A fund has been established by members of the band Devo on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe with the goal of raising $100,000 to help the late Bob Casale‘s family. Casale died unexpectedly from heart failure last month and according to reports left his family with some crippling financial burdens.
“These expenses are not limited to funeral expenses,” writes Devo webmaster Michael Pilmer. “But also include recent medical/hospital bills, and for the general family expenses in the absence of Bob. This has hit the Casales hard. We are doing everything we can as friends of the family to soften the impact of Bob’s untimely death.”
Rolling Stone reports that the founding guitarist of the seminal US new wave band did not leave behind a will and did not have insurance, creating severe financial hardships for his surviving wife, Lisa, his son Alex and his daughter Samantha.
The fund has been active for 10 days and has already attracted 304 donations, raising a total of $17,630. Fans and colleges have taken to the page to leave messages of condolence. “Bob was a generous and humble man who spent his free time with his family. They would sometimes all show up on tour with us and it was always fun to have the whole Casale clan backstage at the shows,” wrote crew member Ed Marshall.
“Times can become quite Lean in between tours and income checks from royalties and record companies seem to get smaller and smaller every year,” he added. “Bob was having one of those Lean times and his untimely death was most unfortunate for his loved ones and family. He was my friend and I am a better person because of Bob Casale.”
Bob Casale played on every single Devo album since the band’s formation in the early seventies and was instrumental in their production. He was known to fans as Bob 2, since he played alongside guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, the brother of Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh.
Before his death Devo were toying with the idea of undertaking a 40th anniversary tour that would focus on the group’s early, experimental work like Mechanical Man and Space Girl Blues. Rolling Stone reports, if the group does decide to continue with the tour, a portion of the money earned will also go to Casale’s family.
