English: Bob Casale of Devo.
English: Bob Casale of Devo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I just found out today that Bob Casale, or Bob 2 of DEVO passed away last night from heart failure.  I’m absolutely heartbroken, and I’m listening to my DEVO records all day today.

Bob 2 is the only member of DEVO I got to meet — it was after the first time I got to see DEVO live.  Just to clarify, not only did I never think I’d get to see DEVO live (but I’ve seen them four times now!), but to make it even better, Bob 2 came out and took time to meet with fans afterwards.

He was the nicest guy. My best friend and I told him how DEVO got us through high school and was so incredibly important to us, and he said that he was retroactively our High School Advisor.

I’m gonna really miss him. At least I got to tell him how much he meant to me. You don’t get that a lot, especially with famous people who had a huge impact on you. I’m not being facetious when I say that, alongside David Foster Wallace, I wouldn’t be who I am today without DEVO.  They’re that important, and Bob 2 was a huge part of that — both in playing and his engineering and producing skills for the band (along with others — including the Barnes & Barnes version of “What’s New Pussycat” from Zabagabee).

What a wonderful man, and I’m so deeply sorry to see him go.

I’m seriously trying not to cry.

I’m not sure I’m going to succeed.

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