I was there. Devo was on fire. The boys don't slow down, and the fact that they are playing tracks like Going Under, Gates of Steel and Smart Patrol with such fervor shows that they respect the core audience. But it looked like nobody came just to hear Whip It and move on anyway.
I currently have the honor of working with Mark on a live theatre show concept (think skateboarding + punk rock on a Broadway-ish skatepark stage). His energy is prolific, and he continues to come up with new ideas for our project while simultaneously creating some of the biggest movie soundtracks. It's inspiring and dizzying.
Devo was ahead of their time and we are all still catching up. And Cruel World is a gift to our generation of misfits, from Midge Ure to Nick Cave and all the "New Wave" that we still hold dear.
Tony Hawk
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So great to see you writing about the great Aimee Mann and the Til Tuesday reunion show at Cruel World. I signed the band to Epic (with an assist from John Boylan) after WBCN started playing their demo of "Love In A Vacuum" and the band won the annual 'BCN Battle of the Bands. "Voices Carry" was just another song on the demo tape, going into the recording sessions we assumed "Love In a Vacuum" would be the first single. But from the moment Voices Carry was recorded, produced by Mike Thorne and single remixed by Bob Clearmountain we knew it was the song that could break them. Little known is that Aimee originally wrote the song about another woman. The unforgettable video which MTV awarded New Artist of the Year to helped the song go top 10.
Aimee continues to write amazing songs, release terrific albums (she won a Grammy for the "Mental Illness" album in 2018) and tours regularly but I was surprised and thrilled that she put the original band back together for this festival.
Dick Wingate
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Very glad to hear you didn't miss 'Til Tuesday at the Rose Bowl. And yes, that was the original band of Aimee Mann on bass, Michael Hausman on drums, Joey Pesce on keyboards, and Robert Holmes on guitar, all still playing like it was 1985. Which also reminds me of how Dick Wingate and I came to sign the band to Epic Records some forty years ago.
The entire Epic A&R Department was in Boston that weekend, gathered to hear a band we were about to release called Face To Face, who were showcasing at a local club. Wingate was in from New York and I came in from LA. We met in the lobby of the hotel and decided to go to Durgin Park for dinner and then make it to the club, skipping the opening act and arriving in time for Face To Face. The line around that famous Boston restaurant was ridiculous, so we said, let's just grab a burger at the club, which meant we would see the opening act which.... you guessed it, turned out to be 'Til Tuesday.
I don't mind saying I was transfixed by the band from the first downbeat. Aimee looked in complete command, with her spiky blond hair, low-keyed vocal style, incredibly intelligent lyrics, and mastery of the bass. Robert, Joey, and Michael were a perfect complement. Gator and I got really excited and decided to sign them on the spot. There were some headwinds - another CBS A&R guy had already passed on them. I stayed over in Boston and we took the band into Syncro Sound, the Cars' studio on Newbury St., to cut a demo. Gator took it to New York and we pushed the project through.
This past Friday, the band held a dress rehearsal at S.I.R. in Hollywood and as they ran through the set, I was transported right back to that time and place. Since then, I've always tried to get there in time for the opening act. Just in case.
Best,
John Boylan
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