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 . 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 . 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 singing lead
firing on a student demonstration
Kent State shootings
Alan Myers (drummer)