Mark Mothersbaugh
Mothersbaugh performing in 2001
Background information
Birth name	Mark Allen Mothersbaugh
Born	(1950-05-18) May 18, 1950 (age 63)
Origin	Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Occupations	Musician, singer, composer, painter
Instruments	Vocals, synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, minimoog, mellotron, omnichord
Years active	1972–present
Associated acts	Devo

Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (/ˈmʌðərzbɔː/; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games.

Career[edit]

Mothersbaugh attended Kent State as an art student, where he met Devo co-founders Jerry Casale and Bob Lewis. In early 1970, Lewis and Casale formed the idea of the "devolution" of the human race; Mothersbaugh, intrigued by the concept, joined them, building upon it with elements of early poststructuralist ideas and oddball arcana, most notably unearthing the infamous Jocko-Homo Heavenbound pamphlet (the basis for the song Jocko Homo). This culminated in 1973, when the trio started to play music as Devo.

Since Devo, Mothersbaugh has developed a successful career writing musical scores for film and television. In film, he has worked frequently with filmmaker Wes Anderson, and scored most of his feature films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou).^[1]

His music has been a staple of the children's television shows Rugrats, Beakman's World, Santo Bugito and Clifford the Big Red Dog. He also wrote the new theme song for the original Felix the Cat show when it was sold to Broadway Video, some music for Pee-Wee's Playhouse in 1990 and the theme song for the Super Mario World TV series for DiC Entertainment in 1991.

Mothersbaugh and Casale have also produced much of Toni Basil's music.

Mothersbaugh is also known for his music in video games including Sony's Crash Bandicoot series, the Jak and Daxter series, and EA Games' The Sims 2. 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.

Mothersbaugh composed "Having Trouble Sneezing", the distinctive music heard in the award-winning "Get a Mac" commercials for Apple Inc.^[2]

He composed the score for the first season of the television series Big Love but was replaced after one season by David Byrne of Talking Heads. Mothersbaugh also composed the theme music for the American television show Eureka, broadcast on the SyFy channel. He also currently composes the score of the Cartoon Network's TV series Regular Show.

In regard to on-camera work, Mothersbaugh hosts a drawing segment on the Nick Jr television series Yo Gabba Gabba! called Mark's Magic Pictures, teaching children how to draw simple pictures that often come alive at the end of the segment. In 2013, he appeared on an episode of The Aquabats! Super Show!, an action-comedy series by the creators of Yo Gabba Gabba! starring the Devo-influenced band The Aquabats, playing the eccentric scientist father of one of the main characters, Jimmy the Robot.^[3]

Personal life[edit]

At the age of seven, he was taken to the optometrist, where he obtained his first pair of glasses and saw the world properly for the first time. He designs his own distinctive eyewear and they are made for him by a Los Angeles, California shop called LA Eyeworks.^[4]

After truly "experiencing" the world for the first time when his vision was corrected, Mothersbaugh started to draw, and his second grade teacher praised his work. That same night he had dreamed of being a famous artist. In addition to music, Mothersbaugh still paints – in a style influenced by surrealism and Andy Warhol.

He graduated from Woodridge High School of Peninsula, Ohio.

Mothersbaugh has been married to his wife Anita since the early '90s and they have two adopted daughters, Hope and Margaret. They all share three pugs.

Mark Mothersbaugh was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2004 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.^[5]

On May 10, 2008, Mothersbaugh was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Kent State University.^[6]

Soundtracks[edit]

Film[edit]

1980s[edit]

1990s[edit]

2000s[edit]

2010s[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• My Struggle (as Booji Boy)
• What I Know, Vol. 1
• Beautiful Mutants
• Rugrats (season 2-4 with Denis M. Hannigan) (Season 5-9 with Bob Mothersbaugh or Rusty Andrews)

Solo discography[edit]

• Muzik for Insomniacs (Cassette, 1987)
  • Later released on CD as Muzik for Insomniacs, Vol. 1 and Muzik for Insomniacs, Vol. 2 in 1988 by Rykodisc
• Muzik for the Gallery (LP, 1987)
• Joyeux Mutato (CD 1999)
• The Most Powerful Healing Muzik in the Entire World (6-CD Set, 2005)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Mark Mothersbaugh at the Internet Movie Database
• Video Interview with Mark
• Fecal Face Interview Jan 2008. Very in depth interview
• Video Podcast Interview by Weird America Podcast
• Interview, April 25, 2001 at liveDaily.com Retrieved September 5, 2007
• Professional Website
• "Devo Live Guide" – Comprehensive guide to Devo's live performances
• Extensive interview from 1998
• Visual art website and gallery
• Home Front Invasion-Wartime Interview with Mark Mothersbaugh by Orhan Ayyüce for Archinect, Dec.2007
• Mark Mothersbaugh at Allmusic