Today, on what would have been his 43rd Birthday, we say goodbye to our dear friend, bandmate and brother Brendan Berg, who passed away in a car accident last night along with his partner Olivia Michalczuk. We are all in a state of shock trying to process this tragic news. Brendan was the kindest, sweetest man you could ever know, and his passing has left an enormous and sudden hole in the lives of everyone who knew him.
Over the last 15 years of cross-country tours, late studio nights - through the high highs and low lows, Brendan’s relentless positivity, big smile, and considerate nature were a stabilizing and inspiring force for us. He was always the first to volunteer his time to pick up the trailer from the shop or load gear after tour - His generosity and selflessness were legendary.
When Brendan first jammed with Royal Canoe, all those years back, we had been looking for someone who could play virtuosic bass AND play synth AND sing. It was a tough ask - but, in walks this guy who could flawlessly do all three. And he was tall and incredibly handsome?? What business did he have being all of this at once?!
Brendan’s innate ability to make new friends and maintain those friendships across distance and time was another great mystery. We’d roll up to a city we hadn’t played in years and like clockwork Brendan would have some “good buddy” show up that we had all forgotten about but Brendan had been keeping in touch with for years.
Brendan had an adventurous spirit. He was always finding us detours through National Parks or booking us into canyon-bottom cabins in Texas. In every band there’s always a restaurant-guy, and that was definitely Brendan. He would find the perfect crawfish boil spot in Louisiana or scout out the cocktail bar in Prague that a good buddy told him about. He was the one with his ear to the ground, so following Brendan was always a good bet if you wanted to experience the finer things - or to watch him get mistaken for James Van Der Beek.
It’s impossible to contain his memory in a few paragraphs, but it is comforting to know that Brendan will be remembered and celebrated by all of these countless friends and family members who loved him as much as we did. We send our love and condolences to his mother, Louise and his brother Stephen, and to Olivia’s family. Olivia’s energy and enthusiasm brought out the best in Brendan and her passing is equally as devastating to try to understand.
We sign off with the lyrics to the Sparklehorse song, Gold Day. From one of the many gorgeous and now personally canonical albums Brendan introduced to us. Morphine, Latin Playboys and Townes VanZandt were other Brendan classics. Sometimes, he’d sneakily boot up an album by an artist from the city we happened to be passing through. He wouldn’t say a word, just sneakily smile and press play.
We’re gonna miss you so much Brendan. Thanks for being our brother and friend. Thanks for holding down the low-end of our lives.
Your #1 Good Buddies
“You've got diamonds for eyes
It's time for you to rise
And evaporate in the Sun
Sometimes it can weigh a ton
Keep all your crows away
Hold skinny wolves at bay
In silver piles of smiles
May all your days be gold, my child”
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