History Jawbreaker (band)

1 history

1.1 1986–90: formation , unfun
1.2 1991–92: relocation , bivouac
1.3 1993–94: 24 hour revenge therapy , signing dgc
1.4 1995–96: dear , breakup
1.5 1997–2016: post-jawbreaker projects
1.6 2017–present: reunion

history
1986–90: formation , unfun

prior forming jawbreaker, blake schwarzenbach , adam pfahler childhood friends in santa monica, california , classmates @ crossroads high school. in 1986 moved new york city attend new york university , decided start band. seeking bassist, responded flyer posted on campus chris bauermeister. wasn t xeroxed thing , pfahler later recalled, had drawn, poster. colored , named right bands. trio began practicing @ giant studios on sixth avenue, schwarzenbach on guitar , pfahler on drums. us, trying figure each other out in hourly room while , recalls schwarzenbach, went through lot of incarnations before sounded band became. glad didn t play live [very then], because had go through hardcore phase. practiced several singers , went through several names during time, settling on name rise.

in fall of 1987 schwarzenbach, pfahler, , bauermeister took time off college , moved los angeles pursue rise, adding bauermeister s childhood friend jon liu on lead vocals. changed, however, when schwarzenbach wrote , sang shield eyes band s demo. first recording on sang, , later noted kind of defined go band . according liu, song worked. vocal arrangements. lyrics. perfect piece. detriment, kind of bristled against it. like, amazing, , don t think can this. band changed name jawbreaker , schwarzenbach, pfahler, , bauermeister decided continue trio schwarzenbach on vocals. bauermeister given task of informing liu no longer in band, proved awkward since 2 roommates. cool now, reflected liu in 2010, s benefit. @ time, there bitterness.

shield eyes first jawbreaker song released, on 7 vinyl compilation album world s in shreds volume 2 on independent record label shredder records. followed single song busy , whack & blite 7 e.p. in 1989. in total jawbreaker wrote 20 songs in 1988 , 1989, many of appeared on compilations , split singles on next 2 years. band played first show march 16, 1989 @ club 88 in los angeles , recorded debut album, unfun, in 2 days in venice in january 1990. released through shredder, pop punk sound distinguished schwarzenbach s lyrical , vocal intensity.

–pfahler on band s breakup following fuck 90 tour

in summer of 1990 jawbreaker embarked on fuck 90 tour econochrist, proved grueling experience briefly broke band. 2 months, in summer, totally unknown band , according schwarzenbach. of tour, had 6 rad shows. there maybe 25 utterly forgettable metal-club-in-florida-type shows. bauermeister stopped speaking pfahler , schwarzenbach when tour reached canada, several weeks still go. conclusion of tour, tensions between members had risen point announced band s breakup. schwarzenbach , bauermeister returned new york university finish degrees, , spoke each other.

1991–92: relocation , bivouac

pfahler regretted breakup, while schwarzenbach , bauermeister reconciled in new york. trio decided continue jawbreaker , relocate san francisco, had earned acceptance of local acts econochrist , samiam. in 1991 moved apartment complex in mission district; pfahler , schwarzenbach shared apartment across hall bauermeister , j church s lance hahn. recorded second album, bivouac, recording engineer billy anderson, , released in 1992 through local labels tupelo recording company , communion label. pfahler has described album varied , ambitious , noting took ages finish , think trying prove record. stretching out.

by time of bivouac s release schwarzenbach had developed polyp on throat, causing him lose voice onstage. band drove across united states fly new york city begin european tour, began suffer serious vocal problems. though condition caused him great pain while singing, threatened voice, , potentially fatal should polyp burst or lodge in throat, band decided european tour anyway. period seemed arduous me because physically challenged singing , recalls schwarzenbach, every day full of dread, having stand there , see happen. late. had play or else have bankrupted our friends. time band reached ireland, schwarzenbach s condition had worsened , tour put on hold while had surgery remove polyp. tour resumed week later.

1993–94: 24 hour revenge therapy , signing dgc

upon returning san francisco, pfahler , schwarzenbach homeless , slept in band s touring van brief period. found new residences, schwarzenbach moving nearby oakland began writing lyrics band s third album, 24 hour revenge therapy. jawbreaker travelled chicago in may 1993 , recorded bulk of album engineer steve albini, though album s production officially credited on liner notes , packaging fluss, albini s cat. recorded 3 additional tracks billy anderson in san francisco august, , album released in 1994 through tupelo/communion. music journalist andy greenwald , alternative press trevor kelley both cite album beloved band s fans. 24 hour revenge therapy arguably jawbreaker s best album, writes greenwald, far , away loved, best example of schwarzenbach s innate ability marry boozy, bluesy regretfulness of replacements loose, seat-of-the-pants attitude of gilman street punk. dubbed copies of album began circulate in late summer 1993, band began earn devoted fanbase.

ben weasel among figures in punk rock community openly critical of jawbreaker s signing dgc.

in october 1993, prior 24 hour revenge therapy s release, jawbreaker asked open nirvana on 6 dates of in utero tour. fans bristled against this, wary result in jawbreaker—a beloved independent band—signing major label dgc records, whom nirvana contracted to. think fortunate [with 24 hour revenge therapy] , recalls schwarzenbach, still got flack. @ point, there people didn t think punk-rock, people practiced it. don t think there major pushback, though, until did nirvana tour. s officially when started. according pfahler: people came down on going on tour nirvana. saw as, okay, here go. first step. next thing happens label sees them , snapped up. kind of happened.

following release of 24 hour revenge therapy in february 1994, jawbreaker received contract offers major record labels. though had decided break following album s supporting tours due tiredness , frustration, band decided consider offers, partly due major label successes of peers green day , jawbox. met number of labels on course of year, narrowing options warner bros. records, capitol records, , dgc. signed dgc in 1 million-dollar deal, due in part relationship had developed a&r representative mark kates had met on nirvana tour. fans , key figures in punk rock community quick denounce band move. in interview ben weasel s panic button zine following nirvana tour, schwarzenbach had stated flatly jawbreaker not interested in signing major record label. in response signing, weasel took band task in column maximumrocknroll accompanied photo depicting him eating own hat, had promised if band ever signed major.

1995–96: dear , breakup

jawbreaker began recording major-label debut, dear you, in february 1995 @ fantasy studios in berkeley, california rob cavallo, had produced green day s breakthrough album dookie previous year. recording sessions lasted 2 months , resulted in disenchantment , tension within band, particularly between bauermeister , schwarzenbach. after week of recording drums , bass guitar, bauermeister , pfahler largely absent rest of sessions while schwarzenbach continued work on album cavallo. didn t go , recalled bauermeister in 2010, hung out @ home wife. trying separate myself band, while blake became more of major force. large recording budget @ disposal, schwarzenbach , cavallo spent of time polishing record s production value, making vocals , guitar clear , bringing them forefront of mix. according cavallo, blake wanted heard. think wanted voice heard first time. decided sing differently. then, me, thought songs benefit precision.

producer rob cavallo gave dear polished production value in comparison jawbreaker s previous albums.

in months leading album s release, number of music publications positioned jawbreaker next stars of bay area punk scene, referring them thinking man s green day . when dear released in september 1995, however, polished production , clear vocals divided band s fanbase. [dear you] s production glistened , gleamed, says greenwald, schwarzenbach s voice sanded , smoothed, , songs mellow, introspective affairs. reaction harsh—those had entrusted emotional lives schwarzenbach, had viewed him tattered, secular priest lay burdens on, felt betrayed. ben weasel displeased album, particularly sound of schwarzenbach s singing, wrote pfahler letter detailing complaints it. despite music video in rotation support single fireman , sales of dear poor.

as band toured in support of album, audience reaction toward new material either lukewarm or outright negative. have never seen that—before or since , said kates, there point headlining roxy , there kids sitting on floor, backs stage, when playing songs dear you. m not making up. if try explain now, make no sense. jawbreaker continued touring in 1996, opening foo fighters spring, audience reception did not improve. samiam s sergie loobkoff cites show @ warfield in san francisco turning point: when knew going break up. hometown; had put out big major-label record. re looking around , no 1 cared.

attitudes between band members continued sour, particularly between bauermeister , schwarzenbach, took traveling in separate vans. tensions came head in salem, oregon, culminating in fistfight between 2 spilled out of van , onto sidewalk. remember calling blake fucking prima donna , stupid son of bitch thinks s him. letting out , says bauermeister, put wedge between us. on returning san francisco, band called meeting , decided break up, though pfahler resistant idea.

1997–2016: post-jawbreaker projects

schwarzenbach in 2001 post-jawbreaker act jets brazil.

following band s breakup, schwarzenbach moved brooklyn dj d , wrote freelance video game reviews websites. formed , fronted jets brazil 1997 2003, combining britpop influences, piano ballads, , stark lyrics. fans , critics, however, still associated him jawbreaker , did not warm new project: schwarzenbach adored had done few willing allow him gracefully move on , writes greenwald, jets brazil, though popular, has received unspeakably scathing reviews, boiling bitterness reserved cheating lover.

bauermeister, meanwhile, returned job @ toy store had worked @ before jawbreaker had begun touring. had been on tour, playing in front of thousands of people , later remarked, , here was, working toy shop clerk. devastated. returned music, joining chicago pop punk band horace pinker 1999 2001, performing on 2000 ep copper regret.

pfahler remained in san francisco s mission district, opened lost weekend video store jawbreaker s tour manager christy colcord. played in j church bauermeister s old roommate lance hahn 1998 2002, in whysall lane until 2006. continued release jawbreaker material through blackball records label, issuing live album live 4/30/96 in 1999 , compilation album etc. in 2002. in 2004 licensed publishing rights dear you—which had become out-of-print collector s item, selling more twice retail price on online auction sites—from dgc s parent company geffen records, , re-released positive critical response.

in august 2007 filmmakers keith schieron , tim irwin began work on documentary film jawbreaker, having made 2005 minutemen documentary jam econo. 3 band members convinced take part in film , met @ san francisco studio, first time had met in eleven years. couple years ago, began have nice time memory of jawbreaker, said schwarzenbach, thought, s good, people it. nice. happy idea. wanted it. bauermeister unsure seeing schwarzenbach again, stated there moment when realized resentment not through blake, had come represent in mind. told him. filmmakers had necessary instruments , equipment set in studio , invited band play, did, performing bivouac , condition oakland , , parabola . performance photographed, , audio recording made through sound board, band chose not film session out of both respect sanctity of moment , fear d suck. in february 2011 schieron , irwin shot footage in los angeles, including interviews jon liu , band s former tour manager anthony nino newman. there have been talks of reuniting band dear producer rob cavallo, has not taken place. documentary has no set release date or distributor, , bauermeister , schwarzenbach have not spoken since filming in san francisco. documentary remains in production, however, pfahler mentioned in may 2015 update on band s official twitter account had met keith schieron jawbreaker documentary. re interviewing editors take here.

schwarzenbach spent time teaching english @ hunter college in new york city , briefly fronted thorns of life 2008 2009. plays in band forgetters. bauermeister lives in olympia, washington , performs in mutoid men. pfahler still resides in san francisco, continues run lost weekend video , reissue jawbreaker material through blackball records; in 2010 released remastered version of unfun, , plans remaster , re-release bivouac , 24 hour revenge therapy on next few years.

–schwarzenbach on possibility of jawbreaker reunion

rumors persisted of jawbreaker reunion, had been continually dispelled band members. pfahler said in heartbeat , while bauermeister had agreed adam , @ drop of hat. don t think blake anywhere near [ready]. part, schwarzenbach had expressed did not feel physically capable of singing songs , doing them justice: if felt in enough place, think have fun , successful tour. pay lot of bills, profoundly helpful. s same story. fucking broken in me when s like, lot of people want hear you, think, well, don t want that.

2017–present: reunion

on april 19, 2017, announced jawbreaker reunite headliner of final night of riot fest in september 2017. although riot fest appearance announced one-off reunion show, jawbreaker performed first time in 21 years @ ivy room in albany on august 3, 2017, opening monsula; held private gig , attended friends of band. played second reunion show @ rickshaw stop in san francisco on august 12, 2017.

coinciding band s reunion, long-in works documentary don t break down: film jawbreaker premiered on august 11, 2017 in san francisco, , screened @ nitehawk in new york city on august 31. on night of documentary s screening, frontman blake schwarzenbach participated in q&a session, hinted @ more shows , added there 95% chance of new york show. explained, if aren t burned alive in chicago, wanna more, , not have have people make destination , pay ton of money see us. schwarzenbach stated jawbreaker has been trying write new material.