When DEVO recently signed a 360 deal with Warner Bros. Records, we were a little baffled. Why, we wondered, would the established band get in bed again with a major when they could do it themselves and not have to split the proceeds with a major?

Well, not surprisingly given the band's business acumen, they had a plan all along, and it involved taking de-evolution to the next level. It involved hiring longtime digital music man Greg Scholl and building the brand up to a whole other level.

Read more after the jump …

DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh, whom we profiled in 2008, recently spoke to Billboard, and in typically dry fashion, he explained a lot of things about the band's goings-on, including an unveiling at the Winter Olympics, where they will be performing:

BB: What can you tell us about the new look you'll reveal at the performance?

MM: We will be wearing the new Devo safety wear. It will still repel dangerous liquid spills and industrial chemicals, so from that point of view it's kind of like the yellow suits that we started off with. They don't make those suits the way they used to. I don't know what happened, but the companies that make Tyvec must have sent their companies overseas to places where people don't respect the craftsmanship that goes into industrial waste cleanup suits. So it's all U.S. made, these outfits.

BB: And what about the new colors? Is it still Devo without red hats?

MM: We'd been getting some reports back that red might not be the safest color for an energy dome. People have been pulled over for impersonating peace officers when they put them on the rear deck of their car. It looked like they were putting patrol lights on their car. So we'd had reports that people were getting stopped for no good reason. Blue just seemed to be a safer color, allow people to focus and be more peaceful.

BB: So, the new hats will be blue?

MM: Oh, my god. So, uh, there will be a color change.

via The Daily Swarm

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