Q: Are We Interviewing Men? A: We Are Interviewing Devo! A Talk With Gerald Casale

It’s pretty much common knowledge we’re made to look at Blackberrys.

Exactly. (laughs). But that’s kind of nice. It’s a moment of truth. It’s almost like a big load off your shoulders like when you get rid of a secret and you can feel better.

But you’re still toying with the idea. In that great new song and video for ‘Don’t Shoot’ you’re still using monkeys.

That’s just a background plate. We haven’t even finished that. That’s just a background plate that we’re just going to insert ourselves into our environment. Yeah. (laughs).

Are you using a lot of cartoon background plates?

Yeah. We are using a lot and we’re doing as much as we can under our budgets. And we intend to go further in January in preparation for the record.

Are you expecting to do background plates for the whole record?

Well, that’s a little ambitious, but let’s say at least for half the record. And you’ll see them live.

I’m guessing you’re not going to play the whole record live.

No, but we’re going to play a good number of songs from it.

Is the record finished, is it mixed?

It’ll be done in the end of December. Totally finished. We’re shooting video and video elements in January and then the record will be released in April, just in time for Coachella.

I remember there was talk that the album was shelved for a little while, then back on, then pushed back. Is it simply difficult getting time together?

That was the problem. Yeah. It finally came together. Mark had a couple of films he scored that went on forever and they weren’t supposed to and they did, films like that.

Has all your various work in other mediums made you more critical of your own back catalog of what you do now?

Actually, I think it makes me appreciate it more (laughs). I thought, ‘My God, we did do something right.’

Does it not feel like work I guess, to be Devo?

That’s right.

Does touring feel like work to you?

No, I love it. Touring, being on stage is what I do. It’s what I do.

Being that you’ve helmed a lot of the Devo aesthetic, has the idea every popped up of doing some Tommy-esque concept Devotastic opera or tragedy?

We’ve had a lot of ideas for both movies and musicals actually and just never have gotten funded. Maybe now it will finally happen. We’re not short on ideas but we’re short on people believing in us.

I guess if it was 1995 I might have a different perspective but now it seems that there’s a lot of fans of Devo.

Possibly the time is right. Possibly you’re right.

I know there was talk of a documentary several years ago.

That’s still going on, that’s still going to happen. We’re shooting more of it in New York City when we get there.

Is it a documentary or more of a retrospective?

Hopefully, it will tell some truth.

It would be funny if it didn’t.

(laughs) Well, that would be Devo.

Devo performs at the Fillmore At Irving Plaza on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21. The Ultra Devo-lux Ltd Edition re-release of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and Freedom Of Choice will be out Dec. 22. clubdevo.com for more.