Amy B Wang

The Republic | azcentral.com

When Modest Mouse yesterday released "Lampshades on Fire," the first single from their upcoming new album Strangers to Ourselves, fans of the indie-rock group went into palpitations.

A teaser photo posted to the group's new Instagram account quickly garnered more than 3,000 likes. It showed the cover art for the new album, an aerial photo of a 10-sided residential development with perfectly ordered homes.

For devoted Modest Mouse followers, who have been waiting since 2007 for the band to release a new album, it was too much.

Things were decidedly less frenzied at the very location the new album cover depicted: the Venture Out RV Resort in Mesa.

"I'm sorry. Whose album cover?" said Mary Schmit, the park's longtime general manager.

Modest Mouse. It's a band from Washington state. Kind of alternative rock. They've toured with The Flaming Lips and The Shins and they're about to release their first new album in eight years and Venture Out is on the cover.

"For what?" Schmit repeated, laughing. "For who?"

Turns out the Venture Out RV Resort is an age-restricted retirement community for "active adults" 55 and older. Its 3,500 seasonal residents are more likely to be playing tennis, bocce ball or pickleball than, say, Good News for People Who Love Bad News or We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

But then again.

"We have a lot of Washington residents here, so it's entirely possible some of our owners know of this group!" Schmit said. "They might have to run out and get the album now."

Venture Out was conjured up in 1968 by one Hazen Kreis, who -- according to Schmit and oral history -- allegedly sketched out plans for the property on the back of a napkin as he flew over the land, which then was cotton fields.

Kreis dreamed of a place where RV enthusiasts could enjoy a permanent parking spot and luxurious amenities. With partners, Kreis started Venture Out In America, Inc. and developed six Venture Out RV resorts: two in Tennessee, three in Florida and one in Arizona. Only the Mesa park has its quirky, decagonal shape.

The first lot was sold in 1970.

"It's still going strong after 44 years," Schmit said. The park's amenities include 20 shuffleboard courts, two Olympic-sized swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, horseshoe pits and a batting cage. All now immortalized on the cover of a long-awaited Modest Mouse album. (Not pictured: yoga, woodworking, quilting and lapidary classes, plus the occasional sock hop.)

Why the band chose a photo of the Venture Out Resort for its next album cover remains a mystery. Is it a hidden message about the group's artistic evolution? Is it social commentary? Does one of the band members have retired grandparents living in Mesa?

A representative for Modest Mouse did not return messages Wednesday.

Schmit, however, has a theory.

Earlier this year, BoredPanda.com included the RV park in a viral post called "30 Breathtaking Satellite Photos That Will Change How You See Our World."

"It was Barcelona, Venice, you know, the Great Wall of China -- and then Venture Out," Schmit said, laughing again. The slideshow included the same exact satellite image, courtesy the website Daily Overview, with the north side of the RV resort flipped to the right.

Schmit said she anticipates Venture Out's residents will get a similar kick out of seeing their homes on the Modest Mouse cover. And she has a message for the band, if they're reading.

"I think my activity director needs to book them," she said. "We're very hip out here, so we'd certainly like to invite these guys out."