Akron native Mark Mothersbaugh lends '80s sensibilities to 'Cocaine Bear' soundtrack

Akron native, prolific television and film composer and Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh has a surefire way for his band to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum after the group being passed on twice in as many years. They’ve made the nominees list three times, first landing there in 2018.

“There's a parking lot next door to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” he said during a recent phone conversation. “I'm going to buy one of those parking lot spaces that are right adjacent to the building and I'm going to have all of the guys in Devo, we're all going to get buried there. And so even if we're not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you can be Rock and Roll Hall of Fame adjacent.”

It shouldn’t come to that for Devo, a band composed of Mothersbaugh, his brother Bob, siblings Jerry and Bob Casale, and Alan Myers in its heyday, whose influence on other musicians and nerd culture continues to this day.

For Mothersbaugh his creative spirit also led to other interests, which includes an impressive career in the film and television industry where he has more than 250 scoring credits.

From 'Thor' to 'Cocaine Bear,' Mark Mothersbaugh carved out impressive Hollywood career

The efforts range from the epic – “Thor: Ragnarok” – to the upcoming “Cocaine Bear,” a sendup of schlock beasts-on-a-rampage films based on a story of a bear who ingested too much cocaine that it happened upon in the Tennessee forest and ended up dead.

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Of course, that would make for a very short film, so writer Jimmy Warden and director Elizabeth Banks essentially turned it into “Jaws in the Woods,” with a comedic bent. Set in 1985, it allowed Mothersbaugh to use the synth sensibilities that permeated Devo’s sound to complement a film that has its moments of jocularity. It will resonate with some movie fans and will be dismissed by others, but Mothersbaugh understood what the filmmakers were shooting for.

“And if you can appreciate that, then it's the right film for you,” he said. “I mean, musically, I went back and listened to some of that stuff (from the ’80s) and pulled out old Devo out of the closet to put on some of the tracks. And I don't know, I had a pretty good time scoring it.”

He called the overall process quick, taking just three weeks to do the actual scoring in May 2022 as Banks had an almost complete edit of the movie. There was another month of working with the musicians at Abbey Road Studios in London via Zoom. Although steeped in nerd culture, he marveled that technology would allow that virtual interaction, calling it “crazy” while appreciating the fact.

Mark Mothersbaugh beat COVID-19 in virus's early days

However, Mothersbaugh had to fight to get to this point. He was one of the unfortunate many who contracted COVID-19 at the onset of the pandemic, enduring three months on a ventilator (he doesn’t recommend it) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles last summer in the midst of working on scores for “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” “The Croods: A New Age” and a video game.

Despite the fight, he can find the humor in the experience now, even as he deals with aftereffects.

“While I was there, there was so much chaos in the ICU that I got hit in the eye, and I lost vision in one eye now because of my time at Cedars-Sinai in ICU,” he said. “So that's the kind of long-term effect it's had on me, and that's interesting. That's interesting, to become a cyclops. I’m like, ‘Oh darn it.’”

Yes, he finds that funny.

“I mean, come on. I'm an old guy,” he said. “It's like if it would've happened while I was in my 20s, that would really suck, but it waited till I was almost 70.”

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It’s an attitude that fully shows that life is a matter of perspective. Mothersbaugh formed Devo with Jerry Casale while a student at Kent State University in 1973. They enjoyed commercial success from the late ’70s until the early ’80s, and their theory of devolution (which may be playing out as we live) informed their music. A testament to their influence: They’re still remembered. He knows that the band's fans have a high geek ratio. Call it the revenge of the nerds, and he embraces the fact and what it represents.

“The idea of thinking outside of the box? The idea of not worshipping everything human and realizing that humans are the one unnatural species on the planet,” he said. “We're the one species out of touch with nature, and yet it's in our hands. We're the ones that have to take care of the planet at this point. And I think that's, the nerds could have a strong part in that.”

Devo could still have a voice in the cultural conversation

Devo, which still includes Jerry Casale and Bob Mothersbaugh, could certainly have a voice in that, considering they will celebrate a milestone achievement this year. Given recent experiences, Mothersbaugh considers that possibility.

“Well, it makes me know that Devo 2023, middle of the year, we're calling it the first 50 years of Devo 1973 to 2023,” he said, “And I'm already thinking about the next 50 years. You're 51 through 100. So I'm going to have a talk with the band and say, look, we got to stay healthy because we got more things to do, so take your vitamins.”

They’ve played dates sporadically over the years, but not necessarily full-fledged tours. With bands such as Kansas and Journey crisscrossing the country on 50^th anniversary tours this year, might that include one for Devo?

“Hey, you know what? You never know. I'm kind of more into it now than I was for a long time. I kind of fell out of it for a while and then, I don't know, we played a few shows last year,” he said. “We played at something called Cruel World (Festival) out in Pasadena and something in New York City on Pier 17 and, I don't know, it was kind of fun to get back on stage again. And I know Jerry and Bob want to do it, so I think there’s a very good chance.”

Mark Mothersbaugh will never suffer from boredom

And if there isn’t, Mothersbaugh has plenty to keep him busy. He’s a multitalented individual, who has also acted and is known for his artwork, which has been exhibited throughout the country – including Kent State – all of which keeps him satisfied.

“I have a pretty cool day job. I get to work with very creative people, and it changes all the time,” he said, “which is fun. And I've worked on a system where I come into work a couple hours early, and I have two hours all to myself to write music just for me or work on visual art just for me.

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“And then everybody shows up at 9 and we go to work and score whatever it is we're working on today. And it's kind of nice to have a day job that supports being an artist that I don't have to be running out and making money trying to figure out how to make money off my art.”

George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal. Reach him at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mark Mothersbaugh on 'Cocaine Bear,' losing vision and Devo's future