Modest Mouse

Drawing from influences such as Pavement, the Pixies, and Talking Heads, the Issaquah, Washington, USA-based art-punk trio Modest Mouse comprises Isaac Brook (vocals/guitar), Eric Judy (bass) and Jeremiah Green (drums). Formed in 1992, the trio rehearsed and recorded demos for nearly two years, before signing with local indie label K Records and issuing several singles. Modest Mouse quickly set themselves apart from their indie rock peers by indulging at times with songs that stretched anywhere from five to ten minutes.

Independent label, Up, signed the band next, and issued inaugural full-length recordings such as 1996's This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About and 1997's Lonesome Crowded West. After returning to the K label for The Fruit That Ate Itself (the same year as their sophomore outing), Modest Mouse shocked the indie underground by signing on with the major label conglomerate Sony, who issued the trio's fourth release, The Moon & Antarctica, in 2000. The same year, a 12-track compilation album of early singles was released, and then a few months later K Records released the band's "lost" 1994 debut, Sad Sappy Sucker.

In 2002, Brook released an acclaimed album under the Ugly Casanova moniker.