Silver Jews principal David Berman refused to play live shows for so many years that it eventually became part of his mystique. After so deeply cementing his reputation as an alt.-country reclusive, however, he surprised fans and the music press alike by taking his band on the road in 2006.
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Silver Jews principal David Berman refused to play live shows for so many years that it eventually became part of his mystique. After so deeply cementing his reputation as an alt.-country reclusive, however, he surprised fans and the music press alike by taking his band on the road in 2006.
Financial considerations drove his change of heart more than anything-like so many musicians, he was in debt and needed the tour revenue-but Berman reflects that he also felt mature enough for the first time to confront the corrupting influences of the road.
“I feel like I’m old enough to deal with the asymmetries of fan/band relations, without being taken in by it,” he writes in an e-mail interview. “I don’t believe the praise, but it amuses me and makes me happy. If I was 22 it would just make me vain.”
Berman believes that more than anything, touring spoils promising musicians.
“There is almost no artistry to touring and live playing,” he explains. “I looked at rock history and saw how all the greats lost their writing talents so early on. I’m sure it has to do with the touring. Musicians experience success before they have gained control of their craft. When it stops happening naturally, they are lost. They have no writing skills as they never had to develop them. When you are young, songs flow out without much prompting. After that, only with work.”
Sure enough, the songs on Berman’s latest Silver Jews album, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea were labored over, especially compared to the band’s informal early albums.
“I wrote the songs last summer, starting with a system of colored note cards, matching like with like until I had built the foundations of 10 or so songs,” Berman writes. “From that point the songs were written side by side. My intentions were to build a real album, fearing that the album might disappear as a form. Because albums don’t make sense in a downloading economy, I wanted to have a go for what I was thinking might be the last time.”
Berman’s stark assessment of the state of the album fit’s Lookout Mountain‘s sober mood. Although he hasn’t lost his sense of humor, which still surfaces in his sly wordplay, he no longer hides behind a timid, jokey veneer. On the opener “What Is Not But Could Be If,” his voice booms with the gravity of Johnny Cash, and even when the album’s mood lightens, Berman never relinquishes the authority he establishes early.
The subject matter here is familiar-strained romances, innocuous locales, troubled barfolk-but the tenor is momentous. By some accounts, Berman found Judaism after a failed suicide attempt some years ago, and while Berman says he hasn’t converted, he says he reads the Torah and traditional Hasidic tales and they have shaped his storytelling.
“The writing [on this album] was totally affected by reading the Bible,” he explained. “It showed me other ways of embedding meaning, in syntax and inventory. The rabbis teach that all the biblical characters exist inside the individual. All the characters on the album are inside me, though none are me. They are sides of me or who I was.”
But touring may be as responsible as the Bible for Berman’s newfound, on-album poise.
“Getting a look at who I am addressing helped a lot,” Berman reflects. “Basically, I saw how young and trusting the audience was. I want to be decent to them. I feel like I love them when I’m out there.”
Berman has learned that touring actually isn’t so bad.
“I hate being in a van, and waiting to play sucks, but once get out there it’s great, and afterwards when I go back to the hotel, I am happy.”
Age:
41
Hometown:
Williamsburg, Va.
Who is your favorite young/up-and-coming singer/songwriter?
“Daniel Blumberg of Cajun Dance Party. A smart, Jewish kid who just recorded a solo album with Mark Nevers here in Nashville.”
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