R.I.P. Jeremiah Green, founding Modest Mouse drummer

Jeremiah Green, the drummer for Modest Mouse and a founding member of the band, has died. He was 45.

Modest Mouse confirmed Green’s passing on Saturday, just days after the group used the same forum to announce Green’s cancer diagnosis on December 28.

“I don’t know a way to ease into this: Today we lost our dear friend Jeremiah,” a statement shared to the band’s social media alongside a picture of Green reads. “He laid down to rest and simply faded out. I’d like to say a bunch of pretty words right now, but it just isn’t the time. These will come later, and from many people.”

Green was just a teenager when he first joined up with Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock and bassist Eric Brock. The trio got their start in Washington in the 1990s, releasing their cult favorite debut album, This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About, in 1996.

The group’s sophomore effort, The Lonesome Crowded West, catapulted Modest Mouse into a larger spotlight, and they transitioned to the major label epic to release their 2000 album The Moon & Antarctica. If the group was shooting for the moon, it landed it: the album became Modest Mouse’s first to chart on the Billboard 200, and is certified gold today.

Following the success of The Moon & Antarctica, Modest Mouse found a hit single in “Float On,” off the also-successful 2003 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News. However, Green wasn’t a part of that recording, as he left the band for a period during what’s been described as a “nervous breakdown.” In a 2004 interview with The A.V. Club, Brock shared that Green’s absence was a major inspiration for “Float On.”

“After we got out of that dark spot with everything melting down with the band, I just wanted to make a positive record,” Brock recalled.

For his own part, Green recalls his hiatus period as full of intense anti-war beliefs and revolutionary impulses— during that time, he also released a self-titled debut EP with his other band, Vells. In a 2021 interview with NME, Green said he felt like “something bad” took him over.

“I started acting really rebellious.… I was out for trouble,” Green shared. “I was really anti-war and if [other people] weren’t down, I would just go nuts—weird revolutionary type stuff. I was like, ‘I’m gonna do something about this Afghanistan war! It’s bullshit!’”

Despite time apart, Green eventually returned to Modest Mouse in 2004, and played on the group’s 2007 album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. He was also involved in more recent endeavors: the group’s 2015 album Strangers To Ourselves, 2021's The Golden Casket, and a 2022 tour honoring The Lonesome Crowded West’s 25th anniversary.

Modest Mouse ended its announcement of Green’s death by urging its fanbase to cherish those they hold dearest, and feel grateful for the power of love.

“Please appreciate all the love you give, get, have given, and will get,” the statement concluded. “Above all, Jeremiah was about love. We love you.”