THE SHIP HAS ACTUALLY BEGAN A LEVITATION. THERE WILL BE NO SINKING.

Modest Mouse (left to right):

Eric Judy
Tom Peloso
Johnny Marr
Isaac Brock
Joe Plummer
Jeremiah Green







Modest Mouse is a band that gets better and better as the years go on. They've been kicking out jams for well over ten years now even though most newer fans only know them from their sound bite on The O.C. I was in Falconetti's recently talking to a guy at the bar and was telling him about how I'd seen MM at the Starfish Room ten years ago. He was blown away to hear they'd been around that long.

In any case, the new album, We Were Already Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, is the perfect addition to their growing catalogue. There are elements of the band from when they were little tiny mice and in nearly every song you hear the band growing to large nearly rat-like mice. How sweet and cute.

Key tracks are Florida and Fly Trapped in a Jar for me. Florida is the perfect evolution of the band encapsulated in one song. It's dancy and also has some 80's flare (which I usually despise) no doubt brought on from the addition of Johnny Marr as a full-time member of the band.

I knew this band had something special from the moment I got to chat with Isaac Brock at said gig ten years ago in downtown Vancouver. He picked me out of the two-dozen or so people that wanted to talk to him after the show as he said, "I'm talking to this guy first because he's not drunk." He was relatively right as I had been high and drunk earlier in the night, but by 1 or 2 a.m. I was definitely sobering up. Anyways, we talked a bit about how they were recording for a new album (they were touring for my favourite MM album "The Lonesome Crowded West") and the availability of MM albums on vinyl. From that brief 5 or ten minute talk I could tell this guy was making music for the right reasons. The band made music they feel. They've never made music to sell records. I'm happy that The O.C. made them a "bigger" band and that they can finally be paid well for their talent, but I'm happier that they're still making music you know comes from deep within them.

Brock continues to be the best lyricist in the business (other contemporary greats are Neil Fallon of Clutch and Bonnie Prince Billy) :
"I'll laugh all the way to hell, saying 'yes this is a fine promotion'" - Missed The Boat
"The dashboard melted but we still had the radio" - Dashboard
"Like trying to save an icecube from the cold" - Fire it Up
"It was always worth it, that's the part I seem to hide" - Florida

As with all good lyrics you have to hear them put to the music they were written for. So, go out and BUY this album. They deserve your money more than you do, that's almost assured.

I will follow this band on to any ship they sail. If we sink I'll thank them for getting me off this fucked up planet forever. If we float away I'll thank them for the break.

But, I won't go see them play the fucking PNE Forum. Fuck all that. They should do two or three nights at the Commodore.

THE DECISION BELOW

The decision to move from Greyhound to Coast Mountain (CMBC) was one of the hardest I've had to make in my life. Yes, that goes to show I've had a pretty easy life with not many complaints; the main one being that I am cursed and wish I wasn't.

In any case, I had to go with the position that will allow me to work closer to my main life goal of not working. The time off available and how to use vacation was one of the main factors in my decision. There is also the fact that I will be in my own bed every night. Hand in hand with this is that since I will be in town every night I will likely not miss as many gigs as if I had stayed with Greyhound.

The toughest part of the decision is the good people I leave behind. From the instructors and management to the new co-workers I had everyone at Greyhound was great. It's a very extensive training program and if you're looking for work that will allow you to travel the highways of B.C. and stay over night in small towns from time to time, this is a great job for you.

But, I had to go with the opposite. See you on the road.

And if I really do see you on the road remember that it's $2.25 to get on the bus. Or something like that. Now pay up you faulty bastards!!!

JUST LIKE THAT, IT'S BRONZED AND WE'RE MOVING ON












Just under six weeks after it began, my Greyhound career is over. I've made a switch over to Coast Mountain Bus Company.

This will keep me in town for every night and I get the much needed two days off in a row every week. There are other good things.

Really, though, I just needed a two week break from the dreary work-a-day life after six weeks straight.