Bob Mothersbaugh

Bob Mothersbaugh

Mothersbaugh performing live in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, in 2011
Background information
Birth name Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr.
Also known as Bob 1
Born (1952-08-11) August 11, 1952
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • composer
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active 1974–present
Associated acts
Notable instruments

Robert Leroy "Bob" Mothersbaugh, Jr., (/ˈmʌðərzbɔː/; born August 11, 1952), or "Bob 1", is an American singer, songwriter, composer, and musician.

Mothersbaugh's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". The band has maintained a cult following throughout its existence. He is the younger brother of co-founder and lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh.

Early years

Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh Jr. was born in Akron, Ohio, to parents Mary Margaret ("Mig") and Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr. In high school, he played in the cover band Jitters with his brother Jim Mothersbaugh and Greg Brosch on guitar and Greg Kaiser on bass.

Career

Devo

In early 1970, Bob Lewis and Gerald Casale formed the idea of the "devolution" of the human race after Casale's friend Jeffrey Miller was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen firing on a student demonstration.[4] Mothersbaugh joined Devo in 1974. After the band underwent a few line-up changes, Bob Mothersbaugh became part of the most popular five-piece incarnation, which included the Casale brothers: Gerald and Bob ("Bob 2"), and the Mothersbaugh brothers: Mark and Bob ("Bob 1"), as well as drummer Alan Myers.[5]

The band stopped performing in 1991, but reformed as a musical act in 1995.[5]

In 2006, Devo worked on a project with Disney known as Devo 2.0. A band of child performers was assembled and re-recorded Devo songs. A quote from the Akron Beacon Journal states, "...Devo recently finished a new project in cahoots with Disney called Devo 2.0, which features the band playing old songs and two new ones with vocals provided by children. Their debut album, a two disc CD/DVD combo entitled DEV2.0, was released on March 14, 2006. The lyrics of some of the songs were changed for family-friendly airplay, which has been claimed by the band to be a play on irony of the messages of their classic hits.[6] The album, Something for Everybody was eventually released in June 2010, preceded by a 12" single of "Fresh"/"What We Do".[7]

Other work

In 1989, Bob Mothersbaugh and other members of Devo were involved in the project Visiting Kids, releasing a self-titled EP on the New Rose label in 1990.[8] The group featured Mark Mothersbaugh's then-wife Nancye Ferguson, as well as David Kendrick, Bob Mothersbaugh, and Bob's daughter Alex Mothersbaugh. Their record was produced by Bob Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, and Mark also co-wrote some of the songs. Visiting Kids appeared on the soundtrack to the film Rockula, as well as on the Late Show with David Letterman. A promotional video was filmed for the song "Trilobites".

Following Devo's hiatus in 1991, Mothersbaugh founded his own band called The Bob I Band, and recorded an unreleased album with the drummer, David Kendrick. The master tapes were lost, though a bootleg of the band is circulating.

Mothersbaugh produces soundtracks for film and television, such as the animated television series Rugrats as part of the production company Mutato Muzika.

In 2015, Mothersbaugh performed the theme to Harvey Beaks.[9]

Personal life

Mothersbaugh has two brothers, Mark and Jim, and two sisters, Amy and Susan.[10][11] His father appeared in early Devo films and at fan events as the character General Boy.

Mothersbaugh is reported to be autistic.[12] The name Bob 1 is meant to differentiate him from Bob Casale.

Equipment

Current

Former

Soundtracks

Television

Years Title Notes
1991–2004 Rugrats with Denis M. Hannigan, Rusty Andrews, and Mark Mothersbaugh
1995 Santo Bugito with Mark Mothersbaugh, and Bruce Young Berman
1996–1997 Life's Work with Mark Mothersbaugh
2003 The Groovenians with Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Casale, Albert Fox, Al Mothersbaugh, Josh Mancell, Andrew Todd, and Pat Irwin (additional music)
2003–2007 All Grown Up! with Mark Mothersbaugh
2015–present Exchange Student Zero with Bradley Hugh Denniston, and Ray Plaza
2015–present Harvey Beaks with Ego Plum, Steve Bartek, David J.

Film

Year Title Director(s) Studio(s) Notes
1988 Slaughterhouse Rock Dimitri Logothetis Arista Films N/A
1999 200 Cigarettes Risa Bramon Garcia Paramount Pictures with Mark Mothersbaugh
2002 Hansel and Gretel Gary J. Tunnicliffe Tag Entertainment with Rusty Andrews
2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Wes Anderson Touchstone Pictures N/A
2006 How to Eat Fried Worms Bob Dolman New Line Cinema with Mark Mothersbaugh

References

  1. ↑ Long, Pat (May 2, 2009). "Pat Long meets new wave 80s oddballs Devo, who are intent on making a comeback". The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Devo". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ Steinberg, Shirley; Kehler, Michael; Cornish, Lindsay (2010). Boy Culture. Greenwood. p. 355.
  4. ↑ Paul Vermeersch: A brief history of Devo, Part 1, October 21, 2014, retrieved August 4, 2015
  5. 1 2 "Devo". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ Abram, Malcolm X (August 18, 2005). "Still DEVOlutionary". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on October 26, 2005.
  7. ↑ ChadGrisly. "SOMETHIN.jpg".
  8. ↑ The Spawn of Devo: Visiting Kids, 26 April 2012, retrieved 13 August 2015
  9. ↑ "Harvey Beaks Opening Theme Extended". Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Mary M. "Mig" Mothersbaugh". Legacy.com. 2014-08-31. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  11. ↑ Gruskoff, Jen (2010-03-03). "A Vision of Family". GetButtonedUp.com. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  12. ↑ "Bob Mothersbaugh". Retrieved 31 January 2016.

External links

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