Man or mouse? Isaac Brock takes a pop (rock) quiz

Isaac Brock may be the most talented rock musician to come out of Seattle in the post-grunge era. His critically acclaimed trio Modest Mouse, which he started as an Issaquah teenager, has made the jump from indie-rock phenomenon with an underground cult following to a major label, signing with Epic Records; Brock says the band's second Epic release is due out next year. (It will feature guitarist Dann Gallucci, who was in Modest Mouse before joining the now-defunct Murder City Devils.)

Meanwhile, Brock's side project Ugly Casanova just released "Sharpen Your Teeth" on Seattle's own Sub Pop Records. Ugly Casanova, which features a rotating cast of players — members of Red Red Meat and Black Heart Procession play on the album — and sounds like a stripped-down version of the explosive Modest Mouse, has a show at the Crocodile Cafe on Saturday.

Two years ago, Brock left Seattle and moved to Florida, but soon returned to the Northwest; he now lives in Cottage Grove, just south of Eugene. He says he loves the small-town life there, avoiding big-city distractions — which he gets enough of while touring. After Saturday's show, Brock is off to unveil Ugly Casanova in clubs around the country.

Though he is a high-school dropout and not a big fan of tests, Brock readily agreed to a pop quiz over the phone:

Seattle Times: Choose one: The chore I hate most is a) dishes; b) laundry; c) making bed; d) vacuuming; e) doing taxes.

Brock: Taxes. ... I need to do them. ... I started to, but I got all confused.

Seattle Times: The musical chore I hate most is a) rehearsing; b) writing; c) meeting label people; d) doing interviews.

Brock: Meeting label people. Actually, it doesn't happen that much to be that grim(Changes answer.) Probably doing interviews.

Seattle Times: My favorite game is a) chess; b) Monopoly; c) video games; d) pinball.

Brock: Monopoly. I've been playing chess and Monopoly a lot — greed is much more fun than brainery.

Seattle Times: My favorite comfort food is a) pizza; b) cheeseburger; c) ice cream; d) barley sandwich.

Brock: What's a barley sandwich?

Seattle Times: Beer.

Brock: Barley sandwich.

Seattle Times: The place I'd least want to hear a Modest Mouse or Ugly Casanova song is a) elevator; b) Top 40 radio station; c) BMW commercial; d) "American Pie 3" soundtrack.

Brock: "American Pie 3" soundtrack.

Seattle Times: My favorite sport is a) baseball; b) football; c) basketball; d) slam dancing.

Brock: Slam dancing. But I haven't slam danced in years; the last time was at a Frank Black show, but it's changed... . Do you mean to watch or play?

Seattle Times: Either one — we'll say participatory.

Brock: Baseball.

Seattle Times: The area where I wish I could improve most is a) singing; b) writing; c) guitar playing; d) pretending to be nice to people I can't stand.

Brock: It would be funnier to say pretending to be nice to people, but I don't do that. ... I think we should go for guitar playing. ... Writing — you mean songwriting?

Seattle Times: Yeah.

Brock: (Changes answer.) Songwriting.

Seattle Times: Please rate the following guitar players in order of skills: a) J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.); b) Neil Young; c) Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth); d) Tommy Iomi (Black Sabbath).

Brock: I'll say Lee Ranaldo first, then Neil Young, Tommy Iomi and J Mascis.

Seattle Times: Rank the following bands in order of preference: a) Pixies; b) Fugazi; c) Rage Against the Machine; d) Beatles.

Brock: Pixies, Beatles, Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine.

Seattle Times: The insult that would have hurt most as a child: a) "skinny poetry-loving dork"; b) "punk rocker freak"; c) "Communist"; d) "grunger."

Brock: I hated poetry, so "poetry-loving dork."

Seattle Times: The insult that would hurt most now: a) "MTV wannabe"; b) "SUV-driving soccer dad"; c) "skinny indie-rock dork"; d) "Republican."

Brock: What's the difference between "SUV-driving soccer dad" and "Republican"? ... I'll say those two.

Seattle Times: If the ghost of Kurt Cobain visited me, I'd a) Pull the covers over my head; b) Ask him if he wanted to jam; c) Ask him if he really wrote Hole songs; d) Bum a cigarette off him.

Brock: I know he actually did write Hole songs, so I wouldn't ask him that. Bum a cigarette. ... (Changing answer.) Probably pull the covers over my head — burglars are burglars, let me tell you something — a dead person breaking in is an intruder.

Seattle Times: The thing that it would suck worst to have illegalized would be a) cigarettes; b) caffeine; c) alcohol; d) juke boxes.

Brock: Alcoholic juke boxes.

Seattle Times: If I was a politician, I'd want to be a) mayor of Seattle; b) sheriff of Dade County, Fla.; c) House whip; d) successor to Fidel Castro.

Brock: Successor to Fidel Castro.

Seattle Times: If I had to join one of the following Seattle cover bands, it would be a) Hit Explosion, the disco-cover band; b) Grunge, the grunge cover band; c) Used Cars, the Cars cover band; d) No. 13 Baby, the Pixies cover band.

Brock: Used Cars.

Seattle Times: The job I'd least want to have would be a) salesperson at the Gap; b) Starbucks barista; c) Seattle Times pop-music critic; d) Dick's grill cook.

Brock: Grill cook.

Seattle Times: The musical job I'd least want to have is a) roadie; b) bouncer; c) bartender; d) publicist.

Brock: (Pondering.) Publicist or bouncer. ... Probably publicist, but bouncer is the one I'd be least successful at.

Seattle Times: If I ran into the president of Epic Records in the Epic office, he would a) say "How's it going, indie boy?"; b) call security; c) complain about Modest Mouse sales; d) ask me to get him a cup of coffee.

Brock: Cup of coffee.

Tom Scanlon can be reached at 206-464-3891 or tscanlon@seattletimes.com.