Weekend Festivities Include DEVO Documentary Screening and “Ernie in Kovacsland” Book Signing
Dallas VideoFest is excited to announce that Gerald Casale, the iconic musician, artist, and music video director from DEVO, will receive the prestigious Ernie Kovacs Award. The award ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, at the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd. – Oak Cliff/Dallas).
Event Highlights
- VIP Meet-and-Greet: A special reception with Gerald Casale will be held upstairs at the Texas Theatre before the award ceremony.
- DEVO Documentary Screening: The new DEVO documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024, will be screened the night before, on Saturday, September 28.
- Book Signing: A Q&A session and book signing for “Ernie in Kovacsland” by author Joshua Mills, son of Edie Adams, will also take place at a Dallas bookstore.
Purchase Tickets
To purchase tickets for the events, visit Kovacs Eventive.
Celebrating Gerald Casale
Gerald Casale, a primary creative force behind DEVO, is celebrated for designing the band’s visually striking concert stage shows and Dadaist costumes, including their signature red ‘Energy Dome’ hats. Casale’s innovative approach to music videos and short films has led him to direct nearly 100 music videos for notable bands such as Rush, Silverchair, and The Cars. He also directed the first Foo Fighters video and the final video for Soundgarden.
Influences and Inspiration
The connection between Gerald Casale and Ernie Kovacs was highlighted by a Tumblr link discovered by Joshua Mills. Casale once said, “I don’t think DEVO exists without the Nairobi Trio,” referencing a recurring Ernie Kovacs sketch.
Mills expressed his excitement, saying, “It completely blew my mind learning that Gerald Casale and DEVO were not only fans of Ernie Kovacs but were influenced by him as well. Clearly, we are all DEVO.”
Gerald Casale shared his thoughts on receiving the award: “I remember a stern nun telling me I had reached ‘the age of reason’ when I turned 7. Luckily, it was also the year I first watched the Ernie Kovacs Show with my parents huddled close to our black and white TV. That was the best antidote to ‘reason’ a boy could hope for. I was hooked. I watched, smiling and laughing, as Kovacs and his cohorts executed a smorgasbord of absurdist comedy, combining high and low culture seamlessly to innovative, comedic ends. I can honestly say it inspired my visual aesthetic and set me on a satiric creative path sustained for a lifetime.”
The Legacy of Ernie Kovacs
Bart Weiss, founder and artistic director of Dallas VideoFest, emphasized the importance of Ernie Kovacs: “The very first program of our festival in 1987 showcased Edie Adams expounding on the work of Ernie Kovacs. Ernie’s innovative spirit has been with us these 37 years. The Kovacs Award became the perfect way to honor those who changed how we look at TV/Video much like Kovacs did.”
Weiss added, “Just as Ernie Kovacs set the aesthetic and template for late-night and most TV comedy, Jerry Casale’s iconic music videos set the paradigm for how a band could define their image and tell their story through music video.”
DEVO Documentary
The DEVO documentary, playing on Saturday, September 28, at the Texas Theatre, traces the band’s music, its videos, its roots in the embers of the counterculture, its freak success, and its big message, which remains prophetic and often misunderstood. Formed in response to the 1970 Kent State shootings, DEVO scored a hit in 1980 with “Whip It,” gaining mainstream success with their message of societal “de-evolution.”
Join us for a weekend of celebration and reflection on the profound impact of Gerald Casale and Ernie Kovacs on music and comedy. Don’t miss out on this exciting event!