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| Jawbreaker | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Emo Pop-punk |
| Label(s) | Shredder Records, Tupelo Recording Company, Blackball Records, DGC |
| Members | |
| Blake Schwarzenbach Chris Bauermeister Adam Pfahler |
|
Jawbreaker was a San Francisco punk band with roots in Los Angeles, where members Blake Schwarzenbach and Adam Pfahler attended Crossroads High School together, and New York City, where Schwarzenbach and Pfahler met bass player Chris Bauermeister at New York University in 1988. The band put its DIY ethos into practice by managing themselves, a model that became appropriated by other bands, including Screeching Weasel.
Contents |
Style
Jawbreaker's music is characterized by raw vocals, a driving rhythm section, and grinding guitar--a mix used by many punk bands. Unlike many other punk bands, though, Jawbreaker also delves into complex song structure, melody, instrumental interludes, and obscure sampled recordings. Jawbreaker's lyrics, written largely by Schwarzenbach, are imbued with a literary melancholy along the lines of early Charles Bukowski and late Anne Sexton. Jawbreaker's songs fuse personal longing with animistic fetishization of both public objects(boats and boxcars) and private (books and bottles). Many of Jawbreaker's songs reflect on post-college depression, social issues, and youthful aspiration.
Unfun
Unfun, Jawbreaker's first LP was recorded in Venice, California, and released in 1990. It is a combination of pop-influenced punk and DC-influenced hardcore. However, unlike contemporary "pop-punk", Unfun has dark quality and a maturity emblemized by its literary aspirations. While many bands at the time were willing to settle for pat social commentary, Jawbreaker pushed its lyrics, emphasizing depth and resonance. For example, in "Busy", Schwarzenbach sings: "When nothing seems to be quite worth it and sleep becomes your only sure thing/I'm here to help you out of it/Come and see me for a lift".
Bivouac
Jawbreaker went on hiatus from late 1990 to early 1991 while members of the band finished college. Upon reforming, they relocated to San Francisco's Mission District. Around this time that they began to gather a following at 924 Gilman Street, a Berkeley venue. The band immediately began to write songs for a new album, Bivouac, which was recorded in 1991. The album was a sprawling epic-- it featured slower, gloomier songs than "Unfun", as well as more complex arrangements. While the CD release of the album had its share of poppy moments the remainder of the album gravitated toward lush, dark songs punctuated by instrumental breakdowns infusions of call-and-response interplay among the three band members. Almost a period piece, the instrumentation and record quality has the watermark of late '80s/early '90s indie music. Largely, this was a very ambitious effort for the band and, unfortunately, according to many critics, largely fell short of its ambitions. The vinyl release's track layout - as a whole - boasts a considerably darker demeanor than the CD version (which included the "Chesterfield King" EP.)
24 Hour Revenge Therapy
Touring relentlessly in support of "Bivouac", Schwarzenbach's raspy vocal stylings finally caught up with him, requiring throat surgery. After Schwarzenbach's surgery the band recorded 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, released in 1994. The bulk of the album was recorded by well known indie producer Steve Albini (though it is officially credited to Albini's cat, Fluss). The liner notes to the "Etc." compilation, note that Albini charged the band $1,032 for recording the album. Not only had Blake's singing become slightly less raspy on "24 Hour Revenge Therapy", the band's songs are shorter and are imbued with a more festive elation than on Bivouac. In the midst of the writing/recording process for the album, the band embarked on their "When It Pains, It Roars" tour. Growing criticism from core fans, especially after the band played a few dates with Nirvana, left Jawbreaker disillusioned. The group reacted with scathing songs like "Boxcar": You're not punk, and I'm telling everyone/ save your breath, I never was one/ you don't know what I'm all about/ like killing cops and reading Kerouac. This album is largely heralded as Jawbreaker's crowning achievement. Its songs encapsulate the range of emotions and specific experiences of many of the educated but working-class population that largely comprised Jawbreaker's fanbase.
Dear You
Jawbreaker signed with Geffen Records and worked with producer Rob Cavallo, who had received success producing Green Day's breakthrough album Dookie. Dear You was a stark departure. Blake's singing and the guitar sound were cleaner. The album had been given a "radio-friendly" polish their previous albums lacked. Adam and Blake had talked extensively about the benefits of self-managing their band and how major labels spelled financial death for many bands, particularly in Maximum Rock and Roll's major labels issue. Blake has stated that this album kept the band alive, as they were on the verge of breaking up after 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. Despite a vigorous marketing push by Geffen, album sales were anemic in the wake of a post-Green Day market, and failed to come close to those of their previous albums. However, the album was a critical success, bringing Jawbreaker's artistic maturity to a new audience. In 2004, the members of the group reacquired the rights to Dear You and successfully put the long out-of-print album back into circulation, with additional tracks including a more polished version of "Boxcar", their only music video ("Fireman"), and updated liner notes that include a picture of Kurt Cobain wearing a Jawbreaker t-shirt. Their hit "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault" was released posthumously on EA Sports video game NCAA Football 06 After Dear You was released in September 1995, the band soldiered on for another year before calling it quits. One of their last tours was opening for the Foo Fighters including a San Francisco show contained on the posthumous release; Live 4/30/96. The LP version of the live album was a mailorder only offer limited to a few hundred copies from Allied Records.
Cult status
The band's cult status as the definitive nineties post-emo band has grown since its breakup. In 2003, a Jawbreaker tribute album, Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault, was released on Dying Wish Records, and featured covers by 18 bands including Fall Out Boy, Nerf Herder, Sparta, and Face to Face. Another tribute album, So Much for Letting Go, was released on Coptercrash Records. Chris Conley of Saves the Day has cited Jawbreaker as an influence on his writing. Jesse Lacey is know to cover Jawbreaker songs such as "Accident Prone" in some of his concerts. Set Your Goals covered "Do You Still Hate Me" on a Bay Area punk compilation. Author Dave Roche frequently cites Jawbreaker as one of his favorite bands. Bird flu phylogeographer Robert Wallace quotes a Schwarzenbach lyric on his website. A character in the punk rock webcomic Nothing Nice To Say routinely refers to Jawbreaker as one of his favorite bands. This character's name is Blake, and he seems to be modeled after Schwarzenbach. Jawfaker, an East Coast band, formed in 2006 to perform Jawbreaker songs live.
Post-Jawbreaker
Singer Blake Schwarzenbach went on to form the New York City-based band Jets to Brazil, which has since broken up. Between bands, he found work as a freelance writer, even writing a few game reviews for GameSpot. He is now an adjunct English professor at Hunter College in New York City. Drummer Adam Pfahler lives in San Francisco and currently runs Lost Weekend Video and Blackball Records, which primarily keeps the Jawbreaker catalog in print. He has played drums in Bay Area pop punk band J Church and played in Whysall Lane with Richard Baluyut, the lead singer for Versus. Bassist Chris Bauermeister briefly played with Horace Pinker while he was working on a doctorate degree in History at Purdue. He has since moved to the state of Washington and plays bass for a band called Shorebirds with singer/guitarist Matt Cannino from the band Latterman.
Discography
Albums
- Unfun (1990), Shredder Records
- Bivouac (1992), Tupelo/Communion Records
- 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994), Tupelo/Communion Records
- Dear You (1995), DGC
- Live 4/30/96 (1999), Blackball Records
- Etc. (2002), Blackball Records
- Dear You (Reissue) (2004), Blackball Records
EPs / 7 inches / splits
- Whack & Blite 7"(1989), Blackball Records
- Busy (1989), Shredder Records
- Whack & Blite (Reissue 7"(1990), Very Small Records
- Jawbreaker / Jawbox split 7" (1991), Selfless Records
- Jawbreaker / Samiam split 7" (1992), No Idea Records
- Chesterfield King 12"(1992), Tupelo/Communion Records
- Jawbreaker / Crimpshrine split 7" (1992), Skene Records
- Fireman (1995), DGC
Further reading
- Bender, Alex. "A Brief History of Jawbreaker". The Complete Jawbreaker. Retrieved on 2006-09-06.
External links
- The Complete Jawbreaker Homepage
- Blackball Records
- Trouser Press entry
- Oral history of Dear You from Alternative Press 187 (2004)
References
| Jawbreaker |
|---|
| Blake Schwarzenbach | Chris Bauermeister | Adam Pfahler |
| Discography |
| Albums: Unfun (1990) | Bivouac (1992) | 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994) | Dear You (1995) |
| Other releases: Live 4/30/96 (1999) | Etc. (2002) |
| Related articles |
| Jets to Brazil | Horace Pinker | Shorebirds | Blackball Records |
