Isaac Brock (born on 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 singer he is easily distinguished by his slightly
lisp-tinged voice, vocal pitching, and shouting. As a guitarist he shows an aptitude for
harmonics,
bends, and the combination of the two (which can be described as guitar scratching), as well as
palm muting and
tremolo and
reverb effects.
[List of Brock's guitar techniques. "[1]" Retrieved April 7, 2006.] In addition to that, Isaac Brock is also notable for screaming into his guitar pickups. As a songwriter he is noted for his very clever wordplay and frequent use of metaphors, philosophical lyrics, themes of oppressive urban lifestyles, and certain phrases and sayings commonly used in the early- to mid-
20th century and in
blue collar environments.
[Houchins, Palmer. "[2]," Paste Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2005.][Bowers, William. "[3]," Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 17, 2003.] .
Early life
During his childhood, Brock and his mother moved around in different offshoot circles throughout the
Pacific Northwest. Around this time, Brock's mother left his father for his father's brother. Brock was home-schooled for part of his school career.
[Doran, Bob. "A Conversation with Isaac Brock," Panache Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2007.] When his mother's house flooded she was forced to move in to her new husband's trailer where there was no room for Brock, so he stayed behind. He lived on the second floor of the flooded home until he was evicted by the police. After a period of living in a friend's basement, he moved into a shed he built on the land next to his mother and stepfather's trailer. It was there that he,
Eric Judy (bass) and
Jeremiah Green (drums) first started practicing music together.
Personal life
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."
