Fan Modine is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 band, whose core member is singer and songwriter Gordon Zacharias. Originally based in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Zacharias has lived in Carrboro

Carrboro, North Carolina

Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 19,582 at the 2010 census. The town, which is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan statistical area, was named after North Carolina industrialist Julian Shakespeare Carr.Located near Chapel Hill and...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 since 2001.

His albums are recorded with a rotating collective of guest musicians, which has included Joan Wasser

Joan Wasser

Joan Wasser is a violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders. She has released three albums as a singer songwriter, the 2006 Real Life the 2008 To Survive and the 2011 The Deep Field...

, Michael Tighe

Michael Tighe

Michael Tighe is an American singer/songwriter, guitarist, and actor.-Biography:As a teenager, Tighe was in many New York Downtown theater productions in the 1990s, where he met Jeff Buckley. Though having had no experience, he was drafted into Buckley's band, with which he toured until the...

, Tim Fut, Dylan Williams, Parker Kindred

Parker Kindred

Parker Kindred is an American drummer who played in the band of Jeff Buckley, appearing on his unfinished second album, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk in 1997, as well as playing live with Buckley and the rest of his band at Arlene's Grocery on February 9, 1997...

, Ash Bowie

Ash Bowie

Ash Bowie is an American musician.In 1990, he formed the band Polvo along with Dave Brylawski, Steve Popson, and Eddie Watkins. Polvo was influential in the then-thriving indie rock scene in the United States. In 1995, he became the bassist for Helium, after their previous bass player left the...

, Alex Maiolo

Alex Maiolo

Alex Maiolo is a musician, writer, and health care reform advocate who lives in the Chapel Hill / Carrboro area of North Carolina.- Activism :...

, Jeremy Chatelain

Jeremy Chatelain (bassist)

Jeremy Chatelain is a musician originally from Utah. He has performed with Utah-based Insight and Iceburn, and went on to join Jets to Brazil and Helmet. Since 2000 he has performed with Cub Country....

, Chuck Johnson, Lee Waters, Joe Pernice

Joe Pernice

Joe Pernice is an American indie rock musician and writer, who has fronted several bands, including the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline and the Pernice Brothers....

, Chris Stamey

Chris Stamey

Chris Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. After a stint playing with Alex Chilton, and a brief partnering with Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, he formed The dB's, whose stewardship he would share with Peter Holsapple.In 1977 in New York, Chris founded the...

, Jefferson Holt

Jefferson Holt

Jefferson Holt is the founder of and former manager of rock band R.E.M., often referred to as the band's "fifth member," from 1981-1996.In 1996, Holt and R.E.M. parted ways. When asked about leaving the band he offered this statement to Chuck Philips, L.A.Times Staff Writer:"I've agreed to keep...

, Peter Holsapple

Peter Holsapple

Peter Holsapple formed, along with Chris Stamey, the singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing core of the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The dB's were at the forefront of the guitar bands...

, Kevin March

The Rentals

The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...

, Chris Brokaw

Chris Brokaw

Chris Brokaw is an American musician, mostly known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine.While studying at Oberlin College, Brokaw met many people who became figures on the American indie rock scene of the 1990s, among them Stephen Immerwahr, who formed Codeine with Brokaw, as well as...

 and Mitch Easter

Mitch Easter

Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...

.

While living in Boston's Chinatown

Chinatown, Boston

The only historically Chinese area in New England, Chinatown, Boston is a neighborhood located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Centered on Beach Street, the neighborhood borders Boston Common, Downtown Crossing, the South End, and the Southeast Expressway/Massachusetts Turnpike.Part of it...

, Zacharias first developed a concept for a film exploring the experiences of an American pop star, Fandemian Kirk Modine, living in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Although no film was ever made, his debut album Slow Road to Tiny Empire, released in 1998, was conceived as its soundtrack

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

. He further explored the concept on his second album, 2004's Homeland.

His third album, Gratitude for the Shipper, was released in 2011.

Discography

• Slow Road to Tiny Empire (1998)
• Homeland (2004)
• Gratitude for the Shipper (2011)