Biography
Gordon Zacharias, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind the Fan Modine alias, invented the full name Fandemian Kirk Modine for a character in an unproduced screenplay. That fictional figure—an American pop star who flees fame and fortune by moving to China—never reached the screen, yet the music Zacharias composed for the project supplied the core of his debut album. Though the Michigan native has largely sidestepped both sudden wealth and the erosion of privacy, his modest catalog has drawn consistent critical admiration for its painstaking construction. Born in 1972 in Wayne to Scottish and Polish immigrants who had met in Detroit, Zacharias was living in Boston while developing the screenplay; later, after settling briefly in New York City, he pressed the resulting Slow Road to Tiny Empire as a limited vinyl edition on his own Phovsho imprint in 1997. Guests on the record included Chris Brokaw, Kevin March of the Rentals and Guided by Voices, and Joan Wasser of the Dambuilders. Strong reviews prompted the Rykodisc-distributed Slow River label to reissue the set on CD the next year.
Zacharias has long described his working method as deliberate and unhurried, which accounts for the seven-year gap before Grimsey Records released his second album, Homeland, in 2004. By then he had moved to Carborro, North Carolina, and begun shaping a follow-up with local players such as Ash Bowie of Polvo and Jérémy Chatelain of Jets to Brazil. The sessions grew unwieldy when Zacharias buried the songs under dense overdubs—some tracks eventually carried nearly 100 separate layers—and his attention was further diverted by live work with the Essex Green, Jim & Jennie, and Joe Pernice’s Big Tobacco. Former R.E.M. manager Jefferson Holt eventually intervened as a mentor, steering the project to completion and introducing Zacharias to producer and musician Chris Stamey, who assisted with remixing and restructuring. The resulting third album, Gratitude for the Shipper, appeared in 2011 on Holt’s Daniel 13 Press label.
Zacharias took a leaner approach to the next Fan Modine record, recording with Alex Maiolo, Joah Tunnell, and Tony Stiglitz under the guidance of Southern pop legend Mitch Easter. Titled Cause Celebre, the album was scheduled for release in spring 2014, following the October 2013 single “Épater la Bourgeoisie.”
Zacharias has long described his working method as deliberate and unhurried, which accounts for the seven-year gap before Grimsey Records released his second album, Homeland, in 2004. By then he had moved to Carborro, North Carolina, and begun shaping a follow-up with local players such as Ash Bowie of Polvo and Jérémy Chatelain of Jets to Brazil. The sessions grew unwieldy when Zacharias buried the songs under dense overdubs—some tracks eventually carried nearly 100 separate layers—and his attention was further diverted by live work with the Essex Green, Jim & Jennie, and Joe Pernice’s Big Tobacco. Former R.E.M. manager Jefferson Holt eventually intervened as a mentor, steering the project to completion and introducing Zacharias to producer and musician Chris Stamey, who assisted with remixing and restructuring. The resulting third album, Gratitude for the Shipper, appeared in 2011 on Holt’s Daniel 13 Press label.
Zacharias took a leaner approach to the next Fan Modine record, recording with Alex Maiolo, Joah Tunnell, and Tony Stiglitz under the guidance of Southern pop legend Mitch Easter. Titled Cause Celebre, the album was scheduled for release in spring 2014, following the October 2013 single “Épater la Bourgeoisie.”
Albums
Singles
