GREG REESE
Arts Writer
Steve Reed was the primary songwriter for local favourites Carbon Dating Service before they broke up. Now he plays bass in Maybe Smith and focuses on intellectual pursuits. Reed conversed with the Sheaf about the American musician and poet David Berman of the late Silver Jews.
The Sheaf: For those who haven’t heard, who is David Berman?
Steve Reed: David Berman is former slacker, former junkie and Virginian-Jewish poet at the helm of the Silver Jews. He is the greatest lyricist that I am of aware [sic].
But if you don’t know who he is you are going to watch Silver Jew the documentary; you’re going to watch that. In it he goes to the Wailing Wall in Israel. This is after he bounces back from almost killing himself. He attempted suicide with crack cocaine and Xanax. Anyway, his former ex-wife (now his wife) Cassie nursed him back from the K-hole that was his life.
Sheaf: The Silver Jews have broken up but fans say they will come back. Is the band really over?
Reed: Yeah. I’m convinced. I think he is completely earnest. They had a final show in these caverns deep in the earth. He played his 15 favourite songs and he declared he was officially done and he was going to take up muckraking.
I’m looking forward to seeing the work that he does to try to bring light to the crimes of his father, who is an unscrupulous lobbyist for some of the worst monstrosities of capitalism.
Sheaf: The Silver Jews barely ever toured. Why was that?
Reed: Berman did too many drugs. He couldn’t keep his shit together. I also think he is shy. I don’t think his aim was being famous. He just had songs in him and wanted those to happen, so they were just a recording band.
I also think he didn’t tour partly because his college roommate (Steven Malkmus of Pavement fame) was so spectacularly successful in music. He didn’t want to cash in on his friend’s fame. In the same way that he hid his father’s identity from people, I think he wanted to underplay his relationship to Steven Malkmus. It wasn’t until the album Starlite Walker that Malkmus was credited with his real name.
I got into the Silver Jews because I heard it was a Steve Malkmus side project.
Sheaf: He converted to Judaism recently. How did this happen?
Reed: He was on the brink of death and all meaning in the world had drained away. I think if you read his poems you can see this. He is a very literate guy. He did a masters program at the University of Massachusetts and I kind of read his poems as a conscious engagement with the failings of post-modern writing — the skepticism of any meta-narrative whatsoever, any central value. I think he has always been looking; his writing has always had an undercurrent of spiritual search.
He is conscious of religion’s inconsistencies and the arbitrariness of religion but he needs it for a foundation. Or, I think he’s willing to work with a broken down set of beliefs, just so that there is some meaning.
The Sheaf: I’ve heard people say he’s a better lyricist or poet than a musician. What do you think?
Reed: Yeah. That is true. His line “all my favourite singers couldn’t sing” speaks to this. The early stuff can be a little dull and hard to take but the band was getting better and better. By the end there were some musically impressive parts. But it was never really about the technical proficiency. I like the simplicity of it and the relaxed aesthetic. The simple chord structures, everything is understated.
Sheaf: By the way, why did your band Carbon Dating Service break up?
Reed: Xanax and crack; my wife took me back after I converted to Judaism — nah!
Speaking for myself, I wanted to stop before it got bad. I guess a part-time band going after full-time results meant we didn’t even have enough time to practice, let alone create. So it was kind of a repetitive rut.
Also, after touring, earning support from CBC and putting out three albums we had accomplished most of our goals and if we were going to take it much further, anything outside of music would have had to take a backseat, including education, employment, marriage and mortgage.
I like to sleep in my own bed with my wife and I don’t like dealing with lazy promoters. Touring was an absolute privilege but one that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
photos: Daniel Arnold / Silas Polkinghorne