Author David Giffels, who has written seven books, primarily focused on life and culture in Ohio, is out with book number eight; a new, and deeper look at the '70's era, Akron-based New Wave rock band, DEVO.

As you'll hear in the following interview with WAKR Morning Show Host, Ray Horner, "The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio", was just released this month, and is a new exploration of material he and his co-author, Jade Dellinger, first mined in their 2003 (now out of print), book: "Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!"

In his new book, Giffels explains how the band labored long under the radar in Akron, honing their craft, trying to find places to play their decidedly "noncommercial" music (at least at the time), and really came to an inflection point that sparked a new level of creativity, after the May 4, 1970 National Guard shooting at Kent State that left four students dead, and nine wounded during an anti Vietnam War protest.

Find out how and why that dark moment in US history mattered, mesmerized, and transformed the band most people recognize by the colorful red plastic flowerpots they wore on their heads in the wild and crazy video for their hit song, "Whip It".

If you'd like to see Giffels and Dellinger in person, and have the chance to hear them talk about their new book; you can do so next week.

They're doing.a book launch event at the Akron-Summit County Public Library Main Branch, at 7:00PM on Monday October 24, and they're making a presentation on how the band was influenced by the May 4 shootings, at Kent State University's May 4 Visitors Center, at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, October 24.

Author, University of Akron English Professor, and former Akron Beacon Journal Columnist, David Giffels