Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper

05-31-2005, 10:47 PM

i found this and thought it was very interesting. they chat with isaac's parents.

http://isspress.1upsoftware.com/main...ArticleID=2613

Modest Mouse rockers manufactured locally

By Sara Bader

<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left width=150>

</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left width=150>Isaac Brock, lead singer of the band Modest Mouse, seen here last year at his parents’ home./Contributed</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A teenaged Isaac Brock burst into his parents’ bedroom one night about 12 years ago on Front Street South.

“It was 2 a.m. in the morning, and he said, ‘I’m going to be a rock star,’” recalled Mike Adair, Brock’s stepfather. “He had a guitar on his shoulder, and he said, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

Mike and his wife Kris, Brock’s mother, were fans of the throbbing music that frequently rattled the walls of their backyard shed as their son practiced with bandmates Eric Judy and Jeremiah Green.

But a bona fide rock star? C’mon.

“I would say it caught me flatfooted,” Kris said. “I knew he was a very gifted kid, very creative, but what he has done? It’s just surprised us.”

True to his late-night prophecy, Brock and the band — Modest Mouse — have become the real deal.

With a pair of 2005 Grammy nominations, a platinum record and international radio and television play, Modest Mouse has been proclaimed the best thing since sliced cheese by industry insiders and cult-like fans.

The band is alternative, eclectic, rock ’n’ roll, and moody with unexpected lyrics that mean nothing or everything, depending on the listener.

Despite world tours, however, Brock has not really strayed far from his Issaquah roots, according to the Adairs.

Modest Mouse crewmembers and roadies are some of Brock’s former classmates.

“They are friends he’s had since school,” Kris said. “It feels good to go backstage and still find the whole troop together.”

And if locals listen closely, they can hear their own history in Brock’s lyrics. The inspiration is obvious in the song “All Night Diner.”

“I was at an all-night diner / The sign said ‘XXX’ / But they were talking about root beer …”

“A lot of his lyrics in the earlier music, when he’s talking about malls and what not, that was when Issaquah was being way overdeveloped,” Kris said.

Brock, who is now 29 and lives in Oregon, was steeped in some of the town’s older traditions, such as watching parachutes at the Skyport — which has since been paved over to make way for Costco. Witnessing the massive rural-to-urban changes here definitely influenced Brock, Kris said. Even today, Modest Mouse has taken a stand against the proposed Southeast Bypass, which would slice through forests and wetlands as well as the Adair house and the shed, Kris said.

The path to stardom

Brock and Kris moved to Issaquah in 1986, coming from Oregon and, before that, Montana. Brock began fifth grade at Issaquah Valley Elementary while Kris eventually met and married her neighbor on Front Street, Mike.

“It was an across-the-street romance,” Kris said.

Brock and his three siblings worked at Village Theatre through their teen years, running the soundboard and lights.

“He had a good time growing up here,” Mike said.

Brock has mentioned in frequent interviews living in his mom’s “trailer.” To some extent, that’s true. The Adair home is a trailer, but not in the up-on-blocks kind of way. It’s like any one-story home, cozy with wood accents and lots of odds and ends, including an abstract half-painted clay “what’sit” — in Kris’ words — that Brock made in high school.

Outside, stone pathways snake through an organized jungle of vivid flowers and greenery — arranged by Mike, a landscaper — which surrounds the shed where Modest Mouse, well, became Modest Mouse.

The Adairs remember how the three boys would line the shed’s walls with pillows and sleeping bags to muffle the sound a bit. “You’d go in there, and they would just be dripping water” sweating in the tiny space, Kris said.

“We really miss having their music float out of the shed,” Mike said. “There are some days I walk outside and say, ‘Did I just hear music coming out of there?’”

Modest Mouse was born when Brock and Judy met at the now-closed City Lights Video in their early high school years. Judy probably had a shirt on with a band that Brock liked, and the two struck up a conversation, Kris said.

“Anyone who’s been here very long remembers City Lights Video,” Kris said. “It was a real honest-to-goodness third place. Everyone hung out there, and that’s how the two met.”

Brock graduated from Issaquah High in 1993, ahead of schedule thanks to Running Start credits. He had taken two brief hiatuses to travel to Washington, D.C., with friends to pursue photography and the music scene.

Mike thought Brock was destined to take pictures for a living. Like his lyrics, his shots showed Brock’s ability to “see the world in a unique way,” Mike said.

Shots compiled in a book Brock gave his mom as a present show black and white images, many with exposure and shutter manipulations. One features someone dressed in wings who appears to hover over the floor. Another is Brock driving at night.

“This is the car that pretty much ruined his life,” he wrote below it.

Mike’s parents had an old Dodge Dart they “pretty much drove into the ground,” Mike explained. Then Brock “drove it into the ground even more.”

At one point, the Dodge was submerged in water in the backyard after a flood. But Brock took it and fixed it up.

Then he drove it to Washington D.C. The car didn’t make the round trip, the Adairs remember with a laugh.

“I don’t think he cared,” Kris said. “It was part of the journey.”

Another career Brock might have pursued was protector of a galaxy far, far away, Kris said.

“When was 11, he wanted to be a Jedi Knight or some such thing and spent every Saturday cleaning the Gymnastics East gym in Factoria to help pay for his gymnastics classes,” she said.

After high school, Brock worked at the Stage Right Café (now Fins Bistro on Front Street) while Modest Mouse began to produce more material and tour. He lived with his parents off and on. The Adairs said they knew better than to stifle their son’s desire — although there came a point when they started charging rent.

He didn’t go to college, like his siblings, but “what he was doing was every bit as valid,” Mike said. “The education Isaac has given himself is amazing” — he’s a businessman, musician and world traveler.

“We wanted our children to learn the gifts they innately came in the world with are good and valuable,” Kris said.

In 1996, Brock came to Stage Right, where his mother also worked, and pulled her into his truck to listen to the new Modest Mouse CD “This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About.”

“I just had this rush, that was the moment I knew these guys are the real thing,” Kris said.

Master_Ziing · 05-31-2005, 11:45 PM

Wow...that's a really cool article. It's funny to imagine Isaac jumping around pretending to be a jedi...

morgan · 06-01-2005, 12:02 AM

haha i know i use to do that too when i was little:p

MajinTrunkz · 06-01-2005, 12:27 AM

Well that certainly is pretty interesting.

Quote:

...Modest Mouse has been proclaimed the best thing since sliced cheese by industry insiders and cult-like fans.

Hahaha! Apparently we are cult-like. :p

Quote:

Judy probably had a shirt on with a band that Brock liked, and the two struck up a conversation, Kris said.

According to Isaac in a different interview I read a while back, I think it was the opposite. Eric was wearing a shirt with a band that Isaac didn't like, I believe.

Novocain · 06-01-2005, 12:41 AM

Thats a great article...I love interviews with issac because he has a way of making them so interesting and un interview like but it is cool to read some of the stuff you would normally learn about a band through interviews.

Cool find.

Dark_Wolf00 · 06-01-2005, 12:47 AM

That was a pretty good read. Very interesting.

RickyRaccoon7 · 06-01-2005, 03:20 AM

thanks a lot for posting that, Coop. It was awesome. Once again, the picture of Isaac's life has been given more clarity.

paperdolltaped · 06-01-2005, 05:25 AM

Gah! What an awesome article!! It's his parents giving away these little bits and pieces of how Brock works - I LOVE IT!! Thanks so much for posting this, it totally made me happy

hobie · 06-01-2005, 06:33 AM

Great article! :tu:

I think that was the very first time I ever read an article from the perspective of the parents. Thanks for posting that, it was really well worth the read!

dirtyfingernails · 06-01-2005, 09:50 AM

Incredible!!!! :tu:

05-31-2005, 10:47 PM	#1
ModestCoop30 Guest Posts: n/a	Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper i found this and thought it was very interesting. they chat with isaac's parents. http://isspress.1upsoftware.com/main...ArticleID=2613 Modest Mouse rockers manufactured locally By Sara Bader <TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left width=150></TD></TR><TR><TD align=left width=150>Isaac Brock, lead singer of the band Modest Mouse, seen here last year at his parents’ home./Contributed</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A teenaged Isaac Brock burst into his parents’ bedroom one night about 12 years ago on Front Street South. “It was 2 a.m. in the morning, and he said, ‘I’m going to be a rock star,’” recalled Mike Adair, Brock’s stepfather. “He had a guitar on his shoulder, and he said, ‘This is what I want to do.’” Mike and his wife Kris, Brock’s mother, were fans of the throbbing music that frequently rattled the walls of their backyard shed as their son practiced with bandmates Eric Judy and Jeremiah Green. But a bona fide rock star? C’mon. “I would say it caught me flatfooted,” Kris said. “I knew he was a very gifted kid, very creative, but what he has done? It’s just surprised us.” True to his late-night prophecy, Brock and the band — Modest Mouse — have become the real deal. With a pair of 2005 Grammy nominations, a platinum record and international radio and television play, Modest Mouse has been proclaimed the best thing since sliced cheese by industry insiders and cult-like fans. The band is alternative, eclectic, rock ’n’ roll, and moody with unexpected lyrics that mean nothing or everything, depending on the listener. Despite world tours, however, Brock has not really strayed far from his Issaquah roots, according to the Adairs. Modest Mouse crewmembers and roadies are some of Brock’s former classmates. “They are friends he’s had since school,” Kris said. “It feels good to go backstage and still find the whole troop together.” And if locals listen closely, they can hear their own history in Brock’s lyrics. The inspiration is obvious in the song “All Night Diner.” “I was at an all-night diner / The sign said ‘XXX’ / But they were talking about root beer …” “A lot of his lyrics in the earlier music, when he’s talking about malls and what not, that was when Issaquah was being way overdeveloped,” Kris said. Brock, who is now 29 and lives in Oregon, was steeped in some of the town’s older traditions, such as watching parachutes at the Skyport — which has since been paved over to make way for Costco. Witnessing the massive rural-to-urban changes here definitely influenced Brock, Kris said. Even today, Modest Mouse has taken a stand against the proposed Southeast Bypass, which would slice through forests and wetlands as well as the Adair house and the shed, Kris said. The path to stardom Brock and Kris moved to Issaquah in 1986, coming from Oregon and, before that, Montana. Brock began fifth grade at Issaquah Valley Elementary while Kris eventually met and married her neighbor on Front Street, Mike. “It was an across-the-street romance,” Kris said. Brock and his three siblings worked at Village Theatre through their teen years, running the soundboard and lights. “He had a good time growing up here,” Mike said. Brock has mentioned in frequent interviews living in his mom’s “trailer.” To some extent, that’s true. The Adair home is a trailer, but not in the up-on-blocks kind of way. It’s like any one-story home, cozy with wood accents and lots of odds and ends, including an abstract half-painted clay “what’sit” — in Kris’ words — that Brock made in high school. Outside, stone pathways snake through an organized jungle of vivid flowers and greenery — arranged by Mike, a landscaper — which surrounds the shed where Modest Mouse, well, became Modest Mouse. The Adairs remember how the three boys would line the shed’s walls with pillows and sleeping bags to muffle the sound a bit. “You’d go in there, and they would just be dripping water” sweating in the tiny space, Kris said. “We really miss having their music float out of the shed,” Mike said. “There are some days I walk outside and say, ‘Did I just hear music coming out of there?’” Modest Mouse was born when Brock and Judy met at the now-closed City Lights Video in their early high school years. Judy probably had a shirt on with a band that Brock liked, and the two struck up a conversation, Kris said. “Anyone who’s been here very long remembers City Lights Video,” Kris said. “It was a real honest-to-goodness third place. Everyone hung out there, and that’s how the two met.” Brock graduated from Issaquah High in 1993, ahead of schedule thanks to Running Start credits. He had taken two brief hiatuses to travel to Washington, D.C., with friends to pursue photography and the music scene. Mike thought Brock was destined to take pictures for a living. Like his lyrics, his shots showed Brock’s ability to “see the world in a unique way,” Mike said. Shots compiled in a book Brock gave his mom as a present show black and white images, many with exposure and shutter manipulations. One features someone dressed in wings who appears to hover over the floor. Another is Brock driving at night. “This is the car that pretty much ruined his life,” he wrote below it. Mike’s parents had an old Dodge Dart they “pretty much drove into the ground,” Mike explained. Then Brock “drove it into the ground even more.” At one point, the Dodge was submerged in water in the backyard after a flood. But Brock took it and fixed it up. Then he drove it to Washington D.C. The car didn’t make the round trip, the Adairs remember with a laugh. “I don’t think he cared,” Kris said. “It was part of the journey.” Another career Brock might have pursued was protector of a galaxy far, far away, Kris said. “When was 11, he wanted to be a Jedi Knight or some such thing and spent every Saturday cleaning the Gymnastics East gym in Factoria to help pay for his gymnastics classes,” she said. After high school, Brock worked at the Stage Right Café (now Fins Bistro on Front Street) while Modest Mouse began to produce more material and tour. He lived with his parents off and on. The Adairs said they knew better than to stifle their son’s desire — although there came a point when they started charging rent. He didn’t go to college, like his siblings, but “what he was doing was every bit as valid,” Mike said. “The education Isaac has given himself is amazing” — he’s a businessman, musician and world traveler. “We wanted our children to learn the gifts they innately came in the world with are good and valuable,” Kris said. In 1996, Brock came to Stage Right, where his mother also worked, and pulled her into his truck to listen to the new Modest Mouse CD “This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About.” “I just had this rush, that was the moment I knew these guys are the real thing,” Kris said.

05-31-2005, 11:45 PM	#2
Master_Ziing Meh... Doin' the Cockroach Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Flower Mound , Texas Posts: 150	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper Wow...that's a really cool article. It's funny to imagine Isaac jumping around pretending to be a jedi...

06-01-2005, 12:02 AM	#3
morgan Mice Eat Cheese Doin' the Cockroach Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: california Posts: 155	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper haha i know i use to do that too when i was little:p __________________ your my boy blue!

06-01-2005, 12:41 AM	#5
Novocain Dog Paddler Doin' the Cockroach Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Calgary Posts: 160	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper Thats a great article...I love interviews with issac because he has a way of making them so interesting and un interview like but it is cool to read some of the stuff you would normally learn about a band through interviews. Cool find.

06-01-2005, 12:47 AM	#6
Dark_Wolf00 It's Pink Rock! From Point A To Point B Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Goose Creek, SC Posts: 137	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper That was a pretty good read. Very interesting.

06-01-2005, 03:20 AM	#7
RickyRaccoon7 Mice Eat Cheese From Point A To Point B Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: long island, ny Posts: 100	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper thanks a lot for posting that, Coop. It was awesome. Once again, the picture of Isaac's life has been given more clarity.

06-01-2005, 05:25 AM	#8
paperdolltaped i belong to: Cadmium Wild Pack of Family Dogs Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: humidity Posts: 1,481	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper Gah! What an awesome article!! It's his parents giving away these little bits and pieces of how Brock works - I LOVE IT!! Thanks so much for posting this, it totally made me happy __________________

06-01-2005, 06:33 AM	#9
hobie eating snowflakes w/plastic forks Wild Pack of Family Dogs Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Oz, South Carolina & Hell, California Posts: 3,138	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper Great article! :tu: I think that was the very first time I ever read an article from the perspective of the parents. Thanks for posting that, it was really well worth the read!

06-01-2005, 09:50 AM	#10
dirtyfingernails Mice Eat Cheese Wild Pack of Family Dogs Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,731	Re: Story about Isaac from an issaquah newspaper Incredible!!!! :tu: __________________ Just cause you feel it, doesn't mean it's there.