Inner Sanctum

Q: Are We Not Inner Sanctum? A: We are Devo!

Devo are currently finishing up the first new Devo release since Smooth Noodle Maps in 1990, and they’ve already started the promo machine with a couple of high-profile appearances at South By Southwest this past week.

Whitney from Pop Candy caught up with the Devo cats for an interview featuring questions submitted by her readers, including this Akron-related Q!

I live in Akron and rented an apartment years ago, and one of the selling points was that a few members of Devo had lived there previously. The address is 123 South Portage. Is that true? — Tommy

I think that’s where Jerry and Bob lived, and that’s where we recorded a lot of songs early on. And that’s where we conceived the idea of doing our first film. I hope they’ve fixed some of the utilities.

Regarding the new album:

And the new album is almost finished?

We’re kind of halfway through it. We have about six songs that are pretty well-nailed down, and we have twenty-some more that we’re going through. I’m sure it’ll be done by summertime.

At what point did you realize it was time for Devo to return?

Well, we write songs together, and we never call them Devo. But we liked what was happening in the music industry right now. We like the fact that record companies have exploded and the whole methodology of presenting yourself as a musical artist is all up in the air, and there’s all sorts of new possibilities right now. We wish this would’ve happened 30 years ago, but we’re glad we’re still around to get involved with it now.

Devo will perform their classic Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! in its entirety during a London show in May.

One more Devo item for you all – here’s the setlist from their SXSW performance, with thanks to Pop Candy.

Don’t Shoot, I’m A Man
Peek-A-Boo
What We Do
Goin’ Under
Fresh
That’s Good
Girl U Want
Whip It
Secret Agent Man
I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)
Uncontrollable Urge
Mongoloid
Smart Patrol/DNA
Gates Of Steel

Encore:
Freedom Of Choice
Jocko Homo
Gut Feeling
Beautiful World