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As soon as I found out that my pal Adam Pfahler was in a new band that was starting to play shows, I asked him if they would play our next Save Music in Chinatown benefit. And then they said yes. Wow. The group not only features Adam (who was in Jawbreaker, J Church, Whysall Lane, all among my favorite bands) but Jason White (from Monsula, Pinhead Gunpowder, Green Day, and a bunch of other favorite bands) and Dustin Clark (The Insides, who I’m guessing that I’ll love). So cool of them to book their first SoCal tour around our punk matinee/benefit show for music education at Castelar Elementary that will take place on Sunday, May 18.
How could I not ask him some questions about playing in Chinatown, the new band, some old bands, and an old friend…
Most people think of you as a Bay Area guy but you grew up in L.A. Did you ever get to see any punk shows in Chinatown?
I remember going to the Hong Kong Cafe after shows to drink coffee and listen to the jukebox but never saw a show there. Maybe it was a bit before my time. I’m sure I’ve been to shows at Madame Wong’s in the mid-eighties but I couldn’t tell you who I saw!
Jawbreaker had a band meeting there once around the time we were practicing in Highland Park before recording our first album. It wasn’t a venue at that point and was just a bar and restaurant. So we’re having a beer and bao there one afternoon and out of nowhere a fight breaks out between these two really tough Chinese girls. They’re full-on punching each other in the face. Like, shit’s falling off tables and everything. It’s so gnarly that everyone in the restaurant pretends that it isn’t happening. One of the girls screams, “Fuck you, you two-bit Jawbreaker!” Blake says, “Hey, that’s our band!” I say, “That’s it–the name stays.”
As soon as I found out that my pal Adam Pfahler was in a new band that was starting to play shows, I asked him if they would play our next Save Music in Chinatown benefit. And then they said yes. Wow. The group not only features Adam (who was in Jawbreaker, J Church, Whysall Lane, all among my favorite bands) but Jason White (from Monsula, Pinhead Gunpowder, Green Day, and a bunch of other favorite bands) and Dustin Clark (The Insides, who I’m guessing that I’ll love). So cool of them to book their first SoCal tour around our punk matinee/benefit show for music education at Castelar Elementary that will take place on Sunday, May 18.
How could I not ask him some questions about playing in Chinatown, the new band, some old bands, and an old friend…
Most people think of you as a Bay Area guy but you grew up in L.A. Did you ever get to see any punk shows in Chinatown?
I remember going to the Hong Kong Cafe after shows to drink coffee and listen to the jukebox but never saw a show there. Maybe it was a bit before my time. I’m sure I’ve been to shows at Madame Wong’s in the mid-eighties but I couldn’t tell you who I saw!
Jawbreaker had a band meeting there once around the time we were practicing in Highland Park before recording our first album. It wasn’t a venue at that point and was just a bar and restaurant. So we’re having a beer and bao there one afternoon and out of nowhere a fight breaks out between these two really tough Chinese girls. They’re full-on punching each other in the face. Like, shit’s falling off tables and everything. It’s so gnarly that everyone in the restaurant pretends that it isn’t happening. One of the girls screams, “Fuck you, you two-bit Jawbreaker!” Blake says, “Hey, that’s our band!” I say, “That’s it–the name stays.”
Having just posted interviews with singer/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach and drummer Adam Pfahler about Blackball Records‘ 20th anniversary reissues of Jawbreaker’s Bivouac and Chesterfield King, you probably could have guessed that bass player Chris Bauermeister would be next. Read on, and then order the thick, pristine vinyl or beautifully remastered CD for your listening pleasure. They come out TODAY, so you can pick them up at your favorite local record shop as well. I love all of Jawbreaker’s albums, but these two releases are my favorites. The guys were playing out of their minds, mixing post punk craft, literary but raw lyrics, and noisy-but-beautiful sadness at its roughest. Here’s what Chris has to say about them…
Bivouac photo shoot Polaroid by Lance Hahn
On December 11, Jawbreaker‘s Chesterfield King EP and Bivouac LP are being re-released on vinyl and in digital formats. I’ve been lucky enough to preview the remastered tracks and they’re extra heavy and sound incredible–totally taking me back 20 years to when the band was connecting the hooks of Hüsker Dü with the jams of Sonic Youth and adding a dash of Steel Pole Bath Tub to keep listeners from getting too comfortable. Jawbreaker could have taken over the world if their guitars would have stayed in tune during shows…
I asked Blackball Records label honcho and Jawbreaker drummer Adam Pfahler about revisiting his old band with singer/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach and bass player Chris Bauermeister. He responded with detailed and revealing answers, as well as an awesome behind-the-scenes Polaroid shot by our mutually loved and missed friend Lance Hahn. The picture was taken on the same rooftop as the “official” portrait was being shot for the LP. The flyers are from my stash.