In the world of professional sports, the saying is that no one ever beats Father Time. It’s an adage that extends to entertainers, making the idea of farewell tours ever more ubiquitous as performers age. And while the Cosmic De-Evolution Tour finds New Wave legends Devo and The B-52s bringing what purports to be a farewell tour of sorts to Jones Beach, the subhead on the tour name reads “One Last Orbit (Maybe?),” casting the idea that, at least in the case of The B-52s, fans might not be seeing the last of them. It’s more about cutting down on the wear and tear of being on the road, according to founding member Fred Schneider. When asked if it was a matter of the band just not hopping on a bus again, Schneider scoffed at that ever having been a reality for the band.
“In 2022, I swore I’d never get on a tour bus again,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m not getting on a bus to go from one date to another for more than six hours. That’s just not my kind of life and it wasn’t any of our kinds of lives. We were careful to say to our fans that we would do more shows after our final tour and still perform in special situations that don’t require all of the awful tour travel. This came up and we’ve also done the residency in Las Vegas twice a year. This isn’t really a tour because we have time off between each show, which you don’t really get in a tour.”
Given The B-52s penchant for a unique sound fusing pop-culture camp, kitsch and weird guitar tunings that have the Athens outfit coming off like the house band for a John Waters movie, Schneider shares that fans will still experience the usual shenanigans they’ve come to expect at a B-52s show. Adding some additional bang to this bill is the inclusion of special guest, post-punk vocalist Lene Lovich. Schneider is delighted to have her on the road as the duo’s friendship dates back to their first meeting at an early PETA event.
“What they always get, which is a real kick-ass rock show, not a funny pop show, he explained. “They can sing and dance along and have a great time. We’re the best excuse to let off steam. And I really love Lene Lovich and her music. It’s great to have her.”
While The B-52s have no plans to record new material, but still play selected dates, Schneider says fellow band members Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Strickland are working on their own projects. For Schneider, it’s having “Vampire Vamp,” his Halloween song with Ursula 1000, get re-released along with his Christmas album ‘Destination Christmas.’ (“To sum it up, ‘The New York Times’ did a capsule review where they said, ‘Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse at the North Pole, it does.’ That is the best review a person who doesn’t like typical Christmas music could get.”)
For Schneider, whose initial intent was to become a conservationist when he left New Jersey to major in wildlife management when he moved down to Athens, GA, in the mid-‘70s, his life has been marked by a number of seminal moments.
Fab Four knock-off band was his introduction to music
“My mother bought one of those 88-cent records they had at the grocery store. It was like a Cameo-Parkway Best of sort of thing with Chubby Checker and Dee Dee Sharp. And also, an album by a band called The Bugs, which sort of looked like The Beatles. They weren’t that bad and I still have the album.”
Going from being a journalism major to becoming a B-52
“I fell into music and hadn’t planned on it. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to be. I was more of a writer, but I couldn’t have sold what I wrote. I brought my writing ideas and things to the band and I think that was more of my contribution. It turns out that I would more recite my lyrics—talk/sing—because I never really sang. I didn’t sing in grammar school hardly. I didn’t sing in high school or college at all. I didn’t sing in college until I did some basement tapes with Keith [Strickland], but I’m not really singing on those. Well, finally, I took voice lessons, so I can sing. I just have my own style.”
Nickelodeon: real-time Devo connection
“I hadn’t met anyone from Devo until I worked with Mark Mothersbaugh on ‘The Rug Rats Movie’ singing ‘This World is Something New to Me.’ I’m the baby who stands up and farts. My nieces and nephews loved that. I got more respect for that than being in a band.”
The B-52s and Devo will be appearing on Sunday, Oct. 5, at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, 1000 Ocean Pkwy, Wantagh. For more information, visit www.jonesbeach.com or call 800-745-3000.
