diff --git a/gunicorn/app/base.py b/gunicorn/app/base.py
index 66778170..c2ced986 100644
--- a/gunicorn/app/base.py
+++ b/gunicorn/app/base.py
@@ -83,12 +83,12 @@ class Application(object):
             for k, v in cfg.items():
                 self.cfg.set(k.lower(), v)
 
-        default_config = get_default_config_file()
-
         if args.config:
             self.load_config_from_file(args.config)
-        elif default_config is not None:
-            self.load_config_from_file(default_config)
+        else:
+            default_config = get_default_config_file()
+            if default_config is not None:
+                self.load_config_from_file(default_config)
 
         # Lastly, update the configuration with any command line
         # settings.