devo

Devo guitarist Bob Casale passes away at 61

Devo's Bob Casale, a guitarist and founding member, died unexpectedly yesterday, Feb. 17, from heart failure. He was 61.

Save for a sometimes fluid lineup in early seventies, pre-debut album, Casale, sometimes referred to as “Bob 2,” remained a fixture in the band for over 40 years, performing on all of the group's nine full-length albums, assisting in the production for several releases, and touring as recently as 2013.

Bob's brother, bassist and fellow founding member Gerald Casale, posted a statement through the band's site:

“As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning.
He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got. 
He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again.
His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all. 

-Gerald Casale, Devo founder”

Gerald also posted this photo from 1980, captioned “Bob Casale of Devo. Born: July 14th, 1952 . Deceased: February 17th, 2014:”

Devo formed in 1972 in Ohio, and went on to release eight full-lengths before disbanding in 1991, only to reunite just five years later. Since 1996, the group have been relatively active, touring intermittently and releasing one new album, 2010's Something For Everybody.

The band's former drummer, Alan Myers, who left Devo in 1985, passed away last year from stomach cancer.

No live dates for 2014 are confirmed at this time.

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