ISU Bengal

Issue date: 3/2/05 Section: Life

Media Credit: KRT Modest front man, Isaac Brock sings on stage promoting their first record with Epic, The Moon and Antarctica in the summer of 2001.

Their musical style could be described as being both smart and eclectic, their lyrical style is more along the lines of being disenfranchised and cranky to the core- and for Modest Mouse that's a compliment. Modest Mouse is set to play in Salt Lake City this Friday and Saturday night In the Venue.

When Isaac Brock built a shed outside his mother's trailer in Issaaquah, Washington twelve years ago, heavy MTV rotation and two Grammy nominations in 2004 was not part of the plan.

Whether Brock and company like it not, that's exactly what has happened to this indie-rock band, thanks in part to their second album under the Epic Label called "Good News For People Who Like Bad News" and the single "Float On." When "Good News" was released in April of 2004, Brock was the only one in the band who believed in its potential to go platinum. Since its release "Good News"  has sold over 1.3 million copies reaching certified platinum by the RIAA last fall. Modest Mouse and their single "Float On" were nominated this fall for two Grammy Awards, one for "best rock song" and "best alternative music album." The band won neither, but are still winners to there devout fans and still made a good showing as an indie-rock band.

"I think there was a weird cultural shift back towards indie-rock. You can see it with the Shins record that did so well, and bands like Bright Eyes, and [TV] "The O.C."  having an indie-rock character. Before that, the Flaming Lips did really well with their last couple of albums, and Wilco. You can just see a lot more kids interested in college-oriented indie-rock, or whatever you want to call it," said Dann Gallucci, guitarist and keyboarder for Modest Mouse, talking to the Chicago-Sun Times on February 25 while in route to their sold-out show at the Congress Theater in Chicago.

Gallucci was an original member of Modest Mouse, but left the group in 1997 to form Murder City Devils, a punk rock band. Gallucci returned to the band just in time to record "Good News." Gallucci said that the single "Float On" was a creative accident that just ended up working out.

"Float On" was a joke - I came to practice with the chord progression for the song that would become "The World At Large." We were playing that, and it had sort of a melancholy feel, so as a joke, we did a funny, dance-oriented version of it. After a while, Isaac had written lyrics and a cool guitar melody, so it just became this whole other thing, and we all liked it. I know people are sick to death of it now, but I still enjoy playing that song," said Gallucci to Rolling Stone Magazine this fall.

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