Mark Mothersbaugh | |
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 Mothersbaugh at the premiere of the documentary filmDevo at the2024 Sundance Film Festival | |
| Born | Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (1950-05-18)May 18, 1950 (age 75) Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
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| Children | 2 |
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| Member of | Devo |
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| Website | markmothersbaugh |
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Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (/ˈmʌðərzbɔː/; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of thenew wave bandDevo, whose "Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US in 1980, peaking at No. 14, and which has since maintained acult following. Mothersbaugh was one of the primary composers of Devo's music.
In addition to his work with Devo, Mothersbaugh has made music for television series, films and video games via his production company,Mutato Muzika. He composed the music for the 13-year run of the animated seriesRugrats and its three relatedtheatrical films. He has created film scores forWes Anderson and forMarvel Comicsfilms. As a solo musician, Mothersbaugh has released four studio albums:Muzik for Insomniaks,Muzik for the Gallery,Joyeux Mutato andThe Most Powerful Healing Muzik in the Entire World.
In 2004, he received the Richard Kirk award at theBMI Film and TV Awards for his contributions to film and television music.[4] In 2008, Mothersbaugh received anhonorary doctorate ofhumane letters fromKent State University, hisalma mater.[5]
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh was born on May 18, 1950, inAkron, Ohio. His parents are Mary Margaret ("Mig") and Robert Mothersbaugh Sr. He grew up with two younger brothers,Bob andJim, who are both musicians, and two sisters, Amy and Susan, and graduated fromWoodridge High School inPeninsula, Ohio.[6][7]His father appeared in early Devo films and fan events as the characterGeneral Boy and his brothers participated in the band, although Jim's tenure was brief, appearing only on several earlydemos.
Mothersbaugh attendedKent State University as an art student, where he metDevo co-foundersGerald Casale andBob Lewis. In early 1970, Lewis and Casale formed the idea of the "devolution" of the human race after Casale's friendsJeffrey Miller andAllison Krause were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen on university grounds during what came to be known as theKent State shootings.[8] Intrigued by the concept, Mothersbaugh joined them, building upon it with elements of earlypost-structuralist ideas and oddball arcana, most notably unearthing the infamousJocko-Homo Heavenbound pamphlet[9] (the basis for the song "Jocko Homo").[10] This association culminated in 1973, when the trio started to play music as Devo.Following the commercial failure of their sixth studio albumShout,Warner Bros. dropped Devo. Shortly after, claiming to feel creatively unfulfilled, drummerAlan Myers left the band,[11] causing the remaining band members to abandon the plans for aShout video LP, as well as a tour.
In 1987, Devo reformed with new drummerDavid Kendrick, formerly ofSparks, to replace Myers. Their first project was a soundtrack for the flop horror filmSlaughterhouse Rock, starringToni Basil and they released the studio albumsTotal Devo (1988) andSmooth Noodle Maps (1990), onEnigma.
Devo had a falling-out and played two shows in 1991 before breaking up. Around this time, members of Devo appeared in the filmThe Spirit of '76 (1990), except for Bob Mothersbaugh. In 1989, Mark Mothersbaugh establishedMutato Muzika, a commercial music production studio, hiring Ryan Moore and Bob Casale; Bob Mothersbaugh was also involved.[12]
In 2006, Devo worked withDisney on theDevo 2.0 project: a band of child performers was assembled to re-record Devo songs. TheAkron Beacon Journal wrote, "Devo recently finished a new project in cahoots with Disney called Devo 2.0, which features the band playing old songs and two new ones with vocals provided by children. Their debut studio album, a two disc CD/DVD combo entitledDEV2.0, was released on March 14, 2006. The lyrics of some of the songs were changed forfamily-friendly airplay, which has been claimed by the band to be a play on irony of the messages of their classic hits. Mothersbaugh doesn't rule out the idea of the band gathering in the studio, eventually, to record a new Devo album."[13] The studio album,Something for Everybody was eventually released in June 2010, preceded by a 12" single of "Fresh"/"What We Do".[14]
Devo was awarded the firstMoog Innovator Award on October 29, 2010, duringMoogfest 2010 inAsheville, North Carolina. The award aims to celebrate "pioneering artists whose genre-defying work exemplifies the bold, innovative spirit of Bob Moog".[15] Devo was scheduled to perform at Moogfest, but canceled three days beforehand after Mark's brother Bob Mothersbaugh (lead guitar) injured his hand. He and Gerald Casale collaborated with Austin, Texas, bandthe Octopus Project to perform "Girl U Want" and "Beautiful World" at the event instead.[16]
In 1989, Mothersbaugh and other members of Devo were involved in the project Visiting Kids, releasing a self-titledextended play (EP) on the New Rose label in 1990.[17] The group featured his then-wife Nancye Ferguson, as well as David Kendrick, Bob Mothersbaugh, and Bob's daughter Alex Mothersbaugh. Mothersbaugh co-wrote some of the songs, and produced the album with Bob Casale. A promotional video was filmed for the song "Trilobites". Visiting Kids appeared on the soundtrack to the filmRockula, as well as on theLate Show with David Letterman.
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Since Devo, Mothersbaugh has developed a successful career writing musical scores for film and television. In film, he has worked frequently with filmmakerWes Anderson, scoring four of his feature films:Bottle Rocket (1996),Rushmore (1998),The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), andThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).[18] He composed forThe Lego Movie (2014)[19] andThor: Ragnarok (2017).[20][21]
His music has been a staple of the children's television showsRugrats,Beakman's World,Santo Bugito andClifford the Big Red Dog. He wrote the new theme song for the originalFelix the Cat show when it was sold toBroadway Video, some music forPee-wee's Playhouse in 1986–1990 and the theme song for theSuper Mario World TV series forDIC Entertainment in 1991.[22] The character design forChuckie onRugrats was loosely based on him.[23] Along withBob Casale, he producedHeroes & Villains (2000), a soundtrack album with music inspired byThe Powerpuff Girls.[24] Mothersbaugh originally sought out to be the show's main composer, but his demo was rejected by creatorCraig McCracken, who despite being a Devo fan, had concerns about his cartoon being pushed aside if a big feature film came to Mothersbaugh's production company.[24]
Mothersbaugh produces music for video games, includingSony'sCrash Bandicoot andJak and Daxter series (both music scores were created byJosh Mancell), and forEA Games'The Sims 2 (2004). 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.[12] Mothersbaugh composed the original score forRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021).[25]
Mothersbaugh composed:
In 2013, Mothersbaugh appeared on an episode ofThe Aquabats! Super Show!, an action-comedy series by the creators ofYo Gabba Gabba! starring the Devo-influenced bandthe Aquabats, playing the eccentric scientist father of one of the main characters, Jimmy the Robot.[27]
Mothersbaugh and Casale have produced music for other artists, includingToni Basil.[28]
Mothersbaugh has also been successful as a visual artist. In November 2014, Mothersbaugh said, "I've done over 150 art gallery shows in the last 20 years."[29]
On February 6, 2014, theMuseum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) announced a retrospective exhibition to bring together the first comprehensive presentation of Mothersbaugh's art and music. This nationally touring exhibition was accompanied by a publication,Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia, published byPrinceton Architectural Press.[30] 50 selections of postcard art fromMyopia were published as a postcard book titledMark Mothersbaugh: Collected Facts & Lies in 2015.
As a prelude to theMyopia exhibit opening inCincinnati, Ohio, Mothersbaugh held a concert gathering which included Devo songs and movie scores played in a classical style, an address to the audience with anecdotes, and musical pieces he specifically composed for a six-keyboard hybrid originally used for teaching lessons, that was refurbished by his brother Bob and contained a counter in the center for keeping time. The instrument was played by six people simultaneously.[31][32]
Mothersbaugh hosted a drawing segment on theNick Jr. Channel television seriesYo Gabba Gabba! called Mark's Magic Pictures, teaching children how to draw simple pictures. The pictures often come alive at the end of the segment through animation.[33]
At the age of seven, Mothersbaugh began wearing glasses to correct his severemyopia andastigmatism. Over the years, he took an interest in designing his own distinctive eyewear for use in Devo shows. He favored a set of stainless steel frames for regular use made by a Los Angeles shop called LA Eyeworks and says he purchased as many pairs as he could find because they tended to break or get stolen by fans.[34][35] In a joint venture with eyewear manufacturer Shane Baum, Mothersbaugh has designed his own branded frames for sale, made of beryllium with a stainless steel chrome finish, in three different styles as of 2015. The Baumvision press release states that the unisex model "Francesca" is named for one of Mothersbaugh's pug dogs which is asimultaneous hermaphrodite that is also called Frank.[35][36]
In a 2016 interview, Mothersbaugh mentioned havingattention deficit disorder (ADD).[37]
He has been married twice. His first wife was actress Nancye Ferguson, who can be seen briefly performing with him in the 1999 superhero comedy filmMystery Men. His current wife is Anita Greenspan, who runs the film music managing company Greenspan Kohan Management with Neil Kohan. The couple has two daughters from China, adopted after Greenspan learned of the practice in that country of female children being abandoned because of their gender.[7]
Mothersbaugh is a collector and connoisseur ofsong poems[38] and unusual or vintage musical devices. He is the owner ofRaymond Scott'sElectronium (although it is currently not functional).[39]
Mothersbaugh contractedCOVID-19 in May 2020, and was placed on a ventilator in anintensive care unit atCedars-Sinai Medical Center for 18 days. In August 2020, Mothersbaugh recounted that he "nearly died" of the disease, and was in a delusional state while infected; he came to believe that he had been hospitalized after being hit by a brick inLittle Tokyo, and repeatedly urged his family members to search for his attackers.[40] He described having lastingneuropathic pain as a result of the illness.[41] He also lost most of his vision in his right eye during the first few days in the ICU while intubated. The condition was determined not to have been caused by COVID and cannot be repaired. He says the eye's vision is now permanently blurred like what he saw as a child, and calls himself a "cyclops".[42]
Mothersbaugh was once a member of the parody religion theChurch of the SubGenius.[43]
Mothersbaugh was honored with theRichard Kirk Award at the 2004BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer of film and television music.[4]
On May 10, 2008, Mothersbaugh was awarded anhonorary doctorate ofhumane letters from Kent State University.[44]
On May 28, 2016, Mothersbaugh was awarded the key to the city of Akron during a ceremony at theAkron-Summit County Public Library.[45]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise | Joe Roth | 20th Century Fox Interscope Communications Amercent Films American Entertainment Partners L.P. | — |
| 1988 | Slaughterhouse Rock | Dimitri Logothetis | Taurus Entertainment Company Arista Films First American Film Capital | — |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Crash Bandicoot | Music producer |
| 1997 | Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | |
| 1998 | Crash Bandicoot: Warped | |
| Rugrats: Search for Reptar | Composer | |
| 1999 | Crash Team Racing | Music producer |
| Interstate '82 | ||
| Rugrats: Studio Tour | Composer | |
| 2001 | Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | Music producer |
| 2003 | Jak II | |
| 2004 | Jak 3 | |
| The Sims 2[68] | Composer | |
| 2007 | MySims | Additional music |
| The Simpsons Game | ||
| 2008 | Boom Blox | Composer |
| MySims Kingdom | Additional music | |
| 2009 | MySims Racing | |
| MySims Agents | ||
| 2010 | Skate 3 | Composer |
| 2014 | The Lego Movie Videogame | |
| 2021 | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart |
Studio albums
I figured out a way to harness my ADD [attention deficit disorder] to my benefit," he said in a recent telephone interview. "I'm moving back and forth between visual and sonic projects all day.
