Devo guitarist Bob Casale died of heart failure at the age of 61 on Monday, the band announced on Tuesday.
“We are shocked and saddened by Bob Casale’s passing,” Devo singer and co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh wrote in a statement. “He not only was integral in DEVO’s sound, he worked over twenty years at Mutato, collaborating with me on sixty or seventy films and television shows, not to mention countless commercials and many video games. Bob was instrumental in creating the sound of projects as varied as “Rugrats” and Wes Anderson’s films. He was a great friend. I will miss him greatly.”
Gerald Casale described his brother on Facebook writing, “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,” Gerald’s post continued. “His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all.”
Just last year Devo drummer Alan Meyers passed away at the age of 58 due to stomach cancer.
Devo is best known for their 1980’s hit “Whip It”.