The Original MODEified is a compilation of Depeche Mode songs that were covered by people on the BONG mailing list and compiled during the summer of 1995. This page tells the story of the making of the first collection of fan interpretations that sparked 5 sequels and counting!

It was just after seeing DM on their Summer Devotional Tour and I had just joined this internet list for fans of Depeche Mode called Bong. On this list many DM fans came together to chat about every aspect of Depche Mode you can possibly think of. We talked about DM in commercials, DM in the shower, DM on the road and even talked about life in general. The list became a group of friends from all over the world, not just a list of Depeche Mode fanatics.

It was through this connection that I got the wacky idea of putting together a collection of songs covered by those of us on the list, the fans. I had my guitar which I was getting decent at playing and deep down I wanted to do a song and put it on the collection. Needless to say, I got so busy doing the compilation and listening to everyone elses songs that I never actually recorded anything decent enough to put on the records. Regardless, these compilations weren't about the quality so much as they were about the heart everyone put into their version. Whether they were recording with a tape recorder and a guitar or a full band digital recording, MODEified was under production!

I, Rob Augino, compiled the songs, produced the tape, designed and printed the covers, purchased the blank tapes, duplicated them, and mailed the finished tapes around the world.

The people who got them originally didn't pay a penny for them- some people donated to the cause and helped offset my out-of-pocket expenses (120 blank tapes, color printing, and postage) and I ended up just about breaking even.

The spirit of the tape was and still is totally non-commercial. It is not intended to be bought or sold. It is encouraged to share all the editions of MODEified, so if you have one and want to make a copy for a friend, please do so. If you don't have one yet and you want one, ask around on the Depeche Mode Mailing List - BONG - there are a lot of them out there, and most people would be more than happy to make you a copy. You can also drop me a line and if you're patient, I may be able to get you a copy of the older editions too!

This tape was such a successful project that the sequels came year after year and the enthusiasm from the BONG list kept it thriving! Below is the track listing for MODEified: The Strangest Devotion. Click on the song title to download the mp3 of each song! (coming soon)

SYZYGY

is Cameron Newham <cam@iinet.com.au>. This was the first time he had created music! He is credited for three songs, Pimpf, Told You So, and Enjoy The Silence. He is from Australia, and was a great help in the coordination of the project... Thank you. The megaphone graphic located near the songlist was courtesy of SYZYGY... Thank you.

Scott Bartie

<HXTNTA@grove.iup.edu> is a great guitarist from Pennsylvania, USA, who performs World Full of Nothing, Things You Said, Shake The Disease (on side B) and was joined by Bernadette Dubulcay for the I Want You Now track.

Loveless

is Jan-Erik Saarinen <di2saa@bogart.cse.hks.se> and Mikael Arkernas, and they did the Television Set cover. These guys are from Sweden and love creating music... Great Job!

Fatima Asgar

<fatima@cs.mun.ca> is from Canada, and generously donated her soothing voice on Somebody. :)

The Coastal Girls

are from Michingan, USA. TCG are Rick Grossenbacher <flatness@aol.com>, Max Stout, Danil Terpatra, and ...featuring... Ryan Barrenger! These guys pulled together to do the World In My Eyes cover. Great job guys... :)

Rubin Roche

sends regards from Indiana, USA. Thanks for the Behind The Wheel interpretation!

Khoa Ho (LittleGore)

<littlegore@aol.com>- Awesome DM enthusiast from Texas, USA. Khoa is a piano lover, and was glad to put his talents to the test! His display is quite amazing on Black Celebration as well as the DM Medley. Gracias!

Ernest Millan

<emillan@easyst.com> From California, USA... Ernest was glad to turn on his recorder to help with the Project! He is a piano lover; as well as a guitarist. Thanks for the Walking in My Shoes cober! Great Job!

Envoy

are Dan Nilsson, Mattias Pettersson <d93matpe@isy.liu.se>, Jonas Karlsson, and Frederic Tirbeden... and come from Sweden too. Many thanks to Envoy for thir interpretations of But Not Tonight and Ice Machine. Envoy hopes to expand their audience and begin to perform live soon! If in Sweden, Don't miss 'em!

Mike Benning

<muso@interaccess.com> from Illinois, USA... a synthpop enthusiast since the early 80's, Fools is the first cover Mike has done. He plans to work hard on his own material now, for future release. Good Luck!

Agnes Poetry

- From Utah, USA, AP performs regularly in their own area, and the Everything Counts (live) was taken from one of their shows! They do have a CD of original songs available, and they were at one time the most requested band in Salt Lake City. If interested in getting one, contact Ross at his email address <Spearr@yvax.byu.edu>... My thanks to Agnes Poetry, and Good Luck!

Agnes Poetry now appear as part of Control-Alt-Delete, which is a network of American synth-pop bands whose web site just happens to reside on the same machine with depeche.mode.net! Well worth checking out!

Dan Litwin

<dlitwin@css1.css.edu>- From Minnesota, USA, and gladly submitted his Everything Counts (Instrumental) cover. Dan used his Mac, with the Performer(tm) sequencing software. The song has 15 seperate tracks to it, and was created for a MIDI workshop he was in. Dan welcomes questions or comments at his email address.

Seth Christensen

<schriste@willamette.edu> and C.Y. Kennedy- These guys are from Oklahoma, USA, and despite sickness... Seth pulled through and got recording! Thank you for the Shake The Disease (side A) cover.

Seth and C.Y. are actually from Salem, Oregon.

This error was corrected in the MODEified II liner notes.

Bryan McPhail

<bmcphail@cs.strath.sc.uk> is from Scotland, and as a one man band... he sure did an exceptional job on Rush (Instrumental)! Bryan used the 1-Meg Atari ST with Cubase(tm) v2.0 to do the sequencing for his songs... Great Job!

Brad "The Ambient Whale" Kett, Shame Nimmer, and Mork!

- Brad, Shame, and Mork are all from Wisconsin, USA... and my thanks to Brad for pulling through at the last minute on the Sweetest Perfection track! Straight form the Ambient Whale's mouth... "Thanx 2 Rob Augino, for this never would've happened without him!!! Peace, Brad."

Brad lists his address in the sleeve, rather than an email address. You can write to him at: Brad Kett 1005 Burr Oak Blvd Waukesha, WI 53186 USA