Michael Pilmer's report:
I must say, the event was indeed a success.
We sold 31 tickets in advance,
and had about 10 or 15 folks pay at the door. We covered all of our
costs...and no one was killed (directly). It was a pleasure to meet
everyone, and I'm glad that you all had a good time.
Some of the days events:
GEEK STUFF: I was surprised that other folks actually brought DEVO stuff to
trade/sell! My collection was definitely boosted at the show, and I saw many
other spuds walking around with arm loads of new Devo booty. Hord Now For
The Future! If anyone out there is interested in trading...just contact me
directly. I've got lots to barter with.
GENERAL BOY: A very important character in DEVO's history...aka Mark, Bob,
and Jim Mothersbaugh's father. He was wonderful. When he walked into the
venue, fully dressed
in his uniform/helmet, the room erupted into oohs and ahhs...cameras
flashing. It was unreal. The General was overwhelmed with emotion. When he
stood at the podium for his speech, I felt the love in the room. He really
opened up to us. I talked to his wife yesterday, and she said he really
loved being there.
REVEREND IVAN STANG: Head honcho over at The Church of The Subgenius...Bob
Dobbs' pimp AND whore. What can I say? It was a pleasure to meet him after
so many years of Subgenius dogma filtering into my brain. He was a treat to
chat with...and he really seemed to enjoy himself at the event. His
rant/story telling session was beautiful and highly entertaining. I can't
wait to see the video! We were SO lucky that he lives in Ohio now.
CD TRUTH: One of the bands that played the event - from Ohio. They rocked.
High energy, punky stuff. Great musicians. I got their CD called "Seedy",
and it's great. Other spuds should email them to see about getting their own
copies: CDTruth@aol.com
DUTY NOW BAND: If I remember correctly, this band was: Mark Fields on Bass,
Will on Guitar, Scott Orsi on Keyboards, Petevo on Drums, and Kelly Bray on
vocals. This band was thrown together at the last minute...with about an
hours' worth of practice on the day of the event. I could not believe how
tight they were! As they played, I was packing up some stuff (it was at the
end of the evening), and I found myself jumping around, singing along. It
sounded SO much like the Devo recordings. They even had the between song
banter and specific notes of the live-versions of Devo songs down pat. Kelly
Bray ruled with his monkey mask, fake tits, and booji attire. He even
brought out a folding baby crib for "Beautiful World", and we supplied him
with a Polaroid camera so that he could snap photos of the crowd (just like
Booji does at the end of some recorded live DEVO shows). Again...I can't
wait to see the video!
LISA CASALE'S SLIDE SHOW: Bob2's wife, who photographed DEVO throughout
their career, sent about 160 personal slides to share. Some very interesting
live shots, behind the scenes, etc. Thanks, again, Lisa! I hope someone got
it on video! The Ladies Of The Lake, femme artist freaks from Tampa, FL.,
supplied some great slides of their artwork, too. Fabulous!
RARE VIDEO/AUDIO: Hours of rare audio and video footage seeped throughout
the venue all day. Some highlights were DEVO's 1997 Lollapalooza rehearsal
footage, Devo doing two songs on the set of the ELLEN show a few years ago,
unreleased audio demos from the "Freedom Of Choice" and "New
Traditionalists" eras, rare board recordings of live DEVO performances from
the same time period, and interviews both video and audio. My ears wept with
glee.
DEVO's CONTRIBUTIONS: They sent a short video: 10 minute Jam Session with
Mark, Jerry, Bob1 and Bob2! They played a new song, "DEVO DEVO DEVO" (very
catchy and infectious!), as well as a impromptu version of "Midget"...and an
extended, noisy, beautiful jam session. Then there was a walk-through video
tour of Mutato that was very funny at times. I will be asking Mark if I can
make that video available to everyone. I'll keep you posted.
Also, we can't forget the raffle prizes that Mark sent: A fully autographed
DEVOtional T-shirt (I think Mike Wright won this one...but I'm not sure),
and one of two ORIGINAL whips from the "Whip-It" Video!! (the other whip was
lost years ago). Fellow list member Dominic won that one. Congrats,
Dominic!! Mark also sent some Mutato Muzika pencils and postcards trinkets
to give away. He knows "what a geek wants, what a geek needs" (sorry for the
Christina Aguilera reference).
GUESTBOOK: There was a guestbook floating around at the event (supplied by
Rev. Toth Wilder, and decorated by The Ladies Of The Lake). Someone please
scan that in!
(TOTH: If you can't scan it in, I can do it, and send it back to you.
Justlet me know if you need help).
VIDEO/PHOTOS: This is an URGENT plea to all who took photos/video/audio at
the event. PLEASE send me copies of everything. I'll gladly pay for whatever
I need to pay for (Postage, dubbing, tapes, etc). I want to make sure DEVO
gets copies of the best things, and I plan on trying to edit the best
footage together.
THANKS: Everyone has been thanked over and over again. You know who you are:
everyone who attended, everyone who helped, everyone who was there with us
in spirit.
-Michael
DEVO GEEK, indeed.