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Many of us have asked this over the last few months and now it is all very clear what he has been up to! CONGRATS AMIGO!!!
Hey everyone!
A few of you out there have sent me messages wondering what the hell it
is that I’ve been up to lately. Well, the most significant of events
that have occurred in my life lately, and without a doubt, the best
thing that I’ve EVER been involved with in my entire life (no slight to
jammin’ with Senor Mascis) is the birth of my son, Elliott Bonham Berz.
He completed his escape from the womb of the other love of my life, my
long time (11 years together, and still counting) "domestic partner",
Gimili Gita Glavin, on Saturday, June 18, 2005, at 7:43PM, at Long
Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He arrived on this side
of the belly 19 days prior to his due date, so the little fellow kind of
took us by surprise. It was the day before Father’s Day, which I had
assumed wasn’t gonna mean squat to me until next year, but alas, Gimili
gave me the best Father’s Day gift that I’m sure that I’ll ever receive!
For those who are curious, his Uncle, James Glavin, has already set up
his "Fan Club Website", which consists mostly of family photos, but if
your curiosity is piqued as to how I could have helped to bring such a
handsome little lad into this world, then feel free to check it out.
Here’s the link:Although we took him out to many shows while still "in utero", he took
in his first actual "live" show recently, which just happened to be the
Dinosaur Jr show, in Central Park. It seemed fitting, and although
tempted, we resisted the urge to place him inside Murph’s bass drum.As for what I’ve been up to playing wise, I’m still occasionally playing
with Evan Dando, in his latest incarnation of the Lemonheads. After
the extensive Evan solo tours, spanning most of 2003, we did a South
American tour, as the Lemonheads, in April of 2004. It was my first
trip to that Continent, so it was very cool for me. We did Brazil,
Chile and Argentina. I really dug Santiago, Chile (best wine for your
dollars at a liquor store near you!) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (no
slight to Brazil.) Then in August, we did one show at the Oya Festival,
in Oslo, Norway, which was a blast. The only weirdness there was that
an Iraqi guy working at a kebab stand told me that he "was going to spit
in my sandwich", until he noticed that I was wearing a "Fuck Bush" t-shirt.
I ended up selling that t-shirt right off of my back to some drunk
Norwegian guy for what amounted to about $75 US. It’s comforting to
know that our "fair President" is so popular abroad!
After that show, I had about a year hiatus from touring, mostly dealing
with issues of pregnancy and impending fatherhood. I came off hiatus
for a June 12th show in Atlanta, at the Mid-Town Music Festival. My
personal highlight of this day was playing our set just prior to one of
my all time favorite bands, DEVO. In fact, it was my second time
opening for DEVO, as in 1997, Dinosaur Jr opened for them at the Livid
Festival, in Brisbane, Australia. That event still ranks as one of my
most cherished musical moments, as I recall looking over my left
shoulder only to see Mark Mothersbaugh, and Bob and Gerald Casale,
dressed in their yellow DEVO suits, watching US play!!! DEVO is the
band that was chiefly responsible for my musical catharsis. You’ve
gotta remember (for those of you old enough) that in 1978, the airwaves
were ruled by the likes of Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles. My Mom let me
stay up late one night to watch Saturday Night Live, and by chance, the
musical guest that week was DEVO. My life has never been the same ever
since!
As I write this missive, I’ve just returned from Spain, where we played
at the Benicassim Festival. Ironically, we were co-headliners with none
other than Dinosaur Jr. In fact, the last time that I personally
played that festival was drumming for Dinosaur Jr, back in 1997. Funny
world! It was great to see J, Lou, Murph, and Ajay (their sound man/
tour manager) even if I had to travel 4,000 miles to do so. Seeing a
bunch of old friends (I went to high school with Lou, and J and Murph
were also part of our local Western Massachusetts punk rock scene), and
watching the three of them play together again made me feel like I was
at some dorm room party back in our college days, if only for a fleeting
moment. (The only difference was that back then when they played, most
everyone would leave the room!) All candor aside, they were great, and
Ajay did a fine job with the massive sound system, and cranked them up
good and loud, as is only proper. It made me wish that I was playing
all those tunes again!So that’s what has been filling my time lately. To cap this all off, I’m
attaching a photo of my son, Elliott, taken when he was a mere 11
minutes old. This glimpse into the future(?) was made possible with
Photoshop, courtesy of that always fine mannered gentleman, Mark Klein,
the drummer for Cleveland’s finest current musical outfit, Cobra Verde!Thanks, and be well out there!
-George-
what a cool guy Berz is! how nice to answer when fans have questions! i hope to see him with j/dino soon.
they should hook up with mike j and do a dino post-lou tour next year…
Congrats to all 3
Gotta love that pic…
Your right Lars, George has always been very cool about keeping us all informed here, hopefully you’ve read his story about the big crash in Sweden couple years back…great bit on Watt & water bottles…
You can check another update from George in our fossils forum http://www.freakscene.net/forums/categories/fossils
Yes, SG, I agree How cool is a Gemini? Well, they have so many great qualities not to mention again, that John Bonham was a Gemini, born on the 31st of May, my birthday, they do like a good party but seem to do well in school even so. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!
a little late, but congratulations to all– what a cute little boy! he looks like an exact cross between his parents…and can I just say that I’ve always loved the name Elliott?
happy happy! wishing you all the best
hey i am sure he will be a strapping young lad like myself i am a gemini too born on the 21st of june…you should bothbe soem proud parents.!
Howdy,
Thank you all so much for your kind words for me and my family. (I’m still getting used to that one!) It’s been a while since I’ve had time to check out the site here. Jeremiah, and all of you other Dad’s & Mom’s out there, know exactly what I mean. Elliott is about six and a half months old now, so he’s really starting to become his "own little man." It is really amazing to witness and contribute significantly to the formation of another person’s identity and personality, starting from scratch. What a trip! He needs EVERYTHING from US, yet is incapable of actually asking for anything. (I do believe that "asking" thing does kick in fairly early, so I’m enjoying the status quo while it lasts!) It is tiring for certain, and at times, very difficult. I describe Elliott as an alarm clock that you can’t set, and has no snooze button. Sounds like fun, eh? Well believe it or not, becoming a Dad IS A BLAST!!! Nothing warms my soul as much a big smile from my son when I walk in the door. He’ll laugh for eons if I put on, say, Van Halen II and do the air guitar finger moves in front of him. What a prize. We feel like the luckiest people alive to be blessed with such a wonderful and healthy young lad!May you all have a most Wonderful New Year!
Love,
-Elliott, Gimili & George-
p.s. For anyone who gives a rat’s ass, check the Official Elliott Bonham Berz website for an updated and ongoing view of the Little Man, and his social romps!
Here is the link to the site:Enjoy!
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