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Alan Myers (drummer)

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Alan Myers
Myers, 2006
Background information
Also known asHuman Metronome
Born(1954-12-29)December 29, 1954[citation needed]
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Died(2013-06-24)June 24, 2013 (aged 58)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation
  • Musician
Instruments
  • Drums
  • percussion
Years active1976–2013
Formerly of

Alan Myers (December 29, 1954 – June 24, 2013) was an American rock drummer whose music career spanned more than 30 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the third and most prominent drummer of the new wave band Devo, replacing Jim Mothersbaugh.[4]

Early years

Alan Myers was born in 1954, in Akron, Ohio, and came from a jazz background. He graduated from Firestone High School in 1973. In 1976, he met Bob Mothersbaugh in a café in West Akron and went to the house Bob and Gerald Casale were renting for an audition.[5] Alan was Jewish and had been playing percussion since at least junior high school.[6]

Career

Devo

In early 1970, Bob Lewis and Gerald Casale formed the idea of the "devolution" of the human race after Casale's friend Jeffrey Miller was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen firing on a student demonstration.[7] Myers joined Devo in 1976, replacing Jim Mothersbaugh following his departure and played on a conventional, acoustic drum kit. After the band underwent a few line-up changes, Myers became part of the most popular five-piece incarnation, which included the Casale brothers: Gerald and Bob ("Bob 2") and the Mothersbaugh brothers: Mark and Bob ("Bob 1") and played on Devo's first six studio albums. Myers was the youngest member of the band. In 1981, Myers with Devo served as Toni Basil's backing band on Word of Mouth, her debut album, which included versions of three Devo songs, recorded with Basil's singing lead.[8][9]

Myers became discontented as Devo began to add drum machines to some of their songs. New Traditionalists featured them for the first time, and most of the music on their next album Oh, No! It's Devo was created by electronic means, while Shout was made almost entirely using the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer.

According to the book We Are Devo, Myers cited a lack of creative fulfilment as his reason for leaving the band. Since Devo's move to Los Angeles, California, in the late 1970s, he'd felt his role greatly reduced partly due to the use of drum machines. He left even though Gerald Casale had begged him not to.[10]

Among all of Devo's drummers, Myers is the one most associated with the band.[11] In 1987, Devo reformed with new drummer David Kendrick, formerly of Sparks, to replace Myers.

Myers and the other Devo members were part of the Church of the SubGenius.

Other work

After he had left Devo, Myers went to work as an electrical contractor, but also remained active in the Los Angeles music scene.[4] He recorded a demo with Babooshka, a band that was his girlfriend Greta Ionita's creation, using live drums as well as electronic percussion similar to his last two albums with Devo. Myers also played drums with the Asian-themed pop band Jean Paul Yamamoto.[12] In 2005, he founded the band Skyline Electric which played monthly shows in art galleries and clubs in Los Angeles. The line-up at the time of Myers death included his wife, Christine (Sugiyama) Myers, and an assortment of other experimental musicians.[13] In 2010, Myers began playing in the live ensemble of musical project Swahili Blonde with his daughter, Laena Geronimo (Myers-Ionita).[14]

Death

On June 24, 2013, Myers died at the age of 58, in Los Angeles, California, due to stomach cancer.[4][15] News reports at the time of his death incorrectly cited a brain tumor as the cause.[4][16][17] Myers' death was first reported on Facebook by his friend Ralph Carney, a jazz musician who knew him in Devo's hometown of Akron, Ohio. His death came a month before the release of Something Else for Everybody, outtakes from Devo's ninth album "Something For Everybody".

Gerald Casale tweeted that Myers was "the most incredible drummer I had the privilege to play with for 10 years. Losing him was like losing an arm."[18] Josh Freese tweeted that Myers was "1 of [his] all time favs. An underrated/brilliant drummer. Such an honor playing his parts w/Devo. Godspeed Human Metronome."[19]

On June 28, 2013, Skyline Electric performed a tribute to Myers at Human Resources Los Angeles in Los Angeles's Chinatown.[20]

Discography

Year Act Release Role Notes
1977 Devo Mongoloid / Jocko Homo Percussion 7" single, uncredited
Satisfaction / Sloppy 7" single
1978 Be Stiff / Social Fools 7" single, uncredited
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
1979 Duty Now for the Future Uncredited
1980 Freedom of Choice
1981 New Traditionalists Uncredited
Ronnie Wood 1234 Drums On "Wind Howlin' Through"
Toni Basil Word of Mouth On "You Gotta Problem" & "Space Girls"
1982 Devo Oh, No! It's Devo Percussion
1984 Shout Uncredited
1986 Martini Ranch How Can the Labouring Man Find Time for Self-Culture? EP. One of Alan's last recordings with Mark Mothersbaugh & Bob Casale of Devo
1986 Devo E-Z Listening Disc Recorded 1978–1984
1990 Hardcore Devo Volume One On "Soo Bawlz," "Satisfaction," "Uglatto," "Stop Look and Listen," "Mongoloid"

Recorded 1976-1977

1991 Hardcore Devo Volume Two On "Working in the Coal Mine," "Fountain of Filth," "Clockout"

Recorded 1976-1977

1992 Live: The Mongoloid Years Recorded 1976–1977
2000 Recombo DNA Drums Recorded 1977–1984
Pioneers Who Got Scalped - The Anthology Recorded 1976–1984
2012 Swahili Blonde Covers EP Percussion
2023 Art Devo 1973-1977 Recorded 1976–1977

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Long, Pat (May 2, 2009). "Pat Long meets new wave 80s oddballs Devo, who are intent on making a comeback". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "Devo". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  3. ^ Steinberg and Michael Kehler (2010), p.355
  4. ^ a b c d Danton, Eric R (June 26, 2013). "Alan Myers, Devo Drummer on 'Whip It,' Dead at 58". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ Diehl, Matt (June 28, 2013). "Devo Bandmates Remember Late Drummer Alan Myers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "Alan Myers (1955-2013), Devo Drummer by Mark Bloch". panmodern.com. Retrieved June 27, 2013."NEW YORK CITY, JUNE 26, 2013- Alan Myers, the Devo drummer from ... we were in a Jewish youth group together and Alan's nickname was 'Aleph Ernie'."
  7. ^ Paul Vermeersch: A brief history of Devo, Part 1, October 21, 2014, retrieved August 4, 2015
  8. ^ "Mickey — Toni Basil". Top One Hit Wonders. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  9. ^ Gruber, Xaque (November 8, 2012). "'Mickey' Turns 30: A Closer Look at the One and Only Toni Basil". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  10. ^ "Gerald Casale on Twitter: "RE: Alan Myers. I begged him not to quit Devo. He could not tolerate being replaced by the Fairlight and autocratic machine music. I agreed."". Twitter. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  11. ^ "Former DEVO drummer Alan Myers loses cancer battle". uberrock.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  12. ^ "Jean Paul Yamamoto". Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  13. ^ "Skyline Electric". Retrieved September 12, 2007.
  14. ^ "Devo whipping up first album since 1990". Reuters. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  15. ^ "Alan Myers Obituary". Drum Magazine. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  16. ^ Roberts, Randall (June 26, 2013). "Alan Myers, longtime Devo drummer, has died". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013.
  17. ^ "Devo drummer Alan Myers dies of brain cancer". Associated Press. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Gerald Casale on Twitter: "In praise of Alan Myers, the most incredible drummer I had the privilege to play with for 10 years. Losing him was like losing an arm. RIP!!"". Twitter. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  19. ^ "Josh Freese on Twitter: "RIP Alan Myers. 1 of my all time favs. An underrated/brilliant drummer. Such an honor playing his parts w/Devo. Godspeed Human Metronome."". Twitter. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  20. ^ Danton, Eric R (June 26, 2013). "Alan Myers Dead; Ex-Devo 'Whip It' Drummer Was 58, Had Cancer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
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