Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers

Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers is the solo project of American musician Gerald Casale, best known as a founding member and "chief strategist" of the influential band Devo. Jihad Jerry also includes contributions from Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, and his brother Bob Casale. It also adds drummer Josh Freese, who had previously only worked with them when Devo was on tour.

Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers
"Jihad Jerry" (Gerald Casale) performing with Devo in San Francisco 2006
Background information
OriginU.S.
GenresAlternative
Years active2005–2006
LabelsCordless Recordings
MembersGerald Casale
Bob Mothersbaugh
Mark Mothersbaugh
Bob Casale
Geri Lynn
Alex Brown
Josh Freese
Dave Schulz

The band released a three-song EP through the iTunes Music Store and other music download services titled Army Girls Gone Wild. A full-length album, Mine Is Not A Holy War, was released in stores by Cordless Recordings on 12 September 2006. The album was released on iTunes on 22 August 2006. Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers play in a hard, blues-influenced style. Their debut album includes versions of several songs from the Hardcore Devo-era of Devo's recordings.

The project received little promotion, beyond a music video for the song "Army Girls Gone Wild." Jihad Jerry performed at several shows near the end of Devo's 2006 tour, performing the song "Beautiful World," and occasionally with other bands. Casale is quoted as saying "People are kind of freaked out by the Jihad Jerry stuff. I thought they’d all think it was really funny and get off on it but people are really offended and scared...I think that’s it. I don’t want them to have Jihad Jerry to kick around anymore!".[1]

Alter Ego

The biography Casale created for Jihad Jerry is as follows:

Jihad Jerry was born in Tehran, Iran while the Shah of Iran was still in power. His father was an Iranian barber and his mother was an Irish-American midwife. He attended a private co-ed school in the region where he earned good grades. Even foreigners took notice of young Jihad and he received an academic scholarship to the University of North Pittsburgh. However, he was not able to leave Iran to attend, due to the recent revolution in 1979 led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. He then found work as a rug salesman.

Unable to finish his education and trapped in a theocracy which he thought of as narrow-minded and sexually segregated, Jihad declared war on the prejudice and ignorance that had so wronged him. Music became his weapon. Eventually, he earned enough money to flee from Iran and settle in Yonkers, New York. There he had little success putting together a band. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, Jihad Jerry found new meaning to his message: "the enemy is not the Muslim, the Christian, or the Jew, but stupidity itself". His band "Jihad Jerry and the Evildoers" was soon formed.

Discography

Army Girls Gone Wild (2005)

First released November 8, 2005, the album and its content was available only by download. It contained early mixes of three songs that would later be put in the final full album (Mine Is Not a Holy War). After the full album's release in 2006, Army Girls Gone Wild was discontinued.

  1. "Army Girls Gone Wild" [2:50]
  2. "Beehive" [3:11]
  3. "The Owl" [3:01]

Mine Is Not a Holy War (2006)

First released on August 22, 2006 via download through iTunes. On September 12, 2006 it was released by Cordless Recordings on CD. Featuring remixed version of the original three songs, the album also included four reworked Devo songs: "Beehive," "I Been Refused," "Find Out" and "I Need a Chick." The album also featured a cover of The Yardbirds "He's Always There." "If the Shoe Fits" was previously heard that year on the CD by Devo 2.0 under the title "The Winner," featuring significantly different lyrics.

  1. "The Time Is Now" [2:59] (Gerald V. Casale)
  2. "Army Girls Gone Wild" [2:48] (Gerald V. Casale/Peter Gregg)
  3. "Danger" [2:54] (Gerald V. Casale/Robert Casale)
  4. "Beehive" [3:08] (Gerald V. Casale/Peter Gregg)
  5. "I Been Refused" [2:25] (Gerald V. Casale/Peter Gregg)
  6. "The Owl" [3:05] (Gerald V. Casale)
  7. "What's in a Name?" [3:29] (Gerald V. Casale)
  8. "If the Shoe Fits" [2:18] (Gerald V. Casale/Mark Mothersbaugh)
  9. "All She Wrote" [2:53] (Gerald V. Casale)
  10. "Find Out" [2:52] (Gerald V. Casale/Mark Mothersbaugh)
  11. "He's Always There" [2:24] (Jim McCarty/Paul Samwell-Smith)
  12. "I Need a Chick" [3:19] (Gerald V. Casale/Peter Gregg)
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References
  1. "BIYL Interview Gerald Casale of Devo". June 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-01-16.


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