Recent Stories with tag jawbreaker

The audience at Sunday night's forgetters show arrived with lofty expectations. They wanted to experience a life-changing moment. They were looking to relive the glory days. They yearned to be part of the beginning of something special. If Blake Schwarzenbach's new band continues to play, the audience may look back at this show as all of those things.

Much of the crowd at the all-ages Vera Project was comprised of 30-40 year old males. I recognized many familiar faces from local punk bands and record stores, and even more were local writers, DIY community organizers, and record store clerks. The influence of Jawbreaker and/or Jets to Brazil on these music lovers was clear. Yet, interspersed among the old punks was a new generation of blue-mohawked and black-hoodie-wearing kids, some who must have been just starting school when Jets to Brazil was ending. The whole crowd had enough respect for the new project to not yell out any of these old bands songs, and one boisterous crowd member even shouted out my favorite forgetters' song, "Too Small to Fail." They were there to hear something new. It was tinged with nostalgia, perhaps, but definitely new.

Listening hard to forgetters, you can pick out sounds from both of Schwarzenbach's early bands, though it's easier to draw parallels with Jawbreaker. There's more noise than Jets to Brazil had, and more straightforward rhythms. Prevalent in the set was the Jawbreaker trick of including samples of various poetry readings, nature shows, or political speeches, usually as introductions to songs. The mix kept the vocals low, just like early Jawbreaker records.

Blake Schwarzenbach is one of the best punk lyricists of the last 25 years. After reading his compositions, it's no surprise to find that he is an Adjunct Professor of English at Hunter College in his spare time. Schwarzenbach is bringing his lyrical prowess to The Vera Project on Sunday with his new band, forgetters (no "the", no capital "f") and it will be a fantastic show.

Schwarzenbach's new band is a bit of a throwback to his first band, the famously influential Jawbreaker. They played their last show at the Capitol Theater in Olympia in 1996, but Schwarzenbach returned to Washington later with Jets to Brazil, a much more solemn but just as amazing band. It's been awhile since Blake has played here, as Jets to Brazil last came through town in 2003 and Thorns of Life, his short-lived punk-rock supergroup, never made it to our lovely state.

Middle-aged and older punks are sorely looking forward to the return of the punk troubadour and fans of Jawbreaker will not be disappointed with forgetters. If you need more encouragement to go to this show, it's all ages and you'll be home in time to rest up for work on Monday. If that's not enough, here is a selection of my favorite Schwarzenbach lyrics.... (more)

Let's say you had the power to convince popular and excellent musicians to set aside their original compositions and accept the horrible stigma of being in a cover band. Whose songs would you get them to play? What would be the special occasion that would convince them this was necessary? How much would you charge people to see this spectacle?

If you're Chris Caballero (a.k.a. Chris Cab), notorious Seattle music personality, the answers are easy. You would get your friends from local bands like Kane Hodder, Schoolyard Heroes, and Sirens Sister to play your favorite punk songs by Jawbreaker, Minor Threat, Botch, Screeching Weasel, Black Flag, and more. You would absolutely have this happen for your 30th birthday. When that was successful, you'd repeat the process for your 31st, of course. And, most importantly, you wouldn't charge anything.

El Corazon will host this ridiculously fun, sing-along show this Saturday, beginning at 10 p.m. (doors at 9). Entry is free, but you have to be 21+ to attend.