Los Angeles (CNN) -- Devo guitarist Bob Casale died Monday, his brother and band mate announced Tuesday. Casale was 61.

He was known by fans as "Bob 2" since he played alongside guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, the brother of Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh.

"As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning," his brother and band mate Gerald Casale said in a Facebook posting. "He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got."

The new wave band began after Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh met as art students at Kent State University. The group wrote its first music in May 1970 -- the same month National Guard troops fired on anti-war protesters on the Kent State campus, killing four students.

Devo actively toured in recent years, including a televised performance playing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

"He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again," Gerald Casale wrote in his brother's death announcement. "His sudden death from conditions that led to heart failure came as a total shock to us all."

The band's name was derived from the word "de-evolution" -- the idea that humans are regressing into a destructive herd mentality, Gerald Casale told CNN in an interview in February 2010.

"When you think about 1980, if somebody would have showed you in a crystal ball 2010, you would have thought it was a bad joke," Casale said. "De-evolution happened and now everybody agrees. They don't think we're crazy. They know that it was true."

Devo drummer Alan Meyers, who was with the group from 1976 to 1986, died last year.

I saw this on FB, it's a shame. Bob was a very underrated guitarist as you would see if you ever saw them live.

To me, Devo is one of the most misunderstood bands of all time. They're seen as gimmick-rock one hit wonders when they were actually edgy, nasty, arty satirists making fun of themselves and what they saw as a doomed planet. They were also sleezy, more than a little creepy and genuinely scary. They were the Philip K Dick of rock.

This is a double whammy since they lost Alan last year. I remember when this band first hit the scene prime time...Saturday Night Live...we just called them "The Flower Pot Band" or .."it's those guys who wear the bright yellow jumpsuits". A sad loss indeed....

Total bummer. Dee Dee Ramones death was the last one that bothered me this much.

This sucks. Glad I got to catch them outside Sunrise Mall last year, though only from the outside of the fenced-in concert.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g92Zma7dBsg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Two DEVO deaths in less than eight months. This is starting to feel like the Ramones all over again.

Too bad, and he was not that old. I loved the recent "Something for Everybody", and I was hoping we'd get some more new albums.

No need to add anything to this.

RIP. Devo was great.

RIP. Now off to listen to some Devo.

Sad stuff. They have always been one of my favorite bands.

Very sad. I didn't get to see Devo until 2004 and it was a blistering, guitar-fueled gig. As much as I love their keyboard-based tunes, hearing the guitar assault was a blast. Such a wonderful band. Everything up to New Traditionalists is must have material.

I may have to head to Austin to check this out:

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/201...re-tour-dates/

Devo will offer fans what it’s calling “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” this summer when the band performs the early experimental music it created between 1974 and 1977 during a 10-date North American tour that’s dedicated to the memory or the late Robert “Bob 2″ Casale — whose family will receive a portion of all proceeds from the trek.

The tour opens June 18 in Baltimore and runs through July 2 in Austin, Texas, hitting New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., Oakland, Calif., Los Angeles and Solana Beach, Calif.

Casale died unexpectedly last month of heart failure, and Devo has backed efforts to raise money for Casale’s family. Casale’s brother and bandmate, Gerald Casale, noted that the 61-year-old “had no will or insurance.” Friends are trying to raise $100,000 to support the late musician’s wife and children

For this summer’s Hardcore Devo tour, the band will sell VIP tickets that allow fans to meet the band and “exclusively view/ purchase rare, limited edition photo prints by noted photographers shot during the band’s pre-label days.”

The music that will be played on the tour is available on the recent Hardcore reissues.



Devo tour dates:

June 18: Ramshead, Baltimore, MD
June 19: Best Buy Theatre, New York, NY
June 21: Arcada Theatre, Chicago, IL
June 23: Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO
June 25: Neptune, Seattle, WA
June 26: Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
June 28: Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA
June 29: Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
June 30: Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA
July 2: ACL/Moody Theatre, Austin, TX

Looking forward to seeing them perform the crowd-pleasing "I Need A Chick."

Hopefully I can make it to that Chicago show.