NEWS
Modest Mouse are selling vintage music gear on Reverb, including Moog synthesisers, a Korg drum machine, a Soursound Audio Custom Amp head, and old Soviet-era equipment.
In a video posted on Reverb’s YouTube channel, frontman Issac Brock admits that he has a habit of stocking up on maybe too much gear, which often gets unused, and now he’s getting rid of over 500 pieces from his massive collection.
The shop launches on September 5, and its description online says that some of this gear has been around the world with Modest Mouse – which now “they’re passing on” to their fans.
Speaking about how he managed to build up such a big collection, Brock said: “I would go down to the music store, and I would just buy anything that looked interesting to me.
“I could just take it back or resell it, but then I wouldn’t do that—I would be like, eh—you’ll have a purpose someday. I’d kind of panic that if I didn’t have a whole bunch of new gadgets and tools to work with, I was gonna make the same songs.”
In the video, Brock said: “A large part of why I decided to clear out some stuff that I even like is because I have option fatigue. If I get interest in something, I get way too interested for a short amount of time. So I ended up buying every shitty drum machine I could possibly find.”
The Modest Mouse Reverb store will feature a Moog Mother-32 and Arp Odyssey, several Fender amplifiers, rare pedals such as the Electro-Harmonix Rhythm-12 and an original MIJ Boss Chorus Ensemble, along with a 50-watt Soursound Audio Custom Amp head, complete with a road case.
Additionally, Modest Mouse is also unpacking three gold Telefunken M80 microphones from various of the band’s tours, Soviet-era items such as a Polivoks Polyvox and two Lell UDS Soviet Analog Drum Synthesizers, Modest Mouse merchandise, stadium seats from a 1956 Elvis concert, and a Moog Voyager XL, which Brock describes in the video as “too nice for me.”
Last month, Modest Mouse announced details of a US tour, celebrating the 20th anniversary of ‘Good News For People Who Love Bad News’.
It comes following the band marking the milestone anniversary earlier this year, when they shared a reissue consisting of an expanded edition of the LP – it features eight additional remixes from the likes of MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden (‘The View’), Jacknife Lee (‘Bury Me With It’), Dan the Automator (‘Float On’), and Justin Raisen (‘The Good Times Are Killing Me’).
Running between the end of October and the entirety of November, the Modest Mouse 2024 tour will kick off with an opening night at The Republik in Honolulu on October 28. Any remaining tickets for the US dates can be found here.
OCTOBER
28 – Honolulu, HI @ The Republik
30 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater
NOVEMBER
1 – Portland, OR @ Rev Hall
2 – Portland, OR @ Rev Hall
3 – Portland, OR @ Rev Hall
5 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
9 – San Diego, CA @ The Sound
11 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
12 – Omaha, NE @ Steelhouse Omaha
13 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
14 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
11/16 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
17 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
19 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
20 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he is now “free and clear” after facing throat cancer.
The 63 year old musician, who played with the Enter Sandman legends from 1986 through 2001, has shared details of his diagnosis publicly for the first time. He explained that doctors discovered it early, and on May 8, 2025 he “underwent a procedure” to treat the condition.
Speaking on the Let There Be Talk podcast, he said: “They took a bunch of s*** outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s*** out.
“So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
Jason contributed to several of Metallica’s most iconic releases, including 1988’s ...And Justice For All, their self titled 1991 album, 1996’s Load, the 1997 follow up Reload, and 1998’s Garage Inc.
After going through his cancer experience, the bassist made a point to slow down and actually give himself time to recover instead of constantly pushing forward.
He explained: “I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life.
"I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours."
The health scare also led Jason to give up smoking weed and drinking alcohol, something he admits he likely would not have done otherwise.
He added: “The great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it.
"And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh.”
Jason has previously said that his unexpected departure ultimately helped Metallica continue moving forward, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich later admitted they struggled to process his decision at the time.
Lars told Apple Music in 2021: “Jason is the only member of Metallica who has ever left willingly. And that in itself is a statistic.
"And the resentment from James and I was just so… 'You can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave'.
"And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. So of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.”
