Conjectural map of a feudal manor. The brown areas are part of the demesne, the shaded areas part of the "glebe". The manor house, residence of the lord and location of the manorial court, can be seen in the mid-southern part of the manor

In the feudal system the demesne ( /dɨˈmeɪn/ di-MAYN; from Old French demeine ultimately from Latin dominus, "lord, master of a household")^[1] was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The system of manorial land tenure, broadly termed feudalism, was conceived in Western Europe, initially in France but exported to areas affected by Norman expansion during the Middle Ages, for example the Kingdoms of Sicily, Scotland, Jerusalem, and England.

Royal demesne[link]

In English common law the term ancient demesne referred to those lands that were held by the Crown at the time of the Domesday Book. Immediately following the Norman Conquest all land in England was claimed by the king as his absolute title by allodial right, being the commencement of the royal demesne. The king made immediate grants of very large parcels of land under feudal tenure from this demesne, generally in the form of feudal baronies. The land not so enfeoffed thus remained within the royal demesne, for example royal manors administered by royal stewards and royal hunting forests. It was from the income produced by these manors retained in the royal demesne that the king financed his administration, until the advent of taxation. Manors in the royal demesne were let out at "farm" to the sheriff of each shire in which they were located. Thus in return for an annual fixed payment made into the Exchequer, the sheriff was free to extract and retain whatever additional revenue he was able from the land "farmed", which amount was by design considerably greater than the "farm". The royal demesne could be increased, for example, as a result of forfeiture where a feudal tenure would determine and revert to its natural state in the royal demesne. During the reign of George III, Parliament appropriated most of the royal demesne, in exchange for a fixed annual sum, called the Civil List. The position of the royal estate of Windsor, still owned by the monarch and never alienated since 1066, may be a rare remnant of the royal demesne.

Lord's waste[link]

A portion of the demesne lands, called the lord's waste, served as public roads and common pasture land for the lord and his tenants.^[2]

Later development[link]

Initially the demesne lands were worked on the lord's behalf by villeins or by serfs, who had no right of tenure on it, in fulfillment of their feudal obligations. As a money economy developed in the later Middle Ages, the serfs' corvée came to be commuted to money payments. With the advent of the Early modern period, demesne lands came to be cultivated by paid labourers. Eventually many of the demesne lands were leased out either on a perpetual (i.e., hereditary) or a temporary renewable basis so that many peasants functioned virtually as free proprietors after having paid their fixed rents. In times of inflation or debasement of coinage, the rent might come to represent a pittance, reducing the feudal aristocrat to poverty among a prosperous gentry. Demesne lands that were leased out for a term of years remained demesne lands, though no longer in the occupation of the lord of the manor (see, for example, Musgrave v Inclosure Commissioners (1874) LR 9 QB 162, a case in which the three judges of the Queen's Bench Divisional Court and everyone else concerned assumed without argument that farms which were let by the lord of the manor were part of the lord’s demesne land).

Derivative usage[link]

Since the demesne surrounded the principal seat of the lord, it came to be loosely used of any proprietary territory: "the works of Shakespeare are this scholar's demesne."

The term has also become synonymous with a park in many places, for example in Moira, County Down.

Footnotes[link]

See also[link]

• Mains (Scotland)
• Crown lands of France, also known as domaine royal

This article is about Johnny Marr, guitarist of The Smiths, The Cribs, and Modest Mouse, whose birth name was John Maher. For the former Buzzcocks drummer, see John Maher (Buzzcocks drummer).

Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr in 2010.
Background information
Birth name	John Martin Maher
Born	(1963-10-31) 31 October 1963 (age 48) Ardwick, Manchester, England
Genres	Alternative rock, indie pop, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, harmonica, mandolin, harmonium, Saxophone
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Various
Associated acts	The Smiths, Electronic, Johnny Marr and the Healers, Modest Mouse, The The, The Cribs, Pet Shop Boys, Oasis, John Frusciante, Talking Heads, Billy Bragg, Pretenders, Happy Mondays
Notable instruments
Rickenbacker 330 Fender Jazzmaster Gibson SG Fender Jaguar Fender Telecaster Gibson ES-355

Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher; 31 October 1963) is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse. In 2008, he joined The Cribs after touring with them on 2008's NME Awards Tour, a group in which he would remain until 2011.

Marr's jangly Rickenbacker guitar-playing in The Smiths proved to be popular among other musicians and has influenced many guitarists that followed particularly in the Britpop era.

Marr was voted the fourth best guitarist of the last 30 years in a poll conducted by the BBC in 2010.^[1]

Childhood and personal life[link]

Marr was born in Ardwick, Manchester, the son of Irish immigrants.^[2] His parents came from Athy in County Kildare. In 1975^[3] he attended the Roman Catholic St Augustine's Grammar School, which in 1977^[4] merged with other schools to form a comprehensive school, St John Plessington High School. Marr had aspirations to be a professional football player, and was approached by Nottingham Forest and had trials with Manchester City (which he supports). In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Marr said "I was good enough for City, but they didn't follow up because I was probably the only player out there wearing eyeliner."^{[citation needed]} He currently resides in Manchester with his wife Angie and their children, daughter Sonny and son Nile. Johnny is an honorary board member of Rock For Kids. He is also teetotal and vegan, and runs regularly.

The Smiths[link]

The Smiths were formed in early 1982 by Marr and fellow Manchester resident Steven Patrick Morrissey (he had not yet abandoned his first and middle name), an unemployed writer. Marr's jangly Rickenbacker and Fender Telecaster guitar playing became synonymous with the Smiths' sound. Marr's friend Andy Rourke joined as bass player and Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer. Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove", on 13 May 1983.

By February 1984, The Smiths fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the band's long-awaited eponymous debut album to number two in the UK chart. Early in 1985 the band released their second album, Meat Is Murder. This was more strident and political than its predecessor, and it was the band's only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts. During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, The Queen Is Dead. In 1989 Spin magazine rated The Queen Is Dead as number one of "The Greatest Albums Ever Made". Spin was not alone in this designation—numerous periodicals rank The Smiths and their albums, especially 'The Queen Is Dead', high on their best ever lists. NME, for example, has dubbed the Smiths the most important rock band of all time.^{[citation needed]}

However, all was not well within the group. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle."^[5] Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of heroin (though he was reinstated in short order). In early 1987 the single "Shoplifters of the World Unite" was released to chart success, as well as mild controversy and concern from parents.^{[citation needed]}

Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band – including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr—saw them on the verge of splitting. In August 1987, Marr left the group, and auditions to find a replacement for him proved fruitless. By the time Strangeways, Here We Come (named after Strangeways Prison, Manchester) was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey's becoming annoyed by Marr's work with other artists and Marr's growing frustration with Morrissey's musical inflexibility.

Referring to the songs recorded in the band's last session together (B-sides for the "Girlfriend in a Coma" single, which preceded the album's release), Marr said "I wrote 'I Keep Mine Hidden', but 'Work Is a Four-Letter Word' I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs."^[6] In 1989, in an interview with young fan Tim Samuels (who later became a BBC journalist) Morrissey said that the lack of a managerial figure and business problems were to blame for the band's eventual split.^[7]

In 1996, Smiths' drummer Mike Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Morrissey and Marr had claimed the lion's share of The Smiths' recording and performance royalties and allowed ten percent each to Joyce and Rourke. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive 25% thenceforth. As Smiths' royalties had been frozen for two years, Rourke settled for a smaller lump sum to pay off his debts and continued to receive 10%. Morrissey was described by the judge as "devious, truculent and unreliable".^[8]

Both Marr and Morrissey have repeatedly said in interviews that they will not reunite the band. In 2005, VH1 attempted to get the band back together on its Bands Reunited show but abandoned its attempt after the show's host, Aamer Haleem, failed to corner Morrissey before a show. In December 2005 it was announced that Johnny Marr and the Healers would play at Manchester v Cancer, a benefit show for cancer research being organised by Andy Rourke and his production company, Great Northern Productions.^[9] Rumours suggested that a Smiths reunion would occur at this concert but were dispelled by Johnny Marr on his website.^[10] What did eventuate was Rourke joining Marr onstage for the first time since the Smiths broke up, performing "How Soon Is Now?".

In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that "stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows?" Marr went on to say that "It's no biggy. Maybe we will in 18 or 32 years' time when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and I'm doing mine, so that's the answer really." This was the first indication of a possible Smiths reunion from Marr, who previously had said that reforming the band would be a bad idea.^[11]

Marr's guitar playing "was a huge building block" for more Manchester bands that followed The Smiths. The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire has stated that Marr was a major influence.^[12] Oasis lead guitarist Noel Gallagher has called The Smiths an influence, especially Marr whom he described as a "fucking wizard", also stating that "he's unique, you can't play what he plays."^[13] He also stated that "when The Jam split, The Smiths started, and I totally went for them."^[12] Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien has acknowledged that he idolised The Smiths in the 1980s; the band pays homage to The Smiths in their song "Knives Out". After O'Brien played with Johnny Marr in New Zealand in 2001, he acknowledged that Marr was the reason he had picked up a guitar as a teenager.^{[citation needed]}

Post-Smiths[link]

The Pretenders, The The, Electronic (1987–1999)[link]

After Marr left the Smiths in August 1987, he was very briefly an official member of the Pretenders. In late 1987, he toured with the band and appeared on the single "Windows of the World" b/w "1969". He then left the Pretenders, and recorded and toured with The The from 1988 through 1994, recording two albums with the group. He simultaneously formed Electronic with New Order's Bernard Sumner. Electronic were intermittently active throughout the 1990s, releasing their final album in 1999.

Session work (1987–2002)[link]

In 1992 he recorded a cover version of Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the NME compilation Ruby Trax together with Billy Duffy. Fellow Manchester band Happy Mondays also once tried to court him to be a member of their band, which did not work out.^[14]

He has also worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg, Black Grape, Jane Birkin, Talking Heads, and Beck. Marr played guitar on several Pet Shop Boys songs; he continues to have guest appearances on their albums, with his most significant contribution on Release (2002). The only remix that Johnny Marr has ever done was for the Pet Shop Boys—it was a mix of his favourite track from their 1987 album, Actually, called "I Want to Wake Up," and was released as the b-side to 1993's "Can You Forgive Her?" He later worked as a guest musician on the Oasis album Heathen Chemistry. He also joined Oasis on stage at a gig in 2001, playing "Champagne Supernova" and "I Am the Walrus".

Johnny Marr and the Healers (2000–Present)[link]

In 2000 Johnny recruited drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Cavewaves guitarist Lee Spencer and ex-Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan for his new project Johnny Marr and the Healers. The band had taken two years to come together as Marr had wanted members to be chosen "by chemistry". Their debut album Boomslang was released in 2003, with all lyrics and lead vocals by Marr. A second album was originally scheduled for release in April 2005, and a short tour was expected soon after, but Marr has since stated that the band is on the "side burner" for the time being (Manchester Evening News, May 2007). Drummer Starkey is currently involved with the Who, and Bevan has regrouped with Kula Shaker. In 2011, Johnny began performing with the Healers again. The new Healers line up consists of James Doviak on guitar, Max James on bass and Andy Knowles on drums.

Seven Worlds Collide (2001–2009)[link]

In 2001, Marr performed two Smiths songs and music by others with a supergroup called 7 Worlds Collide consisting of members from Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Split Enz and others, assembled by Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House in 2001. A second set of concerts took place in December 2008/January 2009, and an album of new studio material titled The Sun Came Out was released in August 2009 to raise money for Oxfam.

Modest Mouse (2006–2009)[link]

In addition to his work as a recording artist, Marr has worked as a record producer. In 2006, he began work with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock on songs that eventually were featured on the band's 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band subsequently announced that Marr was a fully fledged member, and the reformed line-up toured extensively throughout 2006–07.^[15] During 2008, when Modest Mouse opened for R.E.M. during their summer tour of the United States, Marr would come on stage during the encore of R.E.M.'s set, for "Fall on Me" and, toward the end of the tour, "Man on the Moon". Johnny Marr and R.E.M.'s guitarist Peter Buck have often been compared by alternative music fans as having a similar guitar style.^{[citation needed]}

While with Modest Mouse, Marr was named an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

The new album reached number one on the American Billboard charts in late March 2007. For Marr this is the first time he has had a number one record in the US. The highest chart position before that was with Electronic, who made the Top 40 in the singles chart with "Getting Away With It".^[16]

In 2007 Marr was appointed as a Visiting Professor in Music at the University of Salford, where he delivered an inaugural lecture (on 4th November 2008), and a series of workshops and masterclasses to students on the BA (Hons) Popular Music and Recording programme.^[17]

The Cribs (2008–2011)[link]

Marr performs as part of the Cribs at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club in 2010.

In January 2008, Marr was reported to have been contributing his skill and experience to a secret songwriting session with Wakefield indie group The Cribs. Sources revealed that they worked together for a week at Moolah Rouge recording studio in Stockport – a favourite haunt of Bolton's Badly Drawn Boy, Damon Gough and fellow northern indie heroes I Am Kloot – and had penned a number of new songs.^[18] He also played at the Glasgow Barrowlands, Manchester Academy, Oxford Academy, Bristol Carling Academy, Leeds University, Cardiff University and Brixton Carling Academy with the Cribs on the NME Awards Tour. On 23 February 2008, XFM reported that Marr was to become a full member of the Cribs. On 28 February 2008, he also played onstage with the Cribs at NME Big Gig at the O2. Marr also played along with the Cribs at the Reading & Leeds Festival 2008, singer Ryan Jarman introduced Johnny as the newest member of the band, "Johnny Jarman". In 2009 Marr recorded an album with the band titled Ignore the Ignorant, which was released on 7 September.^[19] On Soccer AM in 9 September he explained he met up with the Cribs' bass player in Portland and it has gone from strength to strength. He says the Cribs latest album, Ignore the Ignorant, which came out last year, is "as good as anything I've done".^[20]

On April 2011 it was confirmed that Marr would no longer be part of the band.^[21] Marr, who had been understood to officially leave the band in January, released a statement in which he affirmed that he would be working on solo material "over the next year or so."^[22]

Recent soundtrack and session work[link]

In the late 2007, Marr's daughter Sonny performed backing vocals on the track "Even a Child" on Crowded House's album Time on Earth, on which her father Johnny played guitars.

Marr played a large role in making the score for the 2010 science-fiction/drama film Inception, which was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Using a 12-string-guitar, he produced repetitive, simple melancholic tones that became a character theme for the protagonist, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. "I kept coming up with this phrase ‘churned-up,'" Marr said, "You’ve got this character who all the way through the film has this underlying turmoil." Longtime composer Hans Zimmer penned soundtrack.^[23] On 13 July 2010, Marr performed with an orchestra for a live internet broadcast of the soundtrack.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Marr worked on the Nuevo Noir movie The Big Bang.

Discography[link]

Albums (as band member)[link]

The Smiths[link]

• The Smiths (1984)
• Hatful of Hollow (1984)
• Meat Is Murder (1985)
• The Queen Is Dead (1986)
• The World Won't Listen (1987)
• Louder Than Bombs (1987)
• Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
• Rank (1988)

The The[link]

• Mind Bomb (1989)
• Dusk (1992)

Electronic[link]

• Electronic (1991)
• Raise the Pressure (1996)
• Twisted Tenderness (1999)

Johnny Marr and the Healers[link]

• Boomslang (2003)

Modest Mouse[link]

• We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)
• No One's First and You're Next (2009)

The Cribs[link]

• Ignore the Ignorant (2009)

7 Worlds Collide[link]

• The Sun Came Out (2009)

Albums (as a guest musician)[link]

For a complete discography, see the article Johnny Marr guest musician recordings.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Marr played on three Billy Bragg recordings. In the late 1980s, he performed on albums by Bryan Ferry and Talking Heads. In the 1990s and 2000s, he performed on three Pet Shop Boys albums, and also plays guitar on their Xenomania-produced album, Yes, released in 2009. In the 1990s, he also performed on albums by M People, Beck, and Tom Jones. In the 2000s, he played on albums by bands such as Oasis, Pearl Jam, Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano and Crowded House. He also plays guitar on Girls Aloud's fifth album, Out of Control, on a track entitled "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time", as well as harmonica on the track "Love Is the Key".

He also appeared on two tracks ("Enough Of Me" and "Central") on John Frusciante's album The Empyrean which was released January 2009.

Albums (as producer)[link]

Marion[link]

• The Program (1998)

Haven[link]

• Between the Senses (2002)

Singles[link]

In addition to an extensive singles discography with the artists listed above, Johnny has appeared on singles by Sandie Shaw, Everything but the Girl, the Pretenders, Andrew Berry, A Certain Ratio, the Cult, Denise Johnson, Stex, the Impossible Dreamers (as producer) and Black Grape.

Marr’s recording of "Life is Sweet", the theme song he wrote for the Channel Four Sitcom The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, has been released on Echo Records and made available as a download.

References[link]

• The Big Bang (2011 film) The Big Bang

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Johnny Marr

• Official website
• Manchester v Cancer official concert website

Modest Mouse
Background information
Origin	Issaquah, Washington, United States
Genres	Indie rock, experimental rock, indie folk, lo-fi (early)
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Epic, Up, K, Matador
Associated acts	Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Seasick Steve, Ugly Casanova, The Smiths, The Cribs, The Flaming Lips, The Shins, Built to Spill, Grandaddy, The Helio Sequence, Zeus Jimenez, Big Boi, Mister Heavenly, Satisfact
Website	www.modestmousemusic.com
Members
Isaac Brock Eric Judy Jeremiah Green Joe Plummer Tom Peloso Jim Fairchild
Past members
Robin Peringer John Wickhart Dann Gallucci Benjamin Weikel Johnny Marr

Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band based in Portland, Oregon.^[1][2] They were formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, their lineup has centered around Brock, Green and Judy. Guitarist Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) joined the band in May 2006, along with percussionist Joe Plummer (formerly of the Black Heart Procession) and multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, to work on the album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Guitarist Jim Fairchild joined the band in February 2009. Their name is derived from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story "The Mark on the Wall" which reads, "I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts, and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises."^[3]

History[link]

Formation and early years: 1994-1999[link]

In 1994, Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, Eric Judy and John Wickhart recorded their first EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios. It was released by K Records. A single, "Broke", followed under Sub Pop that was recorded by Steve Wold (now better known as bluesman Seasick Steve) at Moon Studios. During this time, Modest Mouse also recorded what would have been their first album, Sad Sappy Sucker, but constant delays caused the album to be shelved and forgotten. It was not until 2001 that it was officially released. Until making waves in the pop music world in 2004, many of their tours included stops at DIY/punk venues.

After moving to Up Records,^[4] Modest Mouse released two full-length albums and other recordings recorded at Moon Studios, including the 1996 LP This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. This album was produced and recorded by Steve Wold (at the time Wold was assisting in the recordings as well, but was not officially part of the band). The next offering was Interstate 8, also produced by Wold. The 1997 album, The Lonesome Crowded West, (also recorded at Moon Studios, by Scott Swayze) turned out to serve as the band's breakthrough. The Lonesome Crowded West gained the band a cult following, and is now popularly considered to be one of the defining albums of mid-1990s indie rock. Prior to its release, the band had recorded the EP The Fruit That Ate Itself. In 1999, Up Records released a singles and rarities collection entitled Building Nothing Out of Something, which included the entirety of Interstate 8 except for the songs "Edit the Sad Parts" and "Buttons to Push the Buttons".

Critical success: 2000-2002[link]

In 2000, Modest Mouse released The Moon & Antarctica, their first album on Epic Records. Due in large part to a broken jaw Brock suffered a few months prior, the album ended up being more instrumental than their previous works. Not knowing if he would be able to sing, Brock focused on making a more instrumental and experimental album.^[5] The band enjoyed some success on alternative radio with the singles "3rd Planet" and "Gravity Rides Everything." The album was critically well-received^[6] including a 9.8 out of 10 score from online music magazine, Pitchfork Media.^[7] It has subsequently gone on to receive further acclaim.^[8] Brock has since released an album with his side project Ugly Casanova on Sub Pop, which was the only side project allowed due to the contract. The band licensed "Gravity Rides Everything" for a commercial for Nissan's Quest minivan, a move that Brock has publicly acknowledged as blatantly commercial but necessary to achieve financial stability. Regarding the commercial, Brock stated, "People who don't play music for a living can criticize my morals while they live off their parents' money or wash dishes for some asshole."^[9]

In 2001, Modest Mouse released the EP Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, a collection of unused songs from the recording sessions of The Moon and Antarctica. In 2002, they joined Cake, De La Soul, The Flaming Lips, The Hackensaw Boys and Kinky on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour.

Mainstream success and line-up changes: 2003-2009[link]

In March 2003, Green left the band after suffering a nervous breakdown;^[10] the official word was that he was leaving to work with his side project, Vells. The same year, he and bass guitarist Eric Judy appeared on Adam Forkner's first solo album, VVRSSNN. Green was replaced by two new members, drummer Benjamin Weikel (who also drummed for The Helio Sequence, as well as playing keyboard) and guitarist Dann Gallucci (who had been a member of Modest Mouse previously, and appears on Sad Sappy Sucker and The Lonesome Crowded West). On April 6, 2004, Modest Mouse released their fourth album, the platinum-selling Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which had two hits with "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty" (both of which they performed on Saturday Night Live on November 13, 2004^[11]). The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Rock Album that year. Later that year, Green returned to the band, and Weikel returned to drumming exclusively for The Helio Sequence. Gallucci left the band in August.

In May 2006, Dann Gallucci (who had left the band amicably in September 2004) was replaced on guitar by Johnny Marr, former guitarist for The Smiths. Their next album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, was released on March 20, 2007^[12] after being delayed from December 19, 2006. It was the first Modest Mouse album to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 charts, and had the hit single "Dashboard", as well as "Missed the Boat" and "We've Got Everything". Modest Mouse released singles for the songs "Satellite Skin", "Autumn Beds" and "Perpetual Motion Machine" in limited editions (a run of 4,000 each) vinyl 7 inches, featuring artwork by art director and illustrator Joshua Marc Levy, J.Alex Stamos, and Natasha Wheat.

The band began a North American tour in June 2008. The band returned to Florida for the first time since their November 2006 Bang Music Festival show where they were cut off stage early, with three shows in Miami, Orlando and St. Augustine.^[13] While an update on the Modest Mouse blog was subtitled catching up on some words for the next tour, it is in fact the lyrics to Heart Cooks Brain.^[14] Modest Mouse finished their tour supporting We Were Dead after two years of promoting the record.

Jim Fairchild of Grandaddy and All Smiles replaced Marr as guitarist, when Marr left the band after joining The Cribs, beginning with the support of No One's First and You're Next, which was released on August 4, 2009,^[15] composed of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions of Good News for People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.^[16]

Recent years: 2010-present[link]

In 2010 The Moon & Antarctica was re-released on vinyl for the first time in ten years as part of Record Store Day.^[17]

On July 4, 2010 the band headlined the second day of the 80/35 Music Festival in Des Moines, Iowa, ^[18] and the first day of the End Of The Road Festival in Dorset, England, on September 10, 2010.^[19] At the end of August 2010, Modest Mouse played on the main stage at the Leeds and Reading festivals.

On April 28, 2011, Big Boi said via Twitter that he had been in the studio with Modest Mouse working with them on their next LP.^[20] On May 29th Modest Mouse played two new songs during their headline of the Sasquatch festival. The songs were called "Poison the Well" and "Lampshades on Fire".^[21] They then contributed a cover of the Buddy Holly song "That'll Be The Day" to the compilation Rave On Buddy Holly, which was released on June 28, 2011. Recently Modest Mouse had played at Splendour in the Grass in Woodford, Queensland on July 29th, 2011,^[22] and The Warfield in San Francisco on January 25th, 2012.

According to e-mails sent from Glacial Pace which responded to fans confused about the large gaps between albums, Modest Mouse is indeed currently writing and recording material and have been for quite some time. But despite this, the e-mail also reminds fans that the fact that Isaac named his record label "Glacial Pace" was not an accident. Thus, it remains unclear when Modest Mouse will finally release their next album.

Members[link]

Current

• Isaac Brock – lead vocals, guitars, banjo, ukulele (1993–present)
• Eric Judy – bass guitar, Acoustic Guitar (1993–present)
• Jeremiah Green– drums, percussion (1993–2003, 2004–present)
• Joe Plummer – drums, percussion (2004–present)
• Tom Peloso – guitars, upright bass, keyboards, fiddle, horns (2004–present)

Touring members

• Jim Fairchild – guitars, vocals (2005, 2009–present)
• Robin Peringer – guitar (2000–2003)

Former

• John Wickhart – bass guitar (1994–1995)
• Dann Gallucci – guitars (1997–1998, 2003–2004)
• Benjamin Weikel – drums (2003–2004)
• Johnny Marr – guitars, vocals (2006–2009)^[23]

Discography[link]

• This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996)
• The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
• The Moon & Antarctica (2000)
• Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
• We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)

References[link]

No One's First and You're Next Release Date: Sat, 08/01/2009

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Modest Mouse

• Official Modest Mouse website
• Epic Records' Modest Mouse site
• Modest Mouse on Myspace
• Modest Mouse at Virb
• Modest Mouse at Allmusic