Oh Majesty! – David Berman Introduces Purple Mountains With New Single/Video + Tour Dates

It’s been 10 years since David Berman disbanded Silver Jews, and man does it feel like it.  After 2 decades, half-a-dozen albums, a pair of EPs, a smattering of singles, and a documentary; the widely/deeply beloved music project had run it’s course for one of my all-time favorite lyricists.  The announcement came on January 22, 2009 via the Drag City Records message board wherein the frontman explained that, after a final performance at the Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee about a week later, the Joos name would be retired, as Berman stepped away from music to direct his focus elsewhere.  He finished his announcement by stating, “I always said we would stop before we got bad. If I continue to record I might accidentally write the answer song to ‘Shiny Happy People‘  For anyone who could use more context, or simply a refresher, our post from that time period, which features the full announcement, can be located HERE.

I had the opportunity to interview David not long after he chose to put the kibosh on his musical career.  My first question was to ask him why he felt the need to make such a definitive public statement about his retirement, rather than simply step away from that world quietly and leave that door open should he choose to revisit it.  He answered by explaining, “On the most practical level, if you don’t say you’re done, you’re still “for sale“. Offers continue to come in for live appearances. Symbolically I wanted to distance myself from the music media market, which repulses me. So……“

As a fan of his music, it was disappointing to hear that he wouldn’t be producing anymore of it, but as a fan of his writing, I was hopeful.  Berman was always a writer first.  His 1999 poetry book Actual Air was an inspired effort that more than proved his ability in that field, garnering plenty of acclaim from respected members of the literary community.  Perhaps, you read my write up about its new reprinting back in March.  Perhaps, not.  Either way, I had hopes for something more along those lines on the way.  In his announcement, David also explained, “I guess I am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or Muckraking.”  Later adding, “I’m a writer, see?”  In a way, that’s exactly what he pursued, albeit somewhat under the radar.  His blog, Menthol Mountains, was full of essays, scattered vignettes, satire, and interesting social commentary, as well as random content that, at one point, even included such things as vintage regional professional wrestling promotional photos and materials.  Gradually, the blog began to die down, pretty much hitting a full stop in 2015, which only featured a single post for the entire year: a video of Detroit soul singer, Bettye Lavette.  Last November it resurfaced quietly featuring a handful of country videos by artists like Deana Carter and Kenny Chesney, of all people.  There was also lengthier posts, some of which included references to violent dictators.  I didn’t see any of this at the time, though.  I never even knew that the blog was breathing again.  Furthermore, I had no idea that its name was changed from Menthol Mountains to Purple Mountains.

Early on, Silver Jews was unjustly viewed as a Pavement side-project, due to the fact that it, initially — and sporadically, thereafter — included Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich as contributors in the lineup.  As Bob and Steve have stated in the past, however, it was always David‘s project and part of their involvement stemmed from a desire to try and get his work heard, pushing him out of the shadows.  It was Nastanovich who, back in 2015, first started hinting at Berman‘s possible return when he posted a Facebook image of himself smiling on a couch seated between David and Jews drummer, Brian Kotzur.  They were holding cans of beer and the caption read, “After Jews practice tonight!!!! ’tis cold in Nashville.”  A couple years ago, a mutual friend of mine and Berman‘s told me that David was working on something new.  It wouldn’t likely be called Silver Jews, he said; but something was happening.  This last December, we finally heard something a little more concrete,  While a guest on an episode of the 3 Songpodcast, Bob Nastanovich made the claim that Berman would be returning to music this year.  At the tail end of the program, he stated that, “The band’s not gonna be called Silver Jews anymore. It’s gonna be called Purple Mountains,” as well as the fact that it would be coming out on Drag City Records.  More recently, I spoke with a friend in “the industry” who knows somebody at another label who had already heard the release in full.  According to them, members of the band WOODS were involved.  The anticipation has only been building.

Today, we finally get our first real taste of the Purple Mountains project in the form of a video for the song “All My Happiness Is Gone.”  Earlier this week, a 12-inch single for the track was also sent to record stores, imploring them not to sell them online.  The idea was that people should be visiting brick-and-mortar shops on non-RSD days too.  The story on the vinyl is that it’s supposed to be limited to physical shops and tour stops.  (YEP!  Tour stops!  But… I’m getting ahead of myself a bit.) Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earle of WOODS are indeed involved, requested by Berman to produce the album.  They also appear on this track, if not the rest of the effort.

Although the new song definitely presents something fresh, that Silver Jews heart remains.  Musically, it’s on the more upbeat side for Joos material.  Lyrically, it’s the perfect song to make your return with.  In fact, it sounds as if it’s a song all about returning.  Back when he ended the project, Berman mentioned that, although his wife and bandmate, Cassie, was incredibly supportive of his decision, she was also incredibly saddened by it, because she was the biggest fan of all.  Surprisingly, Cassie doesn’t appear on the credits for this tune, but it does sound as if David is singing to and about her in the lyrics.

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“Ten thousand afternoons ago
All my happiness just overflowed
That was life at first and goal to go
Me and you and us and them
And all those people way back when
All our hardships were just yardsticks then, you know
You know”

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10 years ago, I asked him if he “draws a distinct line between creation and performance.”  In 20 years, Silver Jews only ever embarked on any real touring toward the very tail end of its existence.  His response was, “I draw the line between being subject and object.  I crossed over the line for a couple of years and didn’t really like it. I think too many people want to be the object of interest as an end in itself.  It’s kind of the disease of the age.”  For an artist that cares about the craft more than anything, it’s understandable that any risk of buying into your own hype could be a terrifying prospect.  Yet, in these lyrics, you can feel how he does miss that part of his life as David Berman, the mind and figure behind the widely acclaimed Silver Jews.  Not wanting to be defined by a singular effort or aspect is admirable, but to remove that completely can be a denial of a key element of your identity and result in the loss of a piece of your own being.  He claims to not be one for collaboration, but perhaps that shared experience and the comraderie of performing with a group is something he does look back on fondly.  Perhaps, it was the connection with fans that he’s lacking.  Perhaps, he’s lost connections with others, by disconnecting specific aspects of himself.  Maybe his connection to art is what connects him to the world and people around him, indirectly or otherwise.  Whatever brought him back, that image of a purple mountain range is a poignant one.  Something beautiful to venture onto, climbing back up toward a new mission of self discovery.

The live footage in the music video was clearly recorded at that final Silver Jews show in the Cumberland Caverns Volcano Room, situated 333 ft underground.  On the most base level, there is a noticeable age difference between the rest of the footage of David throughout the video, which would make sense when dealing with a 10 year shift.  As someone who caught their last tour, it’s clear to me that Berman, along with the rest of the gents in the band, are wearing the same clothes as they were back then.  William Tyler, who has gone on to a successful career of his own, is clearly visible.  So is Nastanovich, who, according to an old article about the show in Nashville Scene, sat in on the song “Trains Across The Sea.”  The article also references Tyler mentioning that the show would be filmed on 16mm, which would explain the aesthetic here.  The juxtaposition of David today cut against that old moment when he said goodbye to it all is telling, especially with how the footage plays off the lyrics.  It’s time to come back and I’m glad that it’s finally happening.  DC Berman, we’ve definitely missed you.

Check out  the video for “All My Happiness Is Gone” below.

Alright… now that we all know and love it, it’s perfectly fine to admit that the chorus has a bit of a Modern English “I Melt With You” vibe to it.  Even with that, though, David, somehow, makes it work, and still sounds 100% like… David.

The full self-titled release by Purple Mountains is on it’s way this July, but just as exciting is the fact that the band will be touring the country.  If Jeremy and Jarvis of WOODS wind up joining him as part of the backing band, that’s the only thing that could make this news any better.

Pre-order Purple Mountains from Drag City Records NOW.  Full list of current tour dates are listed below.