scannest wrote:John Lisa would play that WHACK AND BLITE 7" for anyone who would listen and the response was often "This is the great...but that voice?! What the fuck is up with that voice?!" That continued with UNFUN - a general sense of how amazing this band would be if they had an actual singer. Of course, that wasn't everyone. But it seemed like a dividing line for those of use who gravitated towards the more melodic side of things and those who liked their punk/hardcore with more dirt under the nails.
That all makes sense except that I never really thought of Blake as a non-melodic singer. That's probably because I was listening to a ton of punk/hardcore of the "more dirt under the nails" variety back then as that was the music of my teen years and I loved the shit out of both Whack and Blite and Unfun (though I first heard them on the CD with both), but even then I loved a good hook/melody. Yes, his voice was really raspy pre-surgery, but I think part of their greatness early on is that exact divide they had between their punk/hardcore roots (you can see Blake wearing a Soulside shirt in early photos and I think Unfun is kinda DC-ish) and their pop ambitions and for lack of a better way or saying it, the new wave in them, too (shown by the Joan Jett, Pretenders and Psychedelic Furs covers later on). They weren't on one side or the other and it's one of the things that made them great IMO. I always appreciate individualistic bands who don't really fit in, but in Jawbreaker's case I am glad they're getting their due now both financially and otherwise.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:58 pm
by JGJR
You may be on to something, though. Perhaps his voice (even in its polished, post-surgery and post-Rob Cavallo produced state) is one reason why Dear You stiffed on release and they never broke through back then. I love the fact that they're more popular than anyone else at Riot Fest nowadays, though. It's proof that sometimes great art endures and is appreciated more later, etc.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 6:30 am
by BAIN
For the months leading up to Riot Fest I was thinking about two specific things outside of the excitement of seeing them again. How are they going to sound and how many people are there that actually like Jawbreaker? Both questions were answered with the past 3 shows. They sound amazing and a lot of people like them. More than I could ever imagine, especially with 50,000 people singing along.
I do catch the Richard Butler / PF resemblance, but I also feel there is a Wedding Present feel to it also.
Maybe I am wrong.
We know that the Replacements played a huge influence on them through interviews.
Either way, I dig them and I can't wait for the tour announcement. Going to do a 3 day run like it was 1994 again.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 7:05 am
by jaybird
Seems some people here forgot: Jawbreaker is not a punk band.
JGJR wrote:...I wouldn't call Blake's vocals unique for that reason. He's always sounded like Richard Butler to me.
Let me say this as politely as I can - get the fuck outta here. Blake's voice was polarizing when those first records came out. The difference between those who loved them and those who didn't frequently came down to your tolerance for his voice. It was their defining feature circa WHACK AND BLITE and UNFUN.
Let me say this as politely as I can. Please listen to this and let me know if you still don't think he sounds like Richard Butler.
Your point is interesting, however, as I've been a fan since Bivouac and I don't recall any of that sort of ambivalence about his voice like with say, Craig Wedren of Shudder to Think (a singer I also love but whose voice was very polarizing back then; don't believe me? Read one of Jim Testa's reviews of a Shudder show at Maxwell's from back then). They were VERY well loved in both the punk and eventually (from 24RT on) indie scenes, though of course there were some I knew who didn't care for them. It usually wasn't because of Blake's voice, though.
Plus, they covered "Into You Like a Train" during the Dear You sessions and stuck it on a bonus track on the CD reissue and Blake claimed that he'd been getting those comparisons from day one.
Relistening to this and I am hearing more what Mike Ness was trying to sound like for the self titled SD album.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 9:28 am
by drew
BAIN wrote:
JGJR wrote:
scannest wrote:
JGJR wrote:...I wouldn't call Blake's vocals unique for that reason. He's always sounded like Richard Butler to me.
Let me say this as politely as I can - get the fuck outta here. Blake's voice was polarizing when those first records came out. The difference between those who loved them and those who didn't frequently came down to your tolerance for his voice. It was their defining feature circa WHACK AND BLITE and UNFUN.
Let me say this as politely as I can. Please listen to this and let me know if you still don't think he sounds like Richard Butler.
Your point is interesting, however, as I've been a fan since Bivouac and I don't recall any of that sort of ambivalence about his voice like with say, Craig Wedren of Shudder to Think (a singer I also love but whose voice was very polarizing back then; don't believe me? Read one of Jim Testa's reviews of a Shudder show at Maxwell's from back then). They were VERY well loved in both the punk and eventually (from 24RT on) indie scenes, though of course there were some I knew who didn't care for them. It usually wasn't because of Blake's voice, though.
Plus, they covered "Into You Like a Train" during the Dear You sessions and stuck it on a bonus track on the CD reissue and Blake claimed that he'd been getting those comparisons from day one.
Relistening to this and I am hearing more what Mike Ness was trying to sound like for the self titled SD album.
It’s interesting you say that, I recall before “24 Hour Revenge Therapy” came out there was word that it sounded like “Bad Social Distortion” from more than one person I spoke to. Of course I didn’t think that once I heard it.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 10:54 am
by JGJR
drew wrote:It’s interesting you say that, I recall before “24 Hour Revenge Therapy” came out there was word that it sounded like “Bad Social Distortion” from more than one person I spoke to. Of course I didn’t think that once I heard it.
I love that s/t Social Distortion album, so all that purist nonsense wouldn't have mattered to me anyhow, even back then. But it's besides the point as Albini's production ensured that 24 Hour Revenge Therapy would never sound like anything that the guy (Dave Jerden, if memory serves) who produced that SD album, Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual and Alice in Chains' Dirt would ever record. I still prefer the production on their 1st 2 album and these days Dear You sounds better to me sonically, too, but the songs on 24HRT are so great that it doesn't really matter. I did always think that Albini's production was weird, though.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 10:54 am
by SamDBL
Well, anyway, I think we can all agree that Jawbreaker's vocals don't qualify as unique because there is one other vocalist in the world in a band from a different genre that may, by one or so person's estimation, sound sort of similar.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 12:36 pm
by the mean
jaybird wrote:Seems some people here forgot: Jawbreaker is not a punk band.
SamDBL wrote:Well, anyway, I think we can all agree that Jawbreaker's vocals don't qualify as unique because there is one other vocalist in the world in a band from a different genre that may, by one or so person's estimation, sound sort of similar.
If you really want to get technical, every singer's voice is unique as we're all unique, et al.
Ultimately, though, I have to say that this is much ado about nothing. The fact that their music endures 25 years later is the real point here.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 12:36 pm
by JGJR
the mean wrote:
jaybird wrote:Seems some people here forgot: Jawbreaker is not a punk band.
SamDBL wrote:Well, anyway, I think we can all agree that Jawbreaker's vocals don't qualify as unique because there is one other vocalist in the world in a band from a different genre that may, by one or so person's estimation, sound sort of similar.
If you really want to get technical, every singer's voice is unique as we're all unique, et al.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:21 am
by unitedblood
FlexMyHead wrote:Glad to hear they sounded good and went over well. Haven't had time to watch the clips but I take that to mean they weren't just going through the motions?
I only saw them once in the 90's and it was on the Dear You tour, but I did happen to catch the SF warmup show in August. I can say that that they're not just going through the motions. They're doing the damned thing.
Also, I had some friends that were at the LA movie and Q&A last night. They said, right out the gate, the first question was "are you a band again", which was answered as a yes.
I don’t get the hype around Waxahatchee and all the related bands those sisters are in at all. Somewhere right now JGJR is in tears.
It’s not bad but just not something I’d go out of my way to listen to. That first Swearin album was aight
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:36 am
by JGJR
gregpolard wrote:Sorta related but I’m gonna say it
I don’t get the hype around Waxahatchee and all the related bands those sisters are in at all. Somewhere right now JGJR is in tears.
It’s not bad but just not something I’d go out of my way to listen to. That first Swearin album was aight
Not in tears, but I enjoy their music. They're just good singers who write good songs. That's it, really. TBH, I didn't really get most of the hype surrounding Katie's records (i.e. Waxahatchee) until the most recent one, Out of the Storm. It is BY FAR the best thing she's ever done and was in my top 20 for last year. Don't get me wrong. I liked but definitely didn't love the first 3 Waxahatchee albums as well as P.S. Eliot (which I heard years after the fact when the 2 CD set was released).
I've said this before, but that debut Swearin' Lp is something of a modern classic. Like you, I was very disappointed in their 2nd album, but am excited that they're back. I'm guessing that what they'll produce will sound more like Allison's more recent solo stuff, which I definitely enjoy and which unfortunately gets about 1/100th of the attention that her sister's stuff has gotten (again, no idea why, but whatever).
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:38 am
by JGJR
Much more importantly, I'm hoping I can snag a ticket for any of the Brooklyn Steel shows. I can't go on the 27th, but if that's all I can get, I'd trade for another night. I honestly haven't been this excited about a show in ages that I'm thinking about the onsale date, making sure all my info is on the site to expedite the checkout process, et al. It reminds me of either driving to weird Ticketmaster locations in the late '90s or being right next to a computer with high speed internet access in the early '00s (not a guarantee back then) to try to get Radiohead tickets. There's a 2 ticket limit per show, so I'm hoping that may make it a bit easier. I'm really nervous.
I do wish Waxahatchee was the opener here, but am wondering who the "special guests" on nights 2 and 3 are going to be.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:46 am
by scannest
JGJR wrote:Much more importantly, I'm hoping I can snag a ticket for any of the Brooklyn Steel shows.
While I'm sure they will sell out all 3 shows, I don't think tickets will be gone in seconds. Unless people are desperate to go to all the shows which seems kinda silly. I don't picture them changing the set much more than a song or two a night. Of course, I know nothing. But trivial speculation is what messageboards are all about!!
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:55 pm
by JGJR
scannest wrote:
JGJR wrote:Much more importantly, I'm hoping I can snag a ticket for any of the Brooklyn Steel shows.
While I'm sure they will sell out all 3 shows, I don't think tickets will be gone in seconds. Unless people are desperate to go to all the shows which seems kinda silly. I don't picture them changing the set much more than a song or two a night. Of course, I know nothing. But trivial speculation is what messageboards are all about!!
Same re: them not changing their setlist on a nightly basis. They don't really have a big enough catalog to do that. I only want to see one of these shows. Anyhow, I hope you're right!
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:21 am
by BAIN
good luck on getting tickets.
we are just trying for the 28th as it is my wifes birthday.
shouldn't be an issue getting tickets especially w the (2 ticket) limit to throw off bots.
that said, I didn't think I was going to hear 40,000 people singing their lyrics at riot fest.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 2:53 pm
by JGJR
BAIN wrote:good luck on getting tickets.
we are just trying for the 28th as it is my wifes birthday.
shouldn't be an issue getting tickets especially w the (2 ticket) limit to throw off bots.
that said, I didn't think I was going to hear 40,000 people singing their lyrics at riot fest.
I got tickets for the 28th and I hope that you were able to as well.
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 2:46 pm
by drew
Got two for night #1 and we were lucky. The bots had them minutes before the sale. Shit security We saw tix on stubhub $85-200.
Man it’s so difficult to see them in the Bay Area. I get the intimate small club setting, but it’s a bitch to try and buy a ticket when it sells out in 10 minutes. I might to resort to flying down to LA, which can be fun, but I really want to see them here in their 2nd home ( LA being the first) without commuting and maybe some on stage banter of playing Northern California and the past.
If I never saw em, I’d be really upset, but I saw em in their prime and I’m being patient that my opportunity will come, but patience is wearing thin.
Well, if I can be patient during the OG Misfits reunion, I can TRY and do likewise here too
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:49 am
by Chris Shary
Wretch, as it turns out BOTH this weekend's shows had a few tickets at the door. I went to both shows a bit unsure of how I was going to get in, but confident I would....and I did. I would say to show up early and just give it a shot. Bottom of the Hill and GAMH are both fairly cool at the door, so you know....
Re: JAWBREAKER played last night!!!
Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:52 am
by JGJR
WrEtcH wrote:Man it’s so difficult to see them in the Bay Area. I get the intimate small club setting, but it’s a bitch to try and buy a ticket when it sells out in 10 minutes. I might to resort to flying down to LA, which can be fun, but I really want to see them here in their 2nd home ( LA being the first) without commuting and maybe some on stage banter of playing Northern California and the past.
If I never saw em, I’d be really upset, but I saw em in their prime and I’m being patient that my opportunity will come, but patience is wearing thin.
Well, if I can be patient during the OG Misfits reunion, I can TRY and do likewise here too
I saw 'em in their prime, too, but waited until '95. That's one of the reasons I'm really looking forward to this. They're gonna get such a different crowd response this time.
Thanks for posting videos...great to hear-see them again. They still sound a little rusty or off though, maybe more Blake and his guitar parts. Still sloppy Jaw 2018 is better than no Jaw. Would be nice to hear a new song if they do plan out every so often. That would make it less reunion or tribute.
Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:54 pm
