Modest Mouse/ photographs by Pat Graham

More than any other band, Modest Mouse represented the ascendency of indie rock at the turn of the millennium. True dyed-in-the-wool independent musicians, Modest Mouse originated in the thriving mid-90s Northwest music scene orbiting Calvin Johnson’s K Records and founded on an uncompromising idealism handed down from punk forefathers. Photographer Pat Graham and Isaac Brock were housemates in 1992 at the activist punk house Positive Force, just outside of Washington, D. C. Isaac was learning guitar and writing songs while Pat was documenting the punk scene in Washington, D. C. Isaac moved out and eventually ended up in Washington state where, in 1993, he formed Modest Mouse. In 1997 Modest Mouse embarked on their first U.S. tour, and Isaac asked Pat to come out and help with managing and driving, and to document the tour. What followed over the next 12 years were a continuing friendship and many tours across the USA, Europe, and Japan — and Graham always had his camera in hand.