Modest Mouse consists of Eric Judy (bass), Isaac Brock (vocals, guitars), Jeremiah Green (drums).
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band. The band was formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington by guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy.
Brock came up with the name "Modest Mouse" when he read the Virginia Woolf novel The Mark On the Wall in which the author described the working middle class as "modest, mouse-coloured people."
In 1994, the band recorded their debut EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios, which was then released on Calvin's record label K Records. Then followed a single with Sub-Pop that was recorded by Steve Wold at Moon Studios. After moving to Up Records Modest Mouse put out several releases recorded at Moon Studios, including 1996's This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About. This double LP was produced and recorded by Steve Wold, (at this time Steve Wold was a member of the band as well.)The next offering on UP was Interstate 8; also produced by Steve Wold. 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West, (also recorded at Moon Studios, by Scott Swayze) turned out to be the band's breakthrough album. The Lonesome Crowded West gained the band a cult following and is now widely considered by many critics to be one of the defining album of mid-90s indie-rock. In 2000, Up released a singles and rarities collection entitled Building Nothing Out of Something, which included the entirety of Interstate 8 except for the songs "Edit the Sad Parts" and "Buttons to Push Buttons".
Also in 2000, Modest Mouse released The Moon And Antarctica, their first album on a major label ( Epic Records). The band enjoyed some success on alternative radio with the singles "3rd Planet" and "Gravity Rides Everything." While initially positively received by critics , The Moon And Antarctica has subsequently gone on to receive further acclaim . Lead singer Isaac Brock has since put out an album with his side project Ugly Casanova on Sub Pop Records. The band licensed "Gravity Rides Everything" for a commercial for Nissan's Quest minivan, a move that Brock has publicly acknowledged as blatantly commercial but necessary to achieve financial stability. (See A.V. club interview in external links)
