David Giffels Books

When Giffels enlisted his dad to help him build his own casket, he thought of it mostly as an opportunity to sharpen his woodworking skills and to spend time together. But the unexpected deaths of his mother and a friend led to a harsh confrontation with mortality and loss. Over the course of several seasons, he returned to his father's barn in rural Ohio, to continue a pursuit that grew into a meditation on grief and optimism, a quest for enlightenment, and a way to cherish time with an aging parent. -- adapted from book jacket.

Focusing on DEVO's vibrant early history, this definitive account reveals the band's formation and artistic evolution, inspired by the industrial landscape of Northeast Ohio and the Kent State shootings. It showcases never-before-seen images and highlights how a group of creative misfits transformed protopunk energy into an influential art project. DEVO's innovations in music videos and their impact on the 1980s New Wave and MTV era are explored, alongside their enduring social and political relevance over the past fifty years.

"In the tradition of J.D. Vance, Sarah Smarsh, and Amy Goldstein, BARNSTORMING OHIO is an on-the-ground look at the diverse challenges facing Ohio, and its national significance as the state that has historically sided with the presidential election winner more than any other -- from award-winning lifelong Ohioan author and writer David Giffels, dubbed by the New York Times as "the Bard of Akron.""-- Provided by publisher