Isaac Brock (musician)
Isaac Kristofer Brock (born July 9, 1975) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, principal songwriter, guitarist and only constant member of the indie rock band Modest Mouse, as well as his side project band, Ugly Casanova.
Isaac Brock
As a songwriter, Brock is noted for his wordplay and frequent use of metaphors, philosophical lyrics, themes of authentic rural lifestyles,[1] and phrases and sayings commonly used in the early to mid-20th century and in blue collar environments.[2][3] Brock is the sole founding member of Modest Mouse still with the band and the only member to appear on all of its studio albums.
Early life[edit]
Brock was born in Helena, Montana. During his childhood, he lived with his mother and sister in Montana and Oregon in hippie communes and churches before moving to Issaquah, Washington when he was 11 years old.[4] Brock was home-schooled in his early education. When his mother's house flooded three times, she was forced to move into 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.
As a young boy he was raised in a Christian religious sect called the Grace Gospel Church. He told an interviewer from The Guardian that he was asked to speak in tongues when he was six: "I didn't feel the spirit of the fucking Lord rushing through me," he says. "I definitely felt awkward. I thought. 'What's the best way to make this stop?' So I ripped off some words from Mary Poppins and said them fast, and the deacons are going, 'Yeah, all right!'"[5]
In 1992, when he was sixteen, Brock moved to Washington, D.C. for the summer where he met his girlfriend. Brock traveled back and forth from the East Coast to Issaquah in Washington State where he took a community-college course to get his high school diploma before moving back to D.C., to New York's East Village, and then the Seattle area. It was there that he, Eric Judy (bass) and Jeremiah Green (drums) first started practicing music together in the Shed.
In 2023, Brock was a guest singer and musician on the song "We Got to Move" for the album Los Angeles by Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, and Jacknife Lee.[6]
Equipment[edit]
Brock's main guitars are custom made by Wicks Guitars.[18] Prior to his customs, Brock mainly used a Westone Corsair XA1420. He is also known to use various other guitars made by companies such as Peavey, Fender, and Gibson. His amps are custom made by Soursound, based on a Fender SuperSix, but are highly modified.[19]
Glacial Pace[edit]
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, Marcellus Hall, Mimicking Birds, Morning Teleportation, Talkdemonic, Survival Knife, Nocturnal Habits, and Mattress.