Silver Jews: Brought Down by The Man? And a Look Back at my Interview With David Berman

Earlier this week, David Berman, primary tentacle of Silver Jews, posted what amounted to a disturbing (if true) revelation to his many fans and admirers: His “…gravest secret. Worse than suicide, worse than crack addiction — his father, Robert Berman, aka Dr. Evil. This followed a post announcing the end of Silver Jews and Berman’s career as a songwriter… moving on to other means, perhaps screenwriting, as he also alluded to in our interview.

“This winter I decided that the SJ’s were too small of a force to ever come close to undoing a millionth of all the harm he [Richard Berman] has caused,” Berman wrote. A Jan. 31 show at Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tenn., will be the last of the Joos. Either way, the records left behind are nothing short of legendary and I feel fortunate to have seen the Silver Jews on each of their two tours. Read the thread at Drag City and see some other reactions here and here.

Republished below is an e-mail interview I conducted with David Berman last September, for LAist.

david berman of silver jews. the joos perform at echoplex tonight

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