Neighborly Love

Modest Mouse's mark upon the rock 'n' roll landscape for the past nine years is undeniable. One of the few bands remaining from the early '90s alterna-rock explosion, Modest Mouse jumped from Up Records to Epic in 1999 after releasing two full-lengths and a number of Eps, and built a nationwide following through intensive touring. One of the most original bands to have any sort of popular following, Modest Mouse's music remains haunting, beautiful and intelligent while retaining the general playfulness and drive of rock 'n' roll.
They also remain somewhat enigmatic. For whatever reason, stories and myths seem to abound about the band members, especially lead singer Isaac Brock. And, while I heard that he could be difficult to track down, as well as difficult to interview, he turned out to be neither. Friendly on the phone, Brock seemed honest, completely unpretentious and as though he might be a good guy to go have some drinks with. Brock and company - bassist Eric Judy and drummer Jeremiah Green - are making a rare, and highly anticipated stop in Chico (the band's first since their first tour) after some time off during which Brock worked on his side project Ugly Casanova.

How are Ugly Casanova and Modest Mouse different?
They are different, I'm not sure how. It's hard to tell if they're different because of the time or what. I have a lot more freedom to work with different people [with Ugly Casanova], which we used to be able to work with, have more friends play on our records and stuff on Modest Mouse, but due to major label union things and shit like that it's like really problematic having anyone else play on the records. We did on the last album, but you have to fill out union papers and have 'em sign waivers and kind of the fun starts getting killed. And certain people you want to play with have these abstract notions that you're gonna be making a lot of money off the record so they should and the fact is that we don't. Most of the people that played on the record for a song or two made more money than we did.

Did you know that going into signing with Epic?
No man, I thought I might get rich.

Really? Was the recording budget a big part of why you went to a major label?
The thing I learned from that, if I thought about it, it would have made itself clear if I put more thought into it, is the fact that if you have a bigger recording budget, the engineers, studios and everyone charge you accordingly. Everyone grades on a curve, essentially, as far as how much money you get and the sliding scale works in your favor when you're working on a really small budget. It works against you when you have a big budget and basically you get about the same.

After the last record, now that you've had some time and you're not so close to it, are you satisfied overall with it?
I think it could have sounded less flat. I thought it was a fucking great record, it's just that before it was mixed it sounded better, which is how I feel about a lot of records. Somehow in the mixing you've got people who are trying to scientifically figure out where shit should sit in the mix, you know. It essentially starts losing some of the punch.

That's something I've noticed on a lot of major label stuff. Some independent might not sound as polished, but it doesn't sound as flat.
Yeah, it's not as flat. Even though I think the recording could have been… and I've even thought about going in with my own money and remixing the record and remastering it, but there's no way I'd be able to talk Epic into re-releasing it. They wouldn't see it as profitable, essentially, to go back and put a remastered version out.

You guys receive a lot of critical praise now and I was just wondering, does that mean anything to you now, or did it ever?
It's hard to take serious, you know. You feel like either you're getting really shitty press or you're getting really good press, it's hard. You know, you just take both sides and kind of average it out and kind of feel all right, you know. I'm happy with what we've been, largely.

Did you ever expect to get popular, due to the fact that you're such a weird sounding band?
It's really not easy for me to see that sort of thing very clearly, you know. I don't know how any of this shit comes off to other people.

You must get feedback from fans though. So how can you say that you don't really know what people are thinking about it?
Oh, well, I mean it's like, the fact is there's people who really like it and there's people who really don't. And what am I supposed to feel about it? I just do what I'm gonna do, I guess. Essentially, what I'm saying is, be it critical praise or people being really critical and not liking it and shit, I can't really put too much weight on it.

But I also read in an interview that you threatened to um, beat up or kill one of the guys from Harvey Danger.
That's very possible.

Did that have anything to do with his criticism? Or just the fact that you don't dig their music?
I didn't know they were still being critical, but God, they're crap.

Is there anything new out there that you're you've been into lately?
Yeah, yeah. I love… I don't know exactly how new they are or anything, but I've always been really into the Silver Jews, the White Stripes, Sparklehorse. Mike Johnson just recorded an album that I really, really like. It reminds me of fairly trippy Lee Hazelwood or something.

Those bands you mentioned, they all have either a blues or a twang feel to them and you guys definitely do too. Is that something you always liked growing up?
No, I didn't start getting into it till I was like 14, which is I guess when you really start listening to anything in the first place anyways. Yeah, I've been really into certain types of old, fucked up, delta blues and shit. Billy Childish got me into that really weird type of tub band type of stuff. He essentially just does cover albums of… he's got like 60, 70 albums out and they're all kind of themed, and generally it's garage rock, but he did some really good blues like stuff there for awhile there too as Billy Childish and the Blackhands. Shit like that, Doc Bogg. Love as Laughter, I like that band a lot - parts of that. Actually I want to listen to that, hold on… Neutral Milk [Hotel], they're bitchin'.

What's on the stereo right now?
Mike Johnson. I ate mushrooms the other night and just listened to this thing over and over again. It was fucking great. Before I got drunk and went with a mason jar to go steal some rum, well not steal, buy shots of rum to smuggle out of a bar in town and went and stole a flag from an old folks' home, which I've got to get back to 'em. I was riding on my bike with a big ol' flag.

An American flag?
Yeah.

But you're gonna return it?
Yeah, I feel bad, man. Old people are shit-crazy about their flags, you know.

If that happened in this town right now it'd be on the front page of the local paper.
Yeah, I'm worried it might be. (Hysterically laughs). It was all out in my yard most of yesterday and things. I'm worried that my neighbors fucking spotted it. They don't really like me much anyhow. One of 'em built a fence, and they put these other fence posts sticking out to make it look like Normandy Beach or something because their fence has been backed into a couple of times, you know.

Why don't they like you?
I've been here three years too little for them to trust me. Like someone broke into their house and stole some rifles and shit. The thing is, is like, someone broke in and stole the expensive rifles, knew where their gun cabinet was and didn't take anything else. And they've got like some fucking crackhead son. He had already, at one point like eight years ago or so, broke into their house and I'm the one who's suspect, you know. For one, if I'm gonna break into someone's house I'm gonna fucking go for valuable shit that isn't hard to sell. Selling guns isn't easy. They have no idea how many people live here and now my friend lives downstairs, but they thought that there was something like 15 people living here or something. One of 'em said, "There's a whole lotta you living there," just 'cause there's always people coming and going. They're suspicious as fuck of me.

Do they know what you do?
No, not really. One of them would come over a couple of times to complain about the music noise and I've had to be like, "Look, this is what I do for a fucking living, if you've got a problem call the cops. Oh, you called the cops, and they didn't give a fuck? Well huh, funny. Apparently you shouldn't be on my door right now then, should ya?" I don't know… fuck 'em. There's a nice old couple that lives right below me, the old people that live right next door are sweet as hell. They don't mind that I make way too much noise. Their philosophy is (in old man voice), "You gotta live your life." Good old people.

Do you guys to get to play there a lot, do you get to record at your own place?
Well, I record here. Usually, like that whole Ugly Casanova record, it was never recorded as a full band. It was all done in pieces, you know. When we have noise problems is when we've got the Ugly Casanova band is here or Modest Mouse and we're practicing and it just gets way too loud. There's a metal band, kinda butt rock, '70s metal type thing / rock-blues that wanted to come down and record. Some friends and I really want to do it, but I don't know that I can get away with it.

Are you staying in that place or are you looking for somewhere else where maybe you could do more recording?
Yeah, I kind of want to buy a building in Portland and open a junk shop / six-person bar, just get one of those old wood bars, you know, that they have and set it up so six people can drink at a time. Have my junk shop and café where I serve, the menu will be just, "trust me," and there's only one thing. You come in and order a meal and that's what you get. And then have on the second floor, have a studio set up and then on third floor just have that be a living area.

Is that something that you're really looking to do, seriously?
Yeah, but right now the IRS is on my ass and in reality I don't have any money, so…Gotta do some plotting.

Make some money?
Yeah, I gotta write a hit. Just one hit, suck it up. I can't afford integrity right now.

Has anyone at Epic ever said that to you, like the cliché, "Yeah, we need a hit."
No, not really.

Damn.
They've hinted and shit, but they knew what they were getting into when they signed me, or, I don't know, maybe they didn't. If they didn't it's their own damn fault.

Have you guys made any videos?
No, I was kind of opposed to them for a long time, but right now it sounds like it would be a really fun time. I've been watching this DVD set with a bunch of the B-Boy videos on 'em and I got a Bjork DVD thing with a bunch of them on it. They're fucking great, you know. It seems like it could be a really good time actually. I made a video the other day where I set a sprinkler up in the yard 'cause I told my girlfriend - she lives in Kansas - that if it was over 50 degrees here that I'd go run out in the sprinklers, so I put on some short shorts and some sunglasses and partied up - had some January summer fun.

What are you guys gonna do after this little Noise Pop, four-day excursion. Are you gonna work on a new album?
Write a new record. Actually, I had said at one point, that I wouldn't play any shows at all till I'd written an entire Modest Mouse record and here I am playing more shows and I haven't. After this I'm gonna wait until I'm done writing and recording the next record to do any touring. Maybe I'll tour before I record it, just to fuck with the songs a bit.

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