the nerve bible

Since the founding of the nerve bible sometimes between 1994 and 1995 the most asked question has been what our name is supposed to mean. We then always told the story of how Rob saw Laurie Anderson's book entitled Stories from the Nerve Bible on my desk one day and instantly knew that this would be the perfect name for us. "Naming food is one thing, naming people is another..." And despite the fact that our name repeatedly lead to difficulties with fundamental christians (this is true!) it described very fittingly what had been formed in 4 years of composing, rehearsing and performing: a body. A bandbody.
But when Rob died in October 1998 it became clear that this bandbody was as vulnerable as any body. It might have survived the loss of a limb, but when the heart stopped the rest started to die as well.
"...and a working band is a miracle of everyday life" Thomas Pynchon wrote in the liner notes of Lotions CD Nobody's Cool. And he's right. For a long time we were part of such a miracle. But working with and on the band without Rob became increasingly difficult for various reasons: final exams that had to be passed, jobs that had to be done but the most important reason was the impossibility of replacing the heart. And thus the attempt to reanimate the bandbody failed. Therefore we decided to lay the nerve bible to rest in April 2000.
Stopping with the band was not a capitulation, despite the fact that we haven't managed to be successful enough in commercial terms to make a living out of it. Although nothing in my life has been more important to me than this band and the music we were making I couldn't pay my rent with songs. And in the end paying the rent is what it is all about, isn't it?
Half a year after the split of the nerve bible something is living on. We wish it was Rob, and in a way it is. A CD has found its way to America and in November 2000 a New York radio station played two nerve bible songs.
The band body doesn't exist anymore, but the music it has made does. Therefore we will continue to provide these internet pages where you can find lyrics, information and photos. Of course you can still order CDs or contact us.
We would like to thank everyone who has listened to our music and supported us by sending emails, by showing up at the concerts, by singing along. Some of you even bought nerve bible t-shirts. And maybe this has been the greatest miracle of all. The nerve bible meant more to us than we could ever express here, it has always been more than a hobby, it was everything we were proud of. And that's why quitting it is a hard thing to do and something is cracking I don't know where but sometimes nothing is the same again when suddenly everything is violently different.