Early life David Craig Berman was born on January 4, 1967, in
Williamsburg, Virginia. At that time, his father
Richard Berman worked as an attorney practicing
labor law for the
United States Chamber of Commerce, while his mother was a
housewife. He came from a
secular Jewish family, lacking in literary or artistic inclinations. Raised mostly in Texas, he did not personally know or interact with many other Jews but maintained an identification beyond his youth, although with
little religiosity. Berman's parents divorced when he was seven. Thereafter, he split time between each parent's household until he entered college. His father relocated to
Dallas for a position as a
lobbyist on behalf of
foodservice businesses, while his mother moved back in with her parents in
Wooster, Ohio, and became a teacher. He later described his childhood as "grindingly painful" and said he kept "mostly independent of family things" into his adulthood. During his adolescence, his father rose to prominence as a
corporate lobbyist representing firearms, alcohol, and other industries; by this point Berman had come to dislike him. He was "forced" to live with his father after 1979, despite his own wishes to the contrary, due to his father's concern he was "growing up to be a wimp". He attended high school at
Greenhill School in
Addison, Texas. During his teenage years, his father sent him to see a psychiatrist. Berman suffered from
depression throughout his life and later said the condition had become
resistant to treatment. By the age of 15, he said he began taking "every drug in every way", and said he had smoked
PCP every day during his second year of college. For Berman, Dallas' burgeoning
new wave scene served as an early source of musical inspiration. He took an interest in a friend's rare
Fairlight keyboard, and in the likes of
Art of Noise,
Prefab Sprout,
X,
the Replacements,
the Cure,
New Order, and
Echo and the Bunnymen. Hoping to imitate the lyrics of
Jello Biafra and
Exene Cervenka, he began experimenting with poetry by writing to high school girlfriends. He read
Henry Miller's
The Rosy Crucifixion when he was 14, of which he said provided him with "permission to enjoy life". Reading significantly in his life, Berman said, reinforced his empathy, especially for those also troubled; he cited
William Faulkner as an influence. Berman went to the
University of Virginia in 1985. He had been, by his own admission, "too lazy" to apply for college, so his father's secretary completed and submitted applications on his behalf. At university, Berman met fellow students
Stephen Malkmus,
Bob Nastanovich, and
James McNew. He frequently attended concerts, shared records, and discussed obscure bands with Malkmus and Nastanovich, having first encountered the former in a
carpool to a show. The quartet formed the band
Ectoslavia. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
Origin of Silver Jews: 1989–1994 Upon graduation, Berman, Malkmus, and Nastanovich moved to
Hoboken, New Jersey, where they shared an apartment. In 1989, they adopted the band name
Silver Jews and recorded discordant tapes in their living room – that same year, Malkmus' band
Pavement released their debut
extended play (EP),
Slay Tracks: 1933–1969. Malkmus and Berman worked as security guards at The
Whitney Museum of American Art, and Berman was inspired by some of the museum's collection (such as the art of
Bruce Nauman,
Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Sherri Levine and
Louise Lawler). He wrote lyrics and poems while working shifts at the museum, occasionally in collaboration with Malkmus, who along with Berman would "
get high" at
Central Park on their lunch breaks. According to Berman's longtime friend Kevin Guthrie, Malkmus and Berman had a harmonious friendship, and Nastanovich revered both artists' creativity. "It was mostly drinking beer and seeing grunge bands", Malkmus said regarding this time period and recalled that Berman appeared as a somewhat "scary
goth" but was kind and enthusiastic, strongly desiring to be involved with Jewish culture. Though Berman sometimes felt irritated by a common view that Silver Jews were merely a side project to Pavement, the connection led to his signing with indie label
Drag City, which would later release all of his albums. The band's relation to Pavement was responsible for them amassing a "national audience", a notice great enough that the resulting sales meant Berman did not have to tour. The band's first
extended-plays (EPs)
Dime Map of the Reef and
The Arizona Record were not commercially successful but gained them attention.
Kim Gordon was an admirer and
Will Oldham said
Dime Map of the Reef inspired him to send recordings to Drag City. Following the EPs, Berman began studying for a
master's degree in poetry at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dubbing this time an "academic exile", Matthew Shaer, in a 2006
Boston Globe article, speculated that Berman's extended time studying may have been an attempt to distance himself from Pavement. In 2003, Berman himself reflected upon his postgraduate experience: after "meet[ing] grown dignified men who play with fucking words all day," he felt he had "permission to believe that I could try for that life". He attempted to have poems published in the
American Poetry Review but was rejected, which increased his interest in music, "despite scarcely knowing how to sing or play guitar". By 2005, Berman's public appearances mostly consisted of poetry readings. By October 1994, Silver Jews had enough material for their debut album
Starlite Walker. The release established respect in the indie rock scene, although with some detractors. Malkmus and Nastanovich's involvement with Pavement meant they were unavailable for the next Silver Jews album
The Natural Bridge, and only Berman and
Peyton Pinkerton continued writing for it. Pavement's success proved difficult for Berman, who became suspicious of fame and resented the people with whom he interacted, deeming them "cruel". He felt somewhat abandoned by Malkmus and Nastanovich, although he understood the circumstances permitted little else. Berman's personal life was affected by the deaths of friends, which would influence his songwriting. A close friendship between Oldham and Berman arose at this time and the two conceptualized—although never released—a collaborative project, entitled
Silver Palace. Silver Jews was part of a "moment in underground music" of songwriters who looked to the 1970s and 1980s for inspiration, and were one of Drag City's seminal groups alongside
Smog, Pavement,
Royal Trux, and
Palace, bands that "made American music frightening again by tapping into its most tangled roots". Berman wished to "distinguish his brand of songwriting from the depressive-narcissistic strain of 1990s rock" and later sought to break away from Drag City's "cryptic and prankish" style. The line-up of Silver Jews constantly changed around Berman, who remained its principal songwriter and "main creative driver" and led the band's creative direction since the start. "Malkmus and Nastanovich [were] there to serve his ideas more than offer their own," said Ian Gormely of
Exclaim!.
Critical acclaim and substance abuse: 1996–2001 The composition of
The Natural Bridge (1996) left Berman distraught; he appeared to be "haunted by ghosts" and was hospitalized with sleep deprivation. "When the songs were being recorded, things got darker in my life", he recollected, also noting that "recording was a process of calming myself down"—although doing so was so "searing that I couldn't listen to music". His conduct and demands were eccentric and, according to Oldham, the album's producer Mark Nevers "had sort of held Berman's hand". Although it received positive reviews in music publications—Berman having now "established himself as a world-class rock lyricist"—he chose not to tour due to a fear of performing. During this time, Berman thought of touring as too significant a commitment and considered the stress to be intolerable. Playing live appeared to him as "like some unnecessary post-invention marketing effort" and had not elicited much "satisfaction" when he had done so. After
The Natural Bridge, Berman decided he wanted Malkmus and Nastanovich, both of whom felt betrayed by Berman's hostility toward them, to be involved with all subsequent Silver Jews albums. The pain that Berman felt around
The Natural Bridge helped him to formulate a new Silver Jews album with Malkmus,
American Water. It was significant to Berman and the band's progression. They had now "stepped out of Pavement's shadow ... This was clearly his project and represented his vision", his songwriting having been at the foreground of the former album. By this point he felt confident in his musical career. Berman's drug use continued, and he was using them during studio sessions. Despite his personal turmoil, Berman wanted the album to be joyous like "other people['s] records" rather than grim. The band intended to tour in late 1998 but plans were ended after a fistfight led to his
eardrum rupturing.
Actual Air, Berman's first collection of poetry was released in 1999 by
Open City Books, which had been founded to publish the collection.
Actual Air amassed critical acclaim—
Carl Wilson called it "even better than [Berman's] albums". The collection included new poems as well as excerpts from his UMass Amherst master's thesis, "Ruined Entrances" The book's unusually high sales of over 20,000 copies bolstered Berman's musical career. Its marketing was akin to that of an album, which contributed to its success; Drag City and record stores were the avenues from which a "significant portion of those sales" arose. In 2001, he was offered a job as poet-in-residence on a postgraduate course. The prospect thrilled Berman; however, he chose not to apply out of apprehension. Four years later, when asked in an interview if he would accept a lecturing role at university, he expressed uncertainty on genuinely taking an offer: "I should stay away from the rock clubs and the English departments if I can." Although he did publish some poems afterward—his poetry is featured in journals such as
The Baffler,
Open City and
The Believer—and had reported working on a follow-up,
Actual Air remained his only book of poetry. In his later years, Berman stopped writing poetry because of diminished motivation and a feeling of partial inadequacy in comparison to younger poets; another collection failed to materialize due to a lack of purpose and innovation. Scraps of his unpublished work were compiled by fans into the unofficial anthology "The Colonial Manuscript". Pieces of writing also survive on his blog. By 2003, his perception of song-writing and poetry as unified was no more, and felt that older age rendered him less capable of working in both mediums. "Poetry can never counter-propaganda. A song might be able to." Around this time, Berman, who no longer "[had] to
work", estimated he made $23,000 a year; by 2001, he earned $45,000 from his music. That year saw the release of the Silver Jews album
Bright Flight, which featured his wife
Cassie Berman. Their relationship started two years earlier at a party; Berman awoke in Cassie's house and learned she owned every Silver Jews album. "I was really depressed and had nothing to lose at that time. I was so ugly". Cassie was a source of relief for Berman and she helped him feel young, Berman later considering their relationship the "best thing that ever happened to me". They lived together in
Nashville for 19 years, where they moved to aid Berman's music career; later buying a house there alleviated quandaries for Berman; it was a relief to Berman to live in a city where he felt pursuing a career in music was well accepted. Berman began to take hard drugs in 1998, during a period of depression. He started to take
heroin,
methamphetamine and
crack cocaine, with his use of cocaine reaching the point of addiction; he sought existential insight from drugs but eventually his dependency led to reclusion and dejection. Several of Berman's friends died in the following years, including
Robert Bingham, the founder and editor of Open City, who died in 1999 after a heroin overdose. Berman twice unintentionally overdosed; one incident followed the release party for
Bright Flight. That album's darker sound reflected his struggles with substance abuse.
Attempted suicide, rehabilitation and career progression: 2003–2008 in 2008|thumb On November 19, 2003, Berman attempted suicide in Nashville by consuming crack cocaine, alcohol and tranquilizers. He wrote a short note to Cassie—the brevity of which Berman would later regret—put on his wedding suit, and went to a "
crack house" he frequented. When discovered by Cassie, he verbally lashed out and refused treatment. He was eventually taken to
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, awakening three days later. Around a year later, Berman checked in for drug rehabilitation, which was paid for by his father, and encouraged by his mother and Cassie. Berman said he had relapsed but that by August 2005 he was not using drugs. During his rehabilitation, Berman embraced Judaism, choosing to study the
Torah and sought to be a "better person" who was "easier" to Cassie and staff at Drag City; he would soon consider Judaism as an integral aspect of his life, to which he intended to devote himself. Reading the Torah helped him learn more about poetry;
David, described in the
Hebrew Bible as a king of the
United Monarchy of Israel and Judah, was also an influence of Berman's. He described Judaism as having an affirmative effect on his life. Reflecting upon his suicide attempt, Berman noted that he was not unprivileged and without career opportunities, although this was not evident to him at the time. He began to excessively take
antidepressants, and his sobriety made him more candid. In 2005, and by means of "", Silver Jews, with a lineup including Cassie, Malkmus, Nastanovich,
Bobby Bare Jr.,
Paz Lenchantin, and
William Tyler, released
Tanglewood Numbers. Soon after, the band began to tour, with 100 shows from 2006 to 2009 taking place; to cope with the hectic nature, he became "a daily
pot smoker". Before Berman toured, he occasionally made
caricatures of fans, considering them more rewarding. By this time, Silver Jews had sold 250,000 records. Berman and Cassie still experienced financial difficulties; Cassie worked an office job and Berman struggled to get medical insurance for the removal of a
keratoconus, although he was eventually insured by the
Country Music Association. In 2005,
Jeremy Blake enlisted Berman for
Sodium Fox, a
conceptual artwork centered around Berman. Blake's suicide and Berman's eye operation would affect the next Silver Jews album—before the operation Berman reported feeling "less aggressive and less tenacious".
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea was released in 2008 to lukewarm reviews
. The album was their most commercially successful. Berman's decision to tour, no longer dependent on drugs, was based upon his greater age, his expanded discography, and a desire to interact with his audience, which "softened his naturally gruff exterior". Berman found touring with Cassie eased the experience, of which he had mixed feelings. He considered her a necessary component, and noted that if he was alone he would likely act to his detriment.
Hiatus from music: 2009–2017 On January 22, 2009, Berman disbanded Silver Jews, and their final show was played the following week at
Cumberland Caverns in
McMinnville, Tennessee. "I always said we would stop before we got bad", he said, and, during the performance at Cumberland Caverns, claimed that "I always wanted to go out on top, but I much prefer this". According to
Nashville Scenes Sean L. Maloney, due to Silver Jews' impact on Nashville's mid-2000s music scene, the final show meant "a chapter in this city's artistic evolution closed". Alongside the news of the band's dissolution, Berman publicly announced, for the first time, that his father was the lobbyist
Richard Berman, who he viewed as markedly loathsome and from whom he had been estranged since 2006. Berman reported owing Richard money, and once donated to a supposed investigation of Richard, initiated by the
watchdog group
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, who called upon the
Internal Revenue Service's intervention. Upon considering the commercialization of modern musicians, he began to see his and Richard's lives intertwining; Berman's guilt about his father and said consideration were the reasons he retired Silver Jews, saying: After Silver Jews disbanded, Berman became a recluse. The "hermit, solitary aspect to the way [Berman] " predated this time, according to a 2008 interview—and Nastanovich reflected two years earlier that Berman had "gotten more reclusive". In 2005, posed with the question of whether he had chosen between vulgarity or loneliness, Berman said "it's been loneliness up till now but it looks like things are changing for the better/worse". His public perception became intertwined with fiction—significant speculation upon the events of his suicide attempt had reportedly occurred before this time. His seclusion, according to
Steven Hyden of
Uproxx, constructed a perceived "mythology". Berman published a 2009 book of
surreal,
minimalist cartoons called
The Portable February to mixed reviews. He later worked with German artist
Friedrich Kunath on the book
You Owe Me a Feeling (2012), with paintings by Kunath and poetry by Berman. Cassie sought a career in
pediatric therapy. In 2010, Berman spoke about his difficulties with writing a book about his father—seeking to become his "nemesis";
HBO nearly adapted the book, but Berman canceled production, saying he did not want to glamorize his father. In an article about Berman, Derek Robertson said that a significant amount of his personal life was an "explicit rebuke" to Richard and an attempt to evade institutional power—
Thomas Beller interpreted Berman's disdain as both political and personal. By 2016, Berman had experienced the deaths of both his friend
Dave Cloud and his mother, which compelled him to adopt Cloud as his middle name, and write the song "I Loved Being My Mother's Son". He was still in contact with Malkmus and maintained a close relationship with Silver Jews drummer Brian Kotzur. According to Nastanovich, at one point Berman intended to write new Silver Jews songs; he ultimately became more interested in a new style. As noted by
Jewish Currents Nathan Goldman, Berman soon "inaugurated...a different artistic phase with a series of songs about the disappointments of expectations unfulfilled", contrasting the "odes to the open field of possibility" that closely preceded the Silver Jews' conclusion.
Purple Mountains and death: 2018–2019 In 2018, Berman and Cassie separated. Lacking money and living off royalties from Drag City, from June he lived in a room above the label's Chicago office. According to Berman, Cassie and he "never had the kind of conflict that results in divorce" but had a "kind of need to live [their] lives without the other one". Berman thought his chronic depression meant he was "unfit to be anyone's husband". He and Cassie maintained a shared bank account and owned a house together, and he considered her an integral part of his family. He briefly lived in
Miller Beach, in
Gary, Indiana. At one point, he asked a friend to give him heroin but was refused, for which he was ultimately grateful, having not used heroin or cocaine since October 2003. He had grown disillusioned with Judaism, saying his belief in
God lasted from 2004 to 2010; in 2008 he voiced a disconnect from Judaism, positioning himself as adjacent to Jews. In his withdrawal, he "[fixed] himself in Jewish tradition", said Goldman and
Arielle Angel of
Jewish Currents, viewing Berman as archetypal of Jews. His once-passion for Judaism made him eager to tour Israel; there he met
Yonatan Gat and helped get him signed to Drag City—"[The] shows we played in Israel were pretty much the most amazing experience of my life". In 2018, Berman co-produced Gat's album
Universalists. By that year, Berman had conceptualized a more conspicuous return to music: a new name,
Purple Mountains. Following the release of two singles under his new name, an
eponymous debut album was released in July 2019. An "instantly mythologized" album, Berman worked on
Purple Mountains with
Woods and Berman's friend
Dan Auerbach, with whom he had worked in 2015; Auerbach called Berman "one of [his] heroes". Berman's financial difficulties, the breakdown of his marriage, and encouragement from Drag City's president Dan Koretzky were impetuses for Berman's new music. Berman hoped to resolve the $100,000 of loan and
credit card debt he had amassed as a result of his drug use; in a 2005 interview, he said: "I've got a credit card rotisserie system that would dazzle the ancients". He stated this was the only reason he intended to tour. Berman discussed the idea of a collaborative tour with
Bill Callahan and Oldham, which ultimately did not occur. He expressed worries about the tour and notified the accompanying band that his depression may interfere but was excited for his "solitude to end". In March 2019, Berman said: "There were probably 100 nights over the last 10 years where I was sure I wouldn't make it to the morning". Berman hanged himself on August 7, 2019, in an apartment in
Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. It is not clear whether his suicide was spontaneous or deliberated upon; according to
The Philadelphia Inquirer Dan DeLuca: "The warning signs were all over
Purple Mountains". Will Reisman of
SF Weekly reflected that by the time of
Purple Mountains release, Berman appeared as a "grim visage...Tinted sunglasses covered a set of weary, stricken eyes, his neck-length hair was thinning and reedy, and a pursed, lifeless expression graced [his] face". A private funeral attended by "Friends and family, along with the Jewish community" took place on August 16; a memorial, by filmmaker
Lance Bangs at New York's
Met Breuer Museum, the former location of the Whitney, was held earlier. == Artistry ==