Gerald Casale

Gerald Vincent Casale (/kəˈsɔːliː/ kə-SAW-lee) (né Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". Casale is the main lyricist and one of the primary composers of Devo's music, as well as the director of most of the band's music videos. He is one of only two members (along with lead singer and keyboardist Mark Mothersbaugh) who have been with Devo throughout its entire history. Casale's brother Bob also performed with the band until Bob's death in 2014.

Casale pursued a solo career in 2005 while still a member of Devo with the project Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers. The project received little promotion beyond a music video for the single "Army Girls Gone Wild". Jihad Jerry appeared at several shows near the end of Devo's 2006 tour, performing the song "Beautiful World". He has also performed occasionally with other bands.

Casale has also directed music videos for other recording artists, including the Cars ("Touch and Go", "Panorama"), Rush ("Mystic Rhythms", "Superconductor"), A Perfect Circle ("Imagine"), Foo Fighters ("I'll Stick Around"), Soundgarden ("Blow Up the Outside World") and Silverchair ("Freak", "Cemetery"), among others.

Gerald Vincent Pizzute was born on July 28, 1948, in Ravenna, Ohio. He was born with the last name Pizzute because his father, Bob, had legally changed his name (his birth name having been Robert Edward Casale) to that of his foster parents. Four years after Gerald's birth, his father changed his name back to his birth name. Gerald Casale grew up in Kent, Ohio and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1966.

Prior to Devo, Casale had played bass guitar with The Numbers Band. He caused friction in the band by suggesting that they should incorporate advertising jingles and other "low culture" elements into their music. After leaving the Numbers Band and graduation, Casale attended Kent State University, majoring in art (focusing on fine/performing arts and fashion-related studies). In the late 1960s, he was a self-described hippie until the May 4, 1970, shootings. Being involved with Freshman orientation at the KSU Honors College, he personally knew two of the victims, Jeffrey Miller and Allison Krause, and was near Krause when she was shot. Casale described that day in multiple interviews as being "the day I stopped being a hippie". Together with Bob Lewis, Casale used the shooting as a catalyst to develop the concept of De-evolution, forming the band Devo in 1973. Casale was the oldest member of the band. He has said that David Bowie's 1974 album Diamond Dogs and its subsequent tour inspired him to "raise the bar" for his work with Devo, stating, "I had seen what it takes to combine theater, concept and music in a three-stage rocket to mind-blowing effect."

Initially featuring Casale (bass), Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals), and Mark's brothers Bob (lead guitar) and Jim (electronic drums), the band eventually solidified around the lineup of Casale, his brother Bob (second guitarist), Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, and drummer Alan Myers. On October 14, 1978, Devo appeared on American variety show Saturday Night Live to promote their debut album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), which significantly increased their exposure. After their second album, Duty Now for the Future (1979), was less well received, their third album, Freedom of Choice (1980), produced the surprise hit single "Whip It", which reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album climbed to No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and its follow-up, New Traditionalists (1981), was nearly as successful, peaking at No. 23.

Oh, No! It's Devo (1982) saw the band moving more towards the mainstream and sported an increased use of synthesizers and electronic percussion, but was less well received than its two predecessors. The band's sixth studio album, Shout (1984), continued in this vein and was received poorly, which caused Warner Bros. to buy out the remainder of Devo's contract. Myers left the band soon after.

In 1987, Devo reformed with new drummer David Kendrick, formerly of Sparks, to replace Myers. Their first project was a soundtrack for the horror film Slaughterhouse Rock (1988), starring Toni Basil, after which they released the albums Total Devo (1988) and Smooth Noodle Maps (1990), on Enigma.