David Berman, frontman of indie band Silver Jews, just announced on the group’s website that he would be splitting up the band in favor of a potential career in screenwriting.
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David Berman, frontman of indie band Silver Jews, just announced on the group’s website that he would be splitting up the band in favor of a potential career in screenwriting.
The breakup comes on the heels of the Jews’ sixth studio effort, 2008’s Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. The album was often described as the band’s most accessible work.
“I always said we would stop before we got bad,” Berman explained. “If I continue to record I might accidentally write the answer song to ‘Shiny Happy People’.”
Berman also cites his father, Richard Berman, as a factor in his decision. Richard was notorious for crafting ad campaigns that spun or downplayed the health risk of products such as tobacco and fast food.
“Now that the Joos are over I can tell you my gravest secret,” he wrote. “Worse than suicide, worse than crack addiction: My father. You might be surprised to know he is famous, for terrible reasons.
“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.”
Not all band members are as pleased with the split, however. Berman’s wife Cassie is “taking it the hardest,” according to the announcement.
Some believe this announcement to be an impostor, but there has yet to be confirmation indicating one way or the other.
