| Isaac Brock | |
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Brock performing at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on July 19th, 2010 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | July 9, 1975 |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Instruments | Vocals Guitar Ukulele Piano Banjo |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Epic, Sub Pop, Up Records, K Records |
| Associated acts | Modest Mouse Ugly Casanova Wolf Parade |
Isaac Brock (born July 9, 1975) is the lead singer, guitarist, banjoist, and songwriter for the American indie rock band Modest Mouse, as well as his side project band, Ugly Casanova. As a songwriter he is noted for his clever wordplay and frequent use of metaphors, philosophical lyrics, themes of oppressive rural lifestyles, and certain phrases and sayings commonly used in the early to mid-20th century and in blue collar environments.[1][2]
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Isaac was born in Helena, Montana. During his childhood, Brock and his mother and sister lived in Montana and Oregon in hippie communes and churches before moving to Issaquah, Washington when Isaac was 11 years old. Brock was home-schooled for part of his school career. When his mother's house flooded three times, she was forced to move in to her future husband's trailer. Brock asked to stay behind in his own room until the new home was completed. He lived in the flooded home until the house was sold. After a short period of living in a friend's basement, he moved into the "Shed" built on the land next to his mother and stepfather's trailer. He was raised Evangelical.
In 1992, when he was sixteen, Brock moved to D.C. for the summer where he met his girlfriend. Brock traveled back and forth from the East Coast to Issaquah, where he took a community-college course to get his high school diploma before moving back to D.C. and to New York's East Village. He earned a living cleaning out meat trucks, posing as a nude model for art classes and taking part in medical experiments, before eventually landing in Seattle. It was there that he, Eric Judy (bass) and Jeremiah Green (drums) first started practicing music together in the Shed.
Although many of his songs use religious themes, Brock describes himself as "not really religious at all," adding that "I'm 100 percent on the whole Christianity thing being a crock of shit, pretty much." He claims to "toy around with the whole Biblical thing," because it "just has amazing characters" and also identifies himself as "pretty much" an atheist.[3]
His songs have also addressed his substance abuse, as in "The Good Times Are Killing Me." Brock admits to past drug use, and now says that drugs are "just something I kind of have to fight... I just try and make sure that it's not around, or I'm not around it."[3]
In the middle of recording The Moon & Antarctica in Chicago, Brock was attacked by a group of ruffians hanging out at a park; one of them punched him in the face and broke his jaw. He's still numb on the right side of his mouth where a steel plate was inserted.
Brock is a former A&R man for the record label Sub Pop; his most notable accomplishment with them was signing Wolf Parade in 2004.[4]
Isaac currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
In March 1999, a 19-year-old woman filed a police report accusing Brock of rape. The allegations started right before Modest Mouse was to begin a nationwide tour with Seattle garage punk band Murder City Devils. The allegations led to an alleged fist fight between members of the Murder City Devils and Isaac Brock, after which Brock reportedly moved to Gainesville, Florida.[5] Charges were never pressed, and Brock maintains his innocence.[3] In a 2004 interview with The A.V. Club,[3] he claimed:
| “ | It's an allegation that was withdrawn, and of course that didn't get any press. It was complete and utter bullshit, and the whole situation was so complicated that it's hard for me to go into lots of detail. At the time, I figured I'd just shut up and give this young lady enough rope to hang herself, you know? It fucked up my life once, and I'd prefer to just let it go.... Before this all happened, I never believed that anyone would lie about rape. That was my stance: No one lies about this shit. It really made me have to adjust my entire view of people, politics, and my own personal politics. I used to be like, "Kill rapists!" And all of a sudden I have this false allegation against me. I remember totally writing people off that I'd heard had even been in just awkward sexual situations with girls, like "That guy's a fucking prick, I'll never talk to him again." It was weird being on the receiving end of that. A friend of mine who's actually friends with that girl recently told me that she had totally withdrawn having said anything. I only just found out about that myself in the last six months. I knew that basically everyone, up to and including the police, was like, "This is bullshit." This person changed her story depending on who she was talking to. It was really just this fucked-up, weird thing. | ” |
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—Isaac Brock, The A.V. Club |
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Isaac's main guitar is custom made by Wicks Guitars.[6] His amps are custom made by Soursound, based on a Fender SuperSix, but are highly modified.[7]
In October 2005, Brock started his own record label called Glacial Pace. The label used to be a subsidiary of Epic Records, but is now independent. Its first signee was Minnesota songwriter Mason Jennings, followed by Love As Laughter, Mimicking Birds, Morning Teleportation, and Talkdemonic.
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