Paging Mr. Brock

Dec. 17, 2009

Glacial Pace Recordings
c/o Isaac K. Brock
4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
PO Box No. 448
Portland, OR 97214

Isaac:

I would like to write a Modest Mouse compendium, with your permission.
Obviously, you didn't prefer the liberties a previous writer took when attempting to "document" the band's story by piecing together a book from questionable, if not wholly inaccurate, articles.
That is not what I am proposing.
The compendium would simply be a print companion for Modest Mouse fans, musicologists, and guitar nuts. It would include, with permission, session notes from: the shed, Dub Narcotic, Moon, Clava, Sweet Tea, Glacial Pace - among other studios - and any other home studio recording notes you would be willing to provide.
The Modest Mouse-like compendium would also include album release dates, any permissible artwork I can track down, Pat and Naheed photos, and notes on the approach the band took before, during and after the works' release.
It would be the kind of book that I scour the music section of book stores for - detailed, accurate and concise. It would shed light on the more technical aspects of your recording career.
Topics would include: Why you first screamed into your pick-ups; use of Floyd Rose and the delay; the shed recordings; Eric's bass technique and foray into other stringed instruments; Jeremiah and Joe's progressive drumming approach; Tom and Johnny's composition additions and would include some of your favorite production techniques and tricks.
Ultimately, I also envision it as a way for true friends and fans to better understand your guys' work, your personal influence and a brief history behind and somewhat beyond the records.
I don't want it to get too personal beyond inclusion of some selected lyrics and three of your favorite culinary recipes to close the book.
For now, this is a developing idea. I am prepared to take my time and wait for your ideas and edits that would better mold the compendium any way you see fit.

Thank you for thinking about this. I think the compendium would tandem nicely with the planned re-release of MM works on Glacial Pace. And I look forward to hearing from you.



Steve

Self-addressed stamped envelope enclosed.

Trimming the edges - A Modest Mouse-like compendium.

A compendium: is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge. A compendium may summarize a larger work.

And this is the idea I've been kicking around: A Modest Mouse-like Compendium.

A short book that would work in tandem with the group's music catalog. It would give dates and back stories to their recordings. It would, in all likelihood, not include any input from the band. Which, I have to say, is unfortunate. But, I'm going to write Isaac a letter, asking him what he thinks, and if it's OK.

While I don't need his permission, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Jeremiah Green

Jeremiah Green's drumming is comparable to an out-of-work habachi chef.
He feels comfortable - at home even - with fire at his fingertips. He deftly manages to balance workmanlike performances with brash flashes of creativity.
You can tell he's in the pocket when he brandishes an outlaw, bank-robbin' bandana look.

The chef is constantly in preparation - dicing and slicing his musical cuisine - but still in synchronized symbiosis with fellow drummer Joe Plummer. Green oftentimes matches his sous chef beat-for-beat, producing a cauchopnous display of percusssion not seen or heard since the days of The Dead.
Green, however, is a bit more free and wild-eyed than the placid Plummer. His creations are a delight; wild, spicy and served on time.

So that'sssssss what he was talking about

In an earlier post MM guitar tech Brian Watson referred to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's contribution to the new Modest Mouse tunes.
At first I had no idea what he was talking about. Until I heard this, the latest single "Perpetual Motion Machine".
More Cosby intro than vintage MM, the single features the eight-piece brass ensemble Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
I have preordered the single (which features the as-of yet unreleased track "History Sticks To Your Feet") just like 4,000 of my friends and am anticipating the final 7-inch vinyl's release, due July 21.

Re-vid

Great video, decent fidelity. Check it.

Taking in the recycling

Isaac's guitar tech of the last three years, Brian Watson, has been kind to this site.

Most recently, we asked him what effects, if any, Isaac was using on the band's recent release "Whale Song". Here's his nearly unedited reply.

"those pedals are pretty much the same as used on these recent live tours; the boss PS-5 is one of the only pedals being used in that song. i think he recorded some overdubs with a '64 fender deluxe, but not sure, and don't know what johnny was using on that. for as much as is going on in that song, there aren't that many effects on isaac's parts. that part and maybe 1-2 others were recorded in the studio, the rest were tracked in isaac's home studio. many of the songs on the new EP feature outtakes from the "good news" sessions that have been re-written, including some recycled DDBB [Dirty Dozen Brass Band?] parts."

Some rad video of PS-5 in action.
Good to know ... wondering if Isaac's "home studio" is actually home to Glacial Pace Recordings. One has to assume ...

He's in the band, and he's not in the band

Johnny Marr is a great guitarist whose skills are always in demand.
But in this June 13 interview w/BBC, Marr hinted that he'll be spending the forseeable future playing guitar out of the back of a Cribs van.
Marr was also quoted as saying Modest Mouse was on a "vague hiatus" due to Isacc's involvement on what is, presumably, a music soundtrack.
Hmmm ... I know Isaac was involved with The Flaming Lips' "Christmas on Mars", a recent surf documentary "180 Degrees South" and, most recently, the music documentary "The Heart Is A Drum Machine" ... but a nice block of tour dates that begins in August goes against Marr's comments that Modest Mouse is being vague or on hiatus.
Isaac's really diggin' on film projects lately. I've been meaning to see them, but as of yet have been unable to do so ...
Nonetheless, Sounds like Marr ain't going to show up with the band anytime soon. Jim Fairchild will, no doubt, provide solid backing as he did on the last tour.
Hat tip: Johnny's comments were first reported by www.interstate-8.com.