MOON MUSIC, STEVE WOLD, MODEST MOUSE

Moon Music, a Brief History

Steve Wold's Moon Music (aka, Moon Studios) was only in business for about 6 years in Olympia, WA. However, in that time there were nearly 70 lp's recorded; including some of the most important records of the northwest indie scene.

Bands like Modest Mouse, 764 HERO, Fitz of Depression, The Murder City Devils, Lois, The Crabs, PEZ, Pedro the Lion, Behead the Prophet, Cathleen Hannah, Worst Case Scenario, The Need, Two Ton Boa, Satisfact, Red Stars Theory, The Bangs, 3rd Sex, The Scenic Vermont, Dub Narcotic, 1000 Diving Robots, MXPX, Delta Haymax, Witchy Poo, Refect Refect, C-Average, Tight Bros, The Tremens, and plenty more, all made their way through Moon Music at one point or another.

Moon Studio started below the infamous Angelas Hotel on downtown 4th in the back of Moon Music, then a used and vintage guitar store dedicated to selling stuff as cheap as possible. (It is said that at the closing of the shop Steve's book keeper said he could have achieved the same result by showing up every day and giving $100 to the first person who walked through the door and then just going home).

One day, sewage from a blocked sewer system flowed downward into the studio, nearly stopping Moon Studio for good before it ever really got going. Fortunately, Steve packed the whole thing up and moved across the street to Colombia and 4th and the rest is history.

Moon Studio and Modest Mouse

Early on, Calvin Johnson was the first to really support the studio brining first the Fitz of Depression and then an unknown band called Modest Mouse -- a barely out of high school band from Issaquah, WA (in fact Jeremy Green was still in high school then!) They came to do a single for Sub Pop records. It was also at this time that Steve's friend Scott Swayze moved in to open up an editing suite. Modest Mouse, Steve, and Scott had such a good chemistry that the band decided to do their 1st LP and asked Steve if he would produce the record.

Excerpts From Interview with Steve Wold

Q: What did you think of Isaac and the band (Modest Mouse)? What was you first impression?
Steve: I just remember these young guys coming in with half broken equipment, strings missing on guitars -- I'm not even sure they had a bass amp. I remember Isaac sitting down and just playing me bits of songs. I was just kinda floored! The lyrics!!!! wow! And these delicate songs. I had never been so impressed since the 1960's when hearing Tim Buckely or even Dylan. Not that he was trying to be like them but just how it blew me away.

I was trying to think how to capture this without too much fuss. They all seemed a bit gunshy. I just kept thinking how to make them at home and at the same time get somthing on tape. Luckily the thing just kinda happened. Scott and me and Isaac and Jeremy and Eric kinda just made like this little club. Yeah, like a team. They had to drive almost every day like an hour and a half just to get there from Issaquah, hence the title of the first record. Well it was so strange because I never knew what kinda budget we had. No one told me and I didn't think to ask. I was real used to making a full length record in a week.

Well we just started and the time kinda went on and I think we had about 10 or 11 songs down so i I figured we were about done. I asked Isaac and he turned to me and said, "Oh, didn't I tell you? We are doing a double album." I'm not sure if Chris at Up even knew. Well that's just kinda how it woked.

Q: You ended up playing on the record too. Ithink it was slide and mandolin and guitar right?
Steve: Yeah, Isaac just asked me to play so I did.

Q: Is that how you ended up playing live with the band?
Steve: After the record was done and there were some gigs Isaac came to me and said it would be cool if I would come and play with them like on the record. I remeber we played the Velvet Elvis in Seattle and during the show Isaac annouced that I was the new member. Well that's just how it went. It was fun. I was old enough to be all of their dads. I think they thought it was sort of funny to have an old guy with them. They were very cool that way.

Q: When was the next time they came into the studio?
Steve: Well it seems to me it was fairly soon. I think we did some singles and then they came in to do Interstate 8. I remeber I was up at Isaac's shack where he lived and we was kinda drunk and playing guitars and I started playing the old Santo and Johnny Sleepwalk. Well I don't think at that time he had ever heard that song and he just got a paper and pen and wrote those lyrics in about 5 minutes right there, right drunk! It is a really amazing memory. In one way Isaac was one of the most amazing and talented people I have ever worked with.

Q: Speaking of which, you have worked with some real legends such as Joni Mitchell for example?
Steve: Woah now! That was a long time ago, but yeah that's true. However, there is a lot of Isaac's work I put up there with the best of them. Anyway it was real fun to make Interstate 8. Sometime after that, me and Isaac and Scott (Scott was assisting on almost all these recordings as far as Iremember) were jamming in the studio, just kinda rocking and I don't know but I think Isaac was already feeling a little trapped by what was becoming 'Modest Mouse'. Anyway, in the middle of this Isaac goes, "Yeah, you guys want to make a band?" -- "Yeah, why not," we said. He then says, "I got a good name, Ugly Casinovas." I can't remember why we didn't do anything. Everyone was real busy, I know that.

Q: They made Lonesome Crowded West at Moon too?
Steve: Yeah, but by this time they wanted to work with someone else. They wanted to try Calvin (Johnson, K-Records) as a producer. Well I was going to Europe so I asked Scott if he would engineer the record. I would call Scott to see how it was going. Well it didn't sound like things were going very well -- then I get a call from Isaac asking me if I could come back and produce the record. I told him that I just couldn't and to try and work it out with Calvin and to trust Scott. Well they made it throuh though I guess it was real rough. But I think that record they made is incredible, so there you go.

Q: That seemed to be the end of your involvment with Modest Mouse?
Steve: Yeah they were getting real well known. I had tried to help a bit on the management side but that was where me and Isaac just didn't see eye to eye. In hindsight it was a mistake to get involved on that side of things. Well I was just trying to help like I had done from the beginning. But you know it was kinda like having your dad hanging around and for me it was like adopting 3 more boys. Well I already had 5 of my own, ha ha.

Q: Any last thoughts?
Steve: Hmm, well it was a real amazing experience to work with these guys. Each memeber had a real part in making what I think was the most unique sound that came out of the northwest scene --bar none! I aint gonna try and make Isaac an angel, that he is not, but he could capture something that was going on at the time in a way that is rarely done. A real artist!