Silver Jews at The Iron Horse Thursday, September 4th @ 8:30PM

The Silver Jews is definitely some kind of education," says dominorecordco.com, and they couldn't be more correct. The Silver Jews, founded by only constant member David Berman in 1989, bring a lo-fi aesthetic to the concept of country and other rock genres, first playing together recording songs on friends' answering machines. The other original members were Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich, both eventual Pavement members. Their first release came in 1990, a 7" titled "Dime Map of the Reef." When the band was still getting its start, after Pavement begun its rise to indie-prominence with 1992's "Slanted and Enchanted," rumors were abound that the Jews were merely a Pavement side project, though Berman consistently held the Jews' main songwriting duties. This worked to the Jews' advantage, however, with Berman meeting Drag City founder Dan Koretsky at a Pavement show, who agreed to release Berman's tapes.

In 1993, Berman made the trek to the Pioneer Valley to enroll in a graduate level writing program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst after the release of the "Arizona Record" EP (recorded on a Walkman, as was the previous 7"). During this stint at UMass, Berman found time to write what eventually became The Silver Jews' first full-length, 1994's "Starlite Walker," which found Berman again working with Malkmus and Nastanovich after their break recording Pavement's first LP. After this debut, Berman worked with some other acts (War Comet, Silver Palace) as well as working on a Silver Jews follow-up, 1996's "Natural Bridge." Demos featuring Malkmus and Nastanovich were scrapped, Berman opting to record with members of New Radiant Storm King as well as Drag City's Rian Murphy, shifting his sound from his earlier recordings' DIY grit to a cleaner, to-the-point style with Berman's lyrical and vocal work constantly at the helm.

As well as his role as Silver Jews' singer/songwriter, Berman also poured over poetry on the side, releasing his collection "Actual Air" in 1999 after The Silver Jews' next record "American Water," which saw Stephen Malkmus returning to the band. In 2001 "Tennessee" was released, featuring Berman's wife Cassie's vocal in some tracks. This set the stage for 2005's recording sessions, which turned The Jews into an indie supergroup of sorts, consisting of Berman and Cassie, Malkmus, Nastanovich, Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie "Prince" Billy), and Azita Youseffi. These sessions birthed "Tanglewood Numbers," The Silver Jews' fifth full-length, a return to form after Berman's struggles with depression and substance abuse. This year saw the release of "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea" truly embracing many country norms while expanding upon them endlessly. The Silver Jews have recently toured Israel with homeland heroes Monotonix, and take their act on the road again this fall, kicking off August 28th in Ohio, eventually gracing the Iron Horse's stage Thursday September 4th for a highly anticipated return to the Valley for Berman fans and surely for Berman alike.
-Ian

You can get tickets HERE or call 413/586-8686