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The mastermind behind Devo's ironic and provocative electronic pop, Mark Mothersbaugh later enjoyed success composing for film and television. In keeping with Devo's dehumanized, automaton image, Mothersbaugh obscured the details of his upbringing, although it is known he co-founded the group in 1972 with keyboardist Jerry Casale, a fellow art student at Kent State University. A pioneering force behind the marriage of music and video, Devo's futuristic image and robotic pop sound underscored their stated (albeit tongue-in-cheek) belief in mankind's cultural de-evolution. With their deliberately soulless 1978 cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction," the group landed a contract with major label Warner Bros. The album Freedom of Choice went platinum on the strength of the band's million-selling pop hit "Whip It," but after subsequent efforts appeared to diminishing critical and commercial returns, Devo disappeared for the better part of the mid-'80s. Mothersbaugh then moved into composing commercial jingles and soundtracks, scoring the children's television favorites Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Rugrats in addition to feature films like Bottle Rocket, Happy Gilmore, and Rushmore. He resumed his Devo activities with 1988's Total Devo and occasionally re-formed the group over the decade to follow; Mothersbaugh additionally opened his own Los Angeles-based production company, Mutato Muzika.
from Wikipedia:
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (pronounced /ˈmʌðərzbɔː/; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games.
Career
Mothersbaugh attended Kent State as an art student, where he met Devo co-founders Jerry Casale and Bob Lewis. In early 1970, Lewis and Casale formed the idea of the "devolution" of the human race; Mothersbaugh, intrigued by the concept, joined them, building upon it with elements of early poststructuralist ideas and oddball arcana, most notably unearthing the infamous Jocko-Homo Heavenbound pamphlet (the basis for the song). This culminated in 1973, when the trio started to play music as Devo.
Since Devo, Mothersbaugh developed a successful career writing musical scores for film and television. In film, Mothersbaugh has worked frequently with filmmaker Wes Anderson, and scored most of his feature films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou).
His music has been a staple of the children's television shows Rugrats, Beakman's World, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. He also wrote the theme song for the new Felix the Cat show for Film Roman, some music for Pee-Wee's Playhouse in 1990 and the theme song for The New Super Mario World for DiC Entertainment in 1991.
Mothersbaugh and Casale have also produced much of Toni Basil's music.
Mothersbaugh is also known for his music in video games including Sony's Crash Bandicoot series, the Jak and Daxter series, and EA Games's The Sims 2. This work is often performed with Mutato Muzika, the music production company he formed with several other former members of Devo including his brother, Bob Mothersbaugh.
Mothersbaugh composed "Having Trouble Sneezing", the distinctive music heard in the award-winning "Get a Mac" commercials for Apple Inc.
Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score for the first season of the television series Big Love. Mark Mothersbaugh was replaced after one season by David Byrne of Talking Heads. Mark Mothersbaugh also composed the theme music for the American television show Eureka broadcast on the SyFy channel.
He currently hosts a drawing segment on Nick Jr's television series, Yo Gabba Gabba! called Mark's Magic Pictures, teaching children how to draw simple pictures that often come alive at the end of the segment. He also currently composes the score of the Cartoon Network TV series Regular Show, whose style and attitude is partly an homage to the Wes Anderson films Mark has worked on.
Personal life
At the age of seven, he was taken to the optometrist, where he obtained his first pair of glasses and saw the world properly for the first time. He designs his own distinctive eyewear and they are made for him by a Los Angeles, California shop called LA Eyeworks.
After truly "experiencing" the world for the first time when his vision was corrected, Mothersbaugh started to draw, and his second grade teacher praised his work. That same night he had dreamed of being a famous artist. In addition to music, Mothersbaugh still paints – in a style influenced by surrealism and Andy Warhol.
He graduated from Woodridge High School of Peninsula, Ohio.
Mothersbaugh has been married to his wife Anita since the early '90s and they have two adopted daughters, Hope and Margaret. They all share 3 pugs.
Mark Mothersbaugh was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2004 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.
On May 10, 2008, Mothersbaugh was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Kent State University.
