Biography
Formed in 1989 by writer and musician David Berman together with guitarist-singer Stephen Malkmus and drummer Bob Nastanovich, the Silver Jews mixed indie rock, country-rock, and lo-fi textures while delivering lyrics that were both witty and profound. The three had first played together as Ectoslavia while attending the University of Virginia; once they finished school they relocated to New York and shared an apartment. They took the name Silver Jews in reference to the Silver Apples, the Silver Beatles, and street slang for blonde-haired Jewish people, then spent their free time creating noisy, largely improvised pieces simply for the pleasure of performing after long workdays—Berman and Malkmus as guards at an art museum, Nastanovich as a bus driver. They captured early tracks on answering machines, yet even after their sound grew more refined the spontaneous, friend-driven approach remained the group’s signature.
Malkmus had already started Pavement with childhood friend Scott Kannberg before the move to New York, and as Pavement’s profile rose many listeners began regarding the Silver Jews as a side project, even though Berman’s writing, vocals, and guitar anchored the band. On the earliest releases Berman listed Malkmus and Nastanovich under pseudonyms to emphasize independence, but the ruse collapsed once listeners identified “Hazel Figurine” and “Bobby N.” Nastanovich later joined Pavement as an additional drummer alongside the unpredictable Gary Young, and another University of Virginia acquaintance, Steve West, drummed for the Silver Jews on Dime Map of the Reef before appearing on every Pavement record after Watery, Domestic. The debut album Slanted and Enchanted—its title drawn from a cartoon Berman had drawn—appeared while this overlap was still fresh.
The perceived Pavement link nevertheless attracted useful notice: Drag City founder Dan Koretsky encountered Berman at a Pavement concert, learned of the Jews’ tapes, and offered to issue them. The first two EPs, 1990’s Dime Map of the Reef and 1993’s The Arizona Record, adhered to the band’s ultra-lo-fi approach and were largely recorded on a Walkman.
After those EPs, Berman enrolled in a graduate writing program at the University of Massachusetts, where he connected with members of the indie-country group Scud Mountain Boys and the band New Radiant Storm King. Balancing teaching and coursework left room for songwriting, and he assembled enough material for the 1994 album Starlite Walker. The sessions reunited him with Malkmus and Nastanovich—now credited under their real names—at Easley Recording studios, yielding a clearer, more focused version of the band’s literate, country-tinged noise-rock.
While continuing to write and collaborate with acts such as War Comet and Silver Palace, Berman tracked the third album, The Natural Bridge, during summer 1996 with musicians from New Radiant Storm King and Drag City artist-producer Rian Murphy. Plans to record instead with Malkmus, Nastanovich, and the Scud Mountain Boys were abandoned after a few days. The finished album further refined the Silver Jews’ sound, placing Berman’s dense, abstract lyrics and measured vocals at the forefront. Malkmus rejoined for 1998’s American Water, his guitar and vocal exchanges with Berman producing some of the band’s strongest material. The following year Open City Press issued Berman’s debut poetry collection, Actual Air, which earned strong critical praise.
The Silver Jews resurfaced in 2001 with Tennessee, featuring contributions from Berman’s wife Cassie on several tracks. After periods of depression and substance abuse, Berman revived the project in early 2005 with an expanded lineup that included Cassie, Malkmus, Nastanovich, Will Oldham, Azita Youseffi, and others. Recorded in Nashville, Tanglewood Numbers narrowly escaped destruction when an electrical fire struck Memphis’ historic Easley-McCain studio during mastering; Drag City released the album that autumn. In 2008 Berman issued the comparatively upbeat Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, yet the next year he retired the Silver Jews name and largely stepped away from music, though he occasionally gave public readings of his stories and poems in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In July 2019 he returned with the self-titled debut album by a new project, Purple Mountains. Less than a month later, on August 7, 2019, Berman died at age 52.
Malkmus had already started Pavement with childhood friend Scott Kannberg before the move to New York, and as Pavement’s profile rose many listeners began regarding the Silver Jews as a side project, even though Berman’s writing, vocals, and guitar anchored the band. On the earliest releases Berman listed Malkmus and Nastanovich under pseudonyms to emphasize independence, but the ruse collapsed once listeners identified “Hazel Figurine” and “Bobby N.” Nastanovich later joined Pavement as an additional drummer alongside the unpredictable Gary Young, and another University of Virginia acquaintance, Steve West, drummed for the Silver Jews on Dime Map of the Reef before appearing on every Pavement record after Watery, Domestic. The debut album Slanted and Enchanted—its title drawn from a cartoon Berman had drawn—appeared while this overlap was still fresh.
The perceived Pavement link nevertheless attracted useful notice: Drag City founder Dan Koretsky encountered Berman at a Pavement concert, learned of the Jews’ tapes, and offered to issue them. The first two EPs, 1990’s Dime Map of the Reef and 1993’s The Arizona Record, adhered to the band’s ultra-lo-fi approach and were largely recorded on a Walkman.
After those EPs, Berman enrolled in a graduate writing program at the University of Massachusetts, where he connected with members of the indie-country group Scud Mountain Boys and the band New Radiant Storm King. Balancing teaching and coursework left room for songwriting, and he assembled enough material for the 1994 album Starlite Walker. The sessions reunited him with Malkmus and Nastanovich—now credited under their real names—at Easley Recording studios, yielding a clearer, more focused version of the band’s literate, country-tinged noise-rock.
While continuing to write and collaborate with acts such as War Comet and Silver Palace, Berman tracked the third album, The Natural Bridge, during summer 1996 with musicians from New Radiant Storm King and Drag City artist-producer Rian Murphy. Plans to record instead with Malkmus, Nastanovich, and the Scud Mountain Boys were abandoned after a few days. The finished album further refined the Silver Jews’ sound, placing Berman’s dense, abstract lyrics and measured vocals at the forefront. Malkmus rejoined for 1998’s American Water, his guitar and vocal exchanges with Berman producing some of the band’s strongest material. The following year Open City Press issued Berman’s debut poetry collection, Actual Air, which earned strong critical praise.
The Silver Jews resurfaced in 2001 with Tennessee, featuring contributions from Berman’s wife Cassie on several tracks. After periods of depression and substance abuse, Berman revived the project in early 2005 with an expanded lineup that included Cassie, Malkmus, Nastanovich, Will Oldham, Azita Youseffi, and others. Recorded in Nashville, Tanglewood Numbers narrowly escaped destruction when an electrical fire struck Memphis’ historic Easley-McCain studio during mastering; Drag City released the album that autumn. In 2008 Berman issued the comparatively upbeat Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, yet the next year he retired the Silver Jews name and largely stepped away from music, though he occasionally gave public readings of his stories and poems in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In July 2019 he returned with the self-titled debut album by a new project, Purple Mountains. Less than a month later, on August 7, 2019, Berman died at age 52.
Albums
