News broke yesterday that Devo and Warner Brothers Records have parted ways. Warner Brothers signed the band back in the 70s and released their first six albums (Q:Are We Not Men through Shout!) before dropping them in 1984. The band re-signed with Warner Brothers 2009 and issued their 2010 comeback LP Something For Everybody through the label, a deal which included extensive experimental marketing aspects, merchandising and tour support. Gerald Casale had the following to say about the decision:
“There’s really no reason for us to be with a record label right now. I like that idea of using songwriting in a different way, and you can’t even think about releases and albums anymore. It’s kind of irrelevant to the creative space online and the way people buy things now.”
Devo has been in the news quite a bit lately thanks to their new digital single “Don’t Roof Rack Me Bro (For Shamus)” which you can listen to here.