Jeremiah Green

For the American football player, see Jeremiah Green (gridiron football).

Jeremiah Martin Green (March 4, 1977 – December 31, 2022) was an American musician best known as a founding member and drummer of the indie rock band Modest Mouse from 1993 to March 2003, and again from May 2004 until his death in December 2022.

Jeremiah Green
Green in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Jeremiah Martin Green
Born	(1977-03-04)March 4, 1977 Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.
Died	December 31, 2022(2022-12-31) (aged 45) Sequim, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Rock, indie rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Drums
Years active	1993–2022

Early life

Jeremiah Martin Green was born on March 4, 1977,^[1][2] in Oahu, Hawaii, while his father was stationed there in the Army. He grew up in Moxee, Washington, a few miles outside of Yakima. His family moved to the Seattle area in 1989.^[3] He had an older brother named Adam.^[4] His father was an alcoholic who was abusive to Green; he later apologized and reconciled with his son.^[5]

Green took drumming lessons for three months in his early teens but was uninspired by his teacher. He immersed himself in the Seattle music scene, joining a band and attending concerts at night. His early influences included local groups such as Treepeople and Hammerbox. His first favorite band was the English Gothic rock band The Cure; Green was particularly inspired by the drumming on their 1982 album Pornography. However, Green cited the Washington, D.C., post-hardcore band Fugazi as his biggest influence for starting a band.^[3]

Career

Green began his touring and recording career while he was in high school.^[3] In 1993, he became a founding member of Modest Mouse, formed with Isaac Brock and Eric Judy in Issaquah, Washington.^[6] In the mid-1990s, Green played with the bands Satisfact on K Records, Red Stars Theory on Touch and Go Records, and Peeved on Distressed Records. Green also played with the bands Vells and Psychic Emperor.^[7][8] Both bands played at venues around Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.^[9]

In 2003, on his birthday, Green quit Modest Mouse.^[10] He later revealed that he suffered a nervous breakdown and was briefly admitted to a psychiatric hospital.^[5] He had earlier been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed the antidepressant Effexor.^[10] Combined with alcohol and psilocybin mushrooms, he experienced severe manic episodes.^[5] After quitting, the band had quickly convinced Green to return, but on the second day of recording in Portland he exploded in argument and then disappeared for two months. He stopped taking his antidepressants and experienced a painful period of withdrawal. Faced with Green's absence, Modest Mouse initially considered breaking up. Green was eventually replaced by Benjamin Weikel of The Helio Sequence.^[10] Green's departure caused him to be absent during the entire recording process of the band's 2004 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News.^[5] Green officially rejoined the band in May 2004.^[10] In 2007, Green appeared on Graig Markel's Via Novella on the Sonic Boom Label.^[11] In May 2008, Green released a drum breaks 7" collaboration with Plastiq Phantom under the alias World Gang on the Imputor? label.^[12]

Style and reception

Of his work on Sad Sappy Sucker, Spencer Owen at Pitchfork Media said, "Jeremiah Green proves himself to be one of indie rock's best drummers, even this early on in the game."^[13] In an interview, Benjamin Weikel stated that Green's drum parts have a "great, loose feeling that's hard to emulate".^[14]

Green placed 37th in Stylus Magazine's list of "50 Greatest Rock Drummers", where Jonathan Bradley described his drumming:

His rhythms can be as unkempt and intricate as the music they underpin (the rolling shuffle of "Grey Ice Water", or the stumbling clatter of "Truckers Atlas", for instance), but they are always strong enough to bolster the momentum of even the most meandering tracks. And when presented with a genuine groove, like the lean, funky "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes", he forces the band to march in lockstep behind him.^[15]

Personal life and death

Green was married to Lauren,^[16] who owned the store Thuja in downtown Port Townsend, Washington.^[17] Their son was born in 2016.^[16]

On December 25, 2022, it was announced that Green had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer.^[18][19] He died in Sequim, Washington, on December 31, 2022, at age 45.^[7][8][20]

References

1. Ray, Michael, ed. (2012). Alternative, Country, Hip-Hop, Rap, and More: Music from the 1980s to Today. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-61530-910-8. OCLC 1002099576.
2. Schoonen, Willem (May 30, 2022). "Autistisch? Ga drummen!". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved January 1, 2023.
3. Bidwell, Stephen (November 2015). "Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse indulges his passion for drums, drums, and more drums" (PDF). Modern Drummer. Vol. 39, no. 11. pp. 54–60. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
4. Ash, Janelle (December 27, 2022). "Modest Mouse drummer, Jeremiah Green, diagnosed with stage 4 cancer". Fox News. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
5. Bassett, Jordan (June 22, 2021). "Modest Mouse on their most hopeful album yet: 'I found optimism – because I needed it'". NME. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
6. Heim, Joe (April 7, 2004). "Modest Mouse: Music That Roars". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
7. Legaspi, Althea (January 1, 2023). "Jeremiah Green, Founding Member of Modest Mouse, Dead at 45". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
8. Moreau, Jordan (December 31, 2022). "Jeremiah Green, Modest Mouse Co-Founder and Drummer, Dies at 45". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
9. Williams, Stuart (January 1, 2023). "Modest Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green dies aged 45". MusicRadar. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
10. Pappademas, Alex (August 2004). "The Long Way Home". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 8. pp. 76–79. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
11. MacNeil, Jason (June 6, 2007). "Graig Markel: Via Novella". PopMatters. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
12. Daly, Rhian (January 1, 2023). "Modest Mouse's Jeremiah Green has died, aged 45". NME. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
13. Owen, Spencer. . Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2005.
14. . You Ain't No Picasso. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
15. Bradley, Jonathan (July 30, 2007). . Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
16. Hume, Ashley (December 28, 2022). "Jeremiah Green: What to know about the drummer and co-founder of rock band Modest Mouse". Fox News. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
17. "The artsy month of May". Port Townsend Leader. May 9, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
18. Daly, Rhian (December 26, 2022). "Modest Mouse's Jeremiah Green diagnosed with stage four cancer". NME. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
19. Garvey, Marianne (December 28, 2022). "Modest Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green diagnosed with stage 4 cancer". CNN. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
20. Traub, Alex (January 1, 2023). "Jeremiah Green, Drummer for Modest Mouse, Dies at 45". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2023.

External links

• Jeremiah Green discography at Discogs  
• Jeremiah Green at IMDb