Mark Mothersbaugh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mark Mothersbaugh
Mothersbaugh at the premiere of the documentary film Devo at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Born	Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (1950-05-18) May 18, 1950 (age 75) Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter composer multi-instrumentalist record producer visual artist
Years active	1972–present
Spouse(s)	Nancye Ferguson (divorced) Anita Greenspan
Children	2
Relatives	Bob Mothersbaugh (brother) Jim Mothersbaugh (brother) Silas Hite (nephew)
Musical career
Genres	New wave synth-pop electronic rock punk rock post-punk synth-punk art punk film score
Instruments	Vocals keyboards synthesizer guitar
Labels	Tra Project Rykodisc Enigma
Signature

Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He became famous in the late 1970s. He was a co-founder, lead singer, and keyboard player for the new wave band Devo.

Devo's song "Whip It" was a top 20 hit in the U.S. in 1980. Mark Mothersbaugh wrote much of Devo's music.

Besides his work with Devo, Mothersbaugh has created music for many TV shows, movies, and video games. He does this through his company, Mutato Muzika. He wrote the music for the animated series Rugrats for 13 years and its three movies. He has also composed music for director Wes Anderson and for Marvel Comics films.

As a solo artist, Mothersbaugh has released four albums. In 2004, he won the Richard Kirk award for his work in film and TV music. He also received an honorary degree from Kent State University in 2008.

Early Life

Mark Allen Mothersbaugh was born on May 18, 1950, in Akron, Ohio. His parents were Mary Margaret and Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr. He grew up with two younger brothers, Bob and Jim, who are also musicians. He also has two sisters, Amy and Susan.

Mark graduated from Woodridge High School in Peninsula, Ohio. His father appeared in early Devo films and fan events as a character called General Boy. His brothers also played in the band. Jim was only in the band for a short time, appearing on some early recordings.

Music Career

Devo Band

Mark Mothersbaugh performing live with Devo at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, 2007

Mark Mothersbaugh studied art at Kent State University. There, he met Devo co-founders Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis. In 1970, Lewis and Casale came up with the idea of "devolution." This idea suggested that humans were becoming less advanced, not more. They thought of this after two of Casale's friends were killed during the Kent State shootings.

Mark was interested in this idea and joined them. He added his own unique thoughts to the concept. In 1973, the three of them started playing music as Devo.

After their sixth album, Shout, did not sell well, their record company, Warner Bros., stopped working with them. Soon after, the drummer, Alan Myers, left the band. He felt he wasn't being creative enough. This caused the band to cancel plans for a video album and a tour.

In 1987, Devo got back together with a new drummer, David Kendrick. Their first project was music for a horror film called Slaughterhouse Rock. They then released two more albums, Total Devo (1988) and Smooth Noodle Maps (1990).

Devo played two shows in 1991 and then broke up for a while. Around this time, some Devo members appeared in the film The Spirit of '76. In 1989, Mark Mothersbaugh started Mutato Muzika, a company that creates music for commercials and other projects. His brother Bob Mothersbaugh also worked there.

Devo performing live at Festival Hall, in Melbourne, Australia, 2008: Gerald Casale and Mothersbaugh

In 2006, Devo worked with Disney on a project called Devo 2.0. This project involved a band of child performers who re-recorded Devo songs. Their album, DEV2.0, came out in 2006. Some song lyrics were changed to be more family-friendly. The band said this was meant to be ironic.

Devo released a new album called Something for Everybody in June 2010. In October 2010, Devo received the first Moog Innovator Award. This award celebrates artists who are creative and innovative, like Bob Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer.

Other Music Work

In 1989, Mark Mothersbaugh and other Devo members worked on a project called Visiting Kids. They released an album in 1990. Mark's wife at the time, Nancye Ferguson, and his brother Bob Mothersbaugh were part of this group. Mark helped write some songs and produced the album.

Mothersbaugh at the premiere of Pee-wee's Big Holiday during SXSW 2016

Since his time with Devo, Mothersbaugh has become very successful writing music for movies and TV shows. He has often worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson. He scored four of Anderson's films: Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). He also composed music for The Lego Movie (2014) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

His music is well-known from children's TV shows like Rugrats, Beakman's World, Santo Bugito, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. He wrote the theme song for the original Felix the Cat show and some music for Pee-wee's Playhouse. He also wrote the theme song for the Super Mario World TV series. The character Chuckie from Rugrats was even partly based on Mark Mothersbaugh!

Mothersbaugh also creates music for video games. These include Sony's Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter series. He also worked on The Sims 2 (2004) for EA Games. Much of this work is done with Mutato Muzika, his music production company. He composed the music for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021).

Mothersbaugh at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, at the premiere of the film Devo.

Some other projects Mothersbaugh has composed music for include:

• "Having Trouble Sneezing," the music in the "Get a Mac" commercials for Apple Inc..
• The theme music for the TV show Eureka.
• The music for the Cartoon Network show Regular Show.
• The music for HBO's Close Enough and Our Flag Means Death.

In 2013, Mothersbaugh appeared on an episode of The Aquabats! Super Show!. He played an unusual scientist who was the father of one of the main characters.

Visual Art and Exhibitions

Mothersbaugh is also a successful visual artist. He has had over 150 art gallery shows in the last 20 years.

In 2014, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver announced a special exhibition. It brought together a large collection of Mothersbaugh's art and music. This exhibit traveled to many cities. A book called Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia was published with the exhibition.

Before the Myopia exhibit opened in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mothersbaugh held a concert. He played Devo songs and movie music in a classical style. He also shared stories with the audience. He even composed music for a special six-keyboard instrument. Six people played this instrument at the same time.

Mothersbaugh also hosted a drawing segment on the Nick Jr. Channel show Yo Gabba Gabba!. It was called Mark's Magic Pictures. He taught children how to draw simple pictures, which would then come to life.

Personal Life

Anita Greenspan at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

Mark Mothersbaugh started wearing glasses at age seven because he had very poor eyesight. Over the years, he enjoyed designing his own unique glasses for Devo shows. He liked a certain style of stainless steel frames. He bought many pairs because they would often break or get taken by fans.

He has even designed his own brand of glasses for sale. They are made of a strong metal called beryllium. One style is named "Francesca" after one of his pet pug dogs.

Mark Mothersbaugh has been married twice. His first wife was actress Nancye Ferguson. His current wife is Anita Greenspan. She manages film music for a living. They have two daughters whom they adopted from China.

Mothersbaugh collects unusual or old musical devices. He owns a rare instrument called the Electronium, though it is not currently working.

In May 2020, Mothersbaugh got COVID-19. He was very sick and was in the hospital for 18 days. He later said he "nearly died" from the illness. He also experienced strange dreams and confusion while sick. He still has some lasting pain from the illness.

Awards and Recognition

Mark Mothersbaugh has received several honors:

• In 2004, he was given the Richard Kirk Award at the BMI Film and TV Awards. This award is for composers who contribute a lot to film and television music.
• On May 10, 2008, he received an honorary doctorate from Kent State University.
• On May 28, 2016, he was given the key to the city of Akron, Ohio.

Film and TV Work

Mark Mothersbaugh has composed music for many films and television shows. Here is a list of some of his work:

Television Series

Movies

Video Games

Discography

With Devo

Solo Albums

• Muzik for Insomniaks (1985)
• Muzik for the Gallery (1987)
• Joyeux Mutato (1999)
• The Most Powerful Healing Muzik in the Entire World (2005)
• Mutant Flora (2017)

Images for kids

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  Mothersbaugh at the premiere of the documentary film Devo at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

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  Mark Mothersbaugh's signature

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  Mark Mothersbaugh performing live with Devo at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, 2007

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  Devo performing live at Festival Hall, in Melbourne, Australia, 2008: Gerald Casale and Mothersbaugh

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  Mothersbaugh at the premiere of Pee-wee's Big Holiday during SXSW 2016

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  Mothersbaugh at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, at the premiere of the film Devo.

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  Anita Greenspan at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

See also

In Spanish: Mark Mothersbaugh para niños