Ugly Casanova

by Daphne CarrAccording to legend, "Ugly Casanova" is the pen name used by a crazed Modest Mouse fan named Edgar Graham who broke into the band's show in Denver in 1998. Intrigued by the man's journals full of potential song lyrics, frontman Issac Brock assembled a hodgepodge of Pacific Northwestern friends to realize some of the words as songs in 2000. The resulting album, Sharpen Your Teeth, appeared in May 2002 on Sub Pop. In this incarnation, Ugly Casanova was the work of Brock, Brian Deck and Tim Rutili (of Califone and Red Red Meat), Paul Jenkins (of the Black Heart Procession), and John Orth (of Holopaw). Furthering the manic alt-country of The Moon & Antarctica-era Modest Mouse, the album features plaintive melodies and Brock's trademark, rough-hewn voice singing his "found" lyrics. The band toured in June and July 2002 with Kingsbury Manx and Iron & Wine.