December 14, 2013
Good morning! We asked Dave Berger to write some of his EBLC memories and he obliged us with a few stories. Dave was such a important part of the band from the day he officially joined until the first retirement of the band in August of 2000 and he had a lot of ideas and phrasing that helped EBLC become the record that is loved by dozens of people all over the world (HAHAHAHA). So here’s some Dave Berger!
MR. BERGER SPEAKS.
Of course, I’d wait until the last minute to write any recollections of my time with the Connie Dungs and recording “EBLC”. I don’t recall much but I’ll try.
I remember being really apprehensive about joining the band. Wayne and Brandon were coming to a JETS TO BRAZIL show in Cincinnati so I met them at Susdie’s and we all reconnected. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them. I think I went to Ashland the next weekend? Despite what I imagined, Ashland wasn’t such a bad place to go every weekend.
Wayne and his family were very cool with letting me stay at their house while I was in Ashland. Wayne’s house seemed to be like grand central station for visiting relatives, friends from work, anyone just driving by. People would just come over, unannounced, to hang out and watch TV or drink a beer. I thought that was really weird.
One time, Wayne and ordered us pizzas for dinner. When the pizzas came, we all sat at their dining room table to eat when Wayne put a big bag of Doritos on the table. Everyone started tossing handfuls of the chips onto their pizza and ate it that way. I thought that was really weird too.
I remember being at Brandon’s house, and we were going through his record collection. I started looking at the little pile of Connie Dungs stuff he had. I had most of it, but there was one EP I’d never seen. “That didn’t seem to get much distro”, he said, “Not many people got that one I guess. I think that was the only version of that song we released too. You can just have that one if you want it.” Then he just got up and went outside to meet Wayne. That’s pretty much exactly how all those guys were: “What’s mine is yours’.”
I can say now “EBLC” has grown on me. It’s weird to have an opinion on it since I was so involved with it. I personally liked the songs we recorded for the Mutant Pop Short-Run CD better, but with the exception of maybe “Toughman”, “Fearful Symmetry” is my favorite Connie Dungs’ song.
Going to Sonic Iguana was very cool, mainly because most of my favorite records of that time were recorded there. Lafayette, Indiana is a college town; Since the Connie Dungs had recorded 3 other albums there, they knew the places to eat, the record stores to visit, the bars to check out. Every morning we would go to breakfast at this restaurant called Nirvana. If you ever go to breakfast with the Connie Dungs and take more than 3 seconds to decide whether you want “sausage links or patties” they will laugh at you and your inability to make a snap decision.
One of the coolest things that happened was when Mass took everyone out to dinner and invited Chris from Jawbreaker to join us. I think the fact I wasn’t too familiar with the band made it easier for me to talk with him, as I felt like the other guys were a bit more “starstruck”. He had plenty of stories about early shows, or signing to Geffen, but I think he mainly wanted to talk about History, and Joan Jett.
There was an apartment over the studio where we would eat, shower, hang out between takes, etc. But at night we were allowed to sleep in the vocal booths since there wasn’t enough room in the apartment. It was weird being in a pitch black space, absolutely sound proof… Definitely the best sleep ever.
Tim from Mutant Pop called the studio and talked to Brandon about songs and what-not. He asked to speak to me and said something like, “Don’t let those guys steamroll your ideas.” I remember finally meeting Tim at the Mutant Pop Fest in Erie, PA. I went to dinner one night with him and Mark Enoch. I don’t remember a single thing we discussed, but at the end of the meal, Mark and I put our tips down on the table and Tim just says, “Geez… that is waaaaay too much. You guys tip waaaay too much”. Tim was always a great guy to me.
I could’t tell you about the gear we rented from the studio. I know I played through a Soldano Hot Rod something or other. I had to change strings after almost every take. I wasn’t used to stuff like that. In Spodie, we just “pounded our mother fuckin’ guitars like jackhammers” Misfits’ style. I think Spodie recordings can prove that.
I don’t remember much more than that. I am fairly certain I was a bit miffed because I missed the series premiere of “Freaks and Geeks” to go to Sonic Iguana. In all honesty, I just remember how much fun it was to just hang out with those guys: laid back guys, who loved to watch bad movies and listen to punk. I kind of lost touch with them after “EBLC”. To have the record re-released on vinyl in the original sequence by Stardumb is very exciting. Chances are…