The first time I saw Devo was at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. It was 1978 and I was wearing a hazmat suit.
I grew up in a conservative household in Manhattan Beach, and that night, the glass ceiling of my upbringing was shattered.
It was one thing to listen to the record over and over (Q: Are we not men? A: We are Devo), another thing entirely to see them live. It was a spectacle. Off the hook. The best kind of show.
I had no clue what to make of it, but I GOT IT, and it was maybe my first experience of the feeling of belonging.
The music spoke to these new rhythms living inside me. These latent sensibilities. I pogo'd my ass off, and felt happy and free. From that point forward, the phrase "that's so Devo!" was the way my best friend Kath and I saw and defined nearly everything in the world.
They called him Boogie Boy is a small encaustic piece that's almost sculptural in it's density of wax and paint. It's an homage to Booji Boy and Devo. Booji Boy is like Devo's mascot, but oh so much more.
When Booji Boy came on stage, the crowd went wild. Many never really understood him, his 'infantile devolution', and here's the thing, we never really had to. We were Booji Boy.
It's SO Devo.
If you're interested in owning They called him Boogie Boy, click below
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