorsement deal (through J
Mothersbaugh)?

They might have in days gone by, but I don't know about now.
Jim hasn't worked for Roland for several years. IIRC, he's
back in Ohio.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
That's the EML 500.

Thanks for clearing that up. :-)

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Looks to me like it's used extensively on
"Blockhead" (or at least all the shots of Mark singing are shot over
it), and Bob2 keeps hitting it for one of the "fx" sounds on "S.I.B".
It's an odd (and rare) bird, the only model in that setup I've never
touched one of.

Same here, though I've seen far more Minis and Odys than
Prophet V's.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
It's really cool to be able to see which-synth-for-which-song. Like
"Pink Pussycat" being mostly Odyssey. Or to see who's doing what on
"S.I.B."

Yep, it is. That was one of the things I loved about this
DVD.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
But probably best not to get me started on Devo's keyboards

Why not? I dig talking about that kind of stuff. :-)

What's your favorite modular, btw? Buchla 200 here. If I
had the dough, I'd get a 200e.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
... I'd want to see them tour with a proper Clavinet for "Penetration in the
Centerfold" and "Clockout"!

One of the things I dig about the Mongoloid Years is the
fact that the stuff from their first gig has Mark playing
both a Clavinet and a Mini.

~Pink

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Pink Pussycat

Post by m***@yahoo.com
But probably best not to get me started on Devo's keyboards

Why not? I dig talking about that kind of stuff. :-)

Me, too ... probably too much for my own good :^).

Post by Pink Pussycat
What's your favorite modular, btw? Buchla 200 here. If I
had the dough, I'd get a 200e.

Wiard 300 series, hands down. http://www.wiard.com/

It shares a lot of characteristics with the Buchla 200 (the designer
owns a good-sized system), but there's also now the Plan B series
coming out of LA that's closer to being "clones" of the 200 (and
slightly more "affordable" than the 200e).

Post by Pink Pussycat

Post by m***@yahoo.com
... I'd want to see them tour with a proper Clavinet for "Penetration in the
Centerfold" and "Clockout"!

One of the things I dig about the Mongoloid Years is the
fact that the stuff from their first gig has Mark playing
both a Clavinet and a Mini.

Yeah! Seems like the Clavinet got to be too heavy/too much of a pain
to drag out after a while. I can relate to that problem.

Thanks to everyone for the additional info/corrections (although aren't
there are *3* Minimoogs onstage? Jerry's, the one by Mark, and the one
at the keyboard player's upper-left, above the Prophet V).

Doug

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Me, too ... probably too much for my own good :^).

I'd rather talk synths here than politics. ;-)

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Wiard 300 series, hands down. http://www.wiard.com/
It shares a lot of characteristics with the Buchla 200 (the designer
owns a good-sized system), but there's also now the Plan B series
coming out of LA that's closer to being "clones" of the 200 (and
slightly more "affordable" than the 200e).

I don't think I've ever seen one in person. I like the
panel graphics.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Yeah! Seems like the Clavinet got to be too heavy/too much of a pain
to drag out after a while. I can relate to that problem.

Yeah, they're kinda big and bulky.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Thanks to everyone for the additional info/corrections (although aren't
there are *3* Minimoogs onstage? Jerry's, the one by Mark, and the one
at the keyboard player's upper-left, above the Prophet V).

Hmmm... maybe. I don't have the DVD anymore, so I can't
check. Mark uses two now, so I don't see why he wouldn't
back then.

~Pink

[Gary Childs]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
remember that he used a Moog Source for the next tour (NuTra), probably
because it can store patches, unlike the Mini.

Mark used the Source for lead line parts. Jerry used a Mini for bass.

[j***@gmail.com]

Snowball, and SIB are taped. If you listen to a DNFTF show, the intro
to SIB is the same. Although in 1980, they ended SIB prematurely. I
assembled a list of synths that I saw on that DVD.

2 Minimoogs
2 ARP Odysseys Mark III
1 EML ElectroComp 500
1 Prophet 5

And on Blockhead, Mark is actually using the Odyssey. The EML was only
used for explosions and that funny sound effect on SIB.