‘The most creative musician I ever met’: Johnny Marr pays tribute to late Modest Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green

Johnny Marr has paid tribute to Modest Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green, calling him the “most creative musician” he’s ever met.

The drummer died aged 45 last week, days after it was revealed he had stage four cancer.

His Modest Mouse bandmates announced the news of his death on Sunday (1 January) via social media.

Marr, who played in the band with Green in the early 2000s, posted his own tribute to Green in a photo of a younger Green .

“The great Jeremiah Green. My friend, bandmate, and the most creative musician I ever met,” he wrote underneath the photo.

Marr also shared another photo of his former bandmate with a longer caption recalling memories of their time together.

“One of my favourite ever things to do in Modest Mouse was to go out shopping with Jeremiah,” he began.

“The whole band were the most acquisitive people I’d ever come across in my life, and each gas station we stopped at was an opportunity to stock up on hats, 3D sunglasses, and fishing nets,” he remembered.

“Being in the Walmart in Mississippi at 3 am with Jeremiah was an education and a treat, as he would saunter around, picking out an array of objects from children’s toys to garden tools with the casual air of a consummate expert, and I would marvel at the man’s aesthetic diversity.”

Marr continued: “When we’d get back to the studio, he’d disappear with his haul and then reappear days later, having made some amazingly crafted item.”

He went on to recall a time when Green had given his room an unexpected upgrade.

“One morning I went into his room and noticed something unusual. All the furniture had been sprayed gold… the rugs, the lampshades… everything. Everything was sprayed gold. Jeremiah lived in his own lane. His own beautiful lane.”

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Just days before to the announcement of Green’s death, his mother had shared his diagnosis via a Facebook post asking for friends to “pray” for him.

“Please send healing vibes for my son… who is battling stage four cancer,” Carol Namatame wrote on Christmas Day.

Announcing the news of Green’s death on Instagram, his Modest Mouse bandmates wrote: “I don’t know a way to ease into this: Today we lost our dear friend Jeremiah.”

“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”

“Please appreciate all the love you give, get, have given, and will get. We love you,” they added.