andPOP » Modest Mouse

Interview: Manchester Orchestra On ‘Simple Math,’ Touring with Blink-182

@coltondaniel — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:19:47 +0000

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Overlooking the Toronto skyline from backstage at the Molson Amphitheater, Manchester Orchestra’s rhythm-guitarist and singer-songerwriter Andy Hull took in a drag and the scene.

“It’s pretty awesome to wake up in the city that you grew up in,” confessed Hull, moments before opening for My Chemical Romance and Blink-182 as part of the 2011 Honda Civic Tour. It would almost seem that, other than sharing a stage, lyrical honesty and vulnerability is about all that these three bands have in common.

“It’s fun man, they’re all really kind people,” says Hull about being on the road with MCR and Blink. It’s been a sleepless summer for Hull and company, leaping between a plethora of festivals from Montreal’s Osheaga to Chicago’s Lollapalooza. “It’s been quite an experience to play these venues. It’s definitely this casting vision tour to really see how big a band can get. It’s kind of crazy. And [Blink-182] is definitely a band that represented a huge part of our childhood.”

“I used to hide [Blink-182's] ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket’ from my mom all the time,” adds keyboardist Chris Freeman, dawning a black MacBeth Footwear t-shirt, a company owned by Blink-182′s singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge.

Manchester Orchestra was founded by a 16-year-old Hull in 2004 with his buddies: bassist Jonathan Corley, Freeman, guitarist Robert McDowell and drummer Tim Very. Their suburban Atlanta walls likely plastered with posters of the English city Manchester, a city that has spawned musically rich children from Joy Division to Oasis to Stone Roses.

“Growing up at 16, we pretty much named the band after the Smiths,” reminisces Hull as he looked to Freeman’s smile. “It was a band we were all really, really into.” He also cited the range of musical influences to be “anything from Pavement, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Granddaddy, the Weakerthans, and the Flaming Lips.”

The five grew to produce arena-worthy anthems that hinted at an intimacy of an “indie rock” mix-tape. This signature sound was honed in 2005, while playing over 200 shows behind their first release: “I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child.” A massive sound emerged that rippled exploration into issues of life and the human condition, essentially shredding the chains that age and experience wrapped around him.

Inspired by classic nineties efforts like Nirvana’s “In Utero” and Weezer’s “Pinkerton,” the band shifted their distorted textures to create their sophomore album, “Mean Everything to Nothing.”

After opening for their friends Kings of Leon at Madison Square Garden in 2010, the band went into the studio to patch together a musical vengeance of emotion. Almost like Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” responded to his carnage of relationship, Hull painted a comparably darker and more modern picture of the lover’s debris. Its melodies sound like enlightening promise, yet the undercoated lyrics protest distraught and failure (check “Virgin”at the band’s website).

Their third full-length album, “Simple Math,” surfaced in May and critics have praised its intimacy and Rolling Stone magazine found it “tough to look away”. It debuted at No. 21 on The Billboard 200 and at No. 8 on the magazine’s Rock Albums chart. A mixture of spiritual and marital confessions, it’s not just a few good songs; it’s an album.

“We made a strong commitment to each other that we wouldn’t make any records that were a step backwards or even a step on the same plain,” Hull looks at Freeman, almost like reaffirming a non-verbal agreement. “So that was pretty simple. We just wanted to step it up and make something that was grand, potentially better. But, still have it feel like a counter-piece to our record before.”

Freeman notices that, “the writing process was kind of easier on ['Simple Math'] and it felt natural.”

For the first time, the band recorded without former drummer Jeremiah Edmond, who parted ways with the band in January 2010 to focus on his family and the band’s record label, Favorite Gentlemen. “He was such a power drummer,” Hull says. “It was cool to work with guys who had a different feel, finesse and pocket to their vibe. We were playing outside of what we were used to doing when it came to recording and writing. It allowed us to explore different areas.”

This fall, the band will be dedicating their time by embarking on a 25-city tour in the U.K. and across the States. Aside from their hometown, the band is looking forward to playing their namesake.

“It’s one of the coolest cities we play, the people are so appreciative of us,” says Hull, cracking a Jack Nicholson-esque smirk.

Imagining the scene, Freeman chuckled to himself, “those Manchester crowds are crazy.”

“They’re just ready to get it on.”

Heath Ledger-Directed Music Videos Set For Release

Eva Lam — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:04:30 +0000

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The late Heath Ledger is probably best known for his talents on-screen. Now his off-screen talents will also be showcased with the upcoming release of two music videos directed by the actor before his death last year.

The first is a video for the Modest Mouse’s “King Rat,” a bonus track from the band’s most recent album, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.”

Singer Isaac Brock revealed to VH1 in 2007 that the collaboration came about after he met Ledger through a mutual friend during a trip to Australia.

The animated video will be released “soon,” a spokesperson for the band told The Guardian.

Also set for release this year is a Ledger-directed video for Grace Woodroofe’s cover of the David Bowie’s “Quicksand.” The track is found on the indie-blues singer’s debut album, which will also be released this year.

Ledger had previously directed music videos for Australian hip-hop artist N’fa and singer-songwriter Nick Drake, the latter being a commemorative one for the late musician.

Ledger, who passed away in January 2008 from an accidental overdose of prescription medications, received a posthumous best supporting actor Oscar for his role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

Date Set for New Modest Mouse Record

andPOP Staff — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:34:29 +0000

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Everyone’s favourite band from Issaquah, WA will soon be returning with a new theme of nautical doom.

On December 19, Modest Mouse will release “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,” their first album since breaking into the mainstream with 2004′s “Good News for People Who Love Bad News.”

According to Nielsen SoundScan, that record has now sold 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, while the band’s other (and better) records sit with a combined sales of approximately nothing near that number.

As andPOP previously reported, this new record also features a new member for the band. Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr signed on as an official member of Modest Mouse after working on the album, and will tour with the band when they head out to support the record.

Ex-Smiths Guitarist Gets Modest

andPOP Staff — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 02:59:34 +0000

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Johnny Marr, best known as the guitarist for The Smiths, is officially a full-blown member of Modest Mouse.

Rolling Stone reports that Marr and Modest Mouse front-man Isaac Brock hit it off after partnering to work on songs for the band’s next album.

“He made a cautious commitment to write and record with us, and then the tighter we got, he was like, ‘okay, let’s tour too,’” said Brock of the band’s newest addition. “Then he was pretty much a member of the band – not pretty much. He’s a full blown member of the band. It’s really fuckin’ nice.”

The new Modest Mouse album was recorded in Mississippi at Sweet Tea studios, just like 2004′s “Good News for People Who Love Bad News.”

The tentative title for the new LP is “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.” No release date has been set.