The family of Devo guitarist Bob Casale have launched an online fundraiser to cover the costs related to his recent death. Casale did not reportedly leave a will or carry insurance, leaving his relatives considerable medical and funeral bills.
“This has hit the Casales hard,” wrote Michael Pilmer, Devo’s assistant and webmaster, on the official Go Fund Me page. “We are doing everything we can as friends of the family to soften the impact of Bob’s untimely death ... [Their] expenses are not limited to funeral expenses, but also include recent medical/hospital bills, and for the general family expenses in the absence of Bob.”
Supporters hope to raise as much as $100,000 (£60,000) for Casale’s wife, daughter and son. “I have done what I can,” wrote his brother, bandmate Jerry Casale. At the time of writing, about 200 people have donated a total of more than $15,000. Marilyn Manson and artist Shepard Fairey are among those who have encouraged supporters to contribute.
“He was a very decent human being, very centred and very fair,” Jerry Casale said in a video posted to Facebook. In an earlier interview with Rolling Stone, he explained that Devo had been planning to mount a 40th anniversary tour, performing “all the early, experimental songs” and, as always, “sharing the spoils” evenly between the five members. “I think he’d want Devo to carry on,” Jerry said. “If it was was up to me, it would. I’d make sure a portion of our earnings went to his children, because they need help ... [but] any future shows without him will be the first time playing without him in forty years.”
Formed in the early 1970s, Devo’s dry, catchy, sci-fi satire made them one of the most influential of all New Wave acts. Their ninth studio album, Something for Everybody, was released in 2010.
