With Schwarzenbach on guitar and vocals, Bauermeister on bass, and Pfahler on drums, the band gained recognition in the late eighties and early nineties for their melodic yet driven sound built on the foundation for Schwarzenbach's poignant, bleeding-heart lyrics and signature rasp.
The band's first full-length release Unfun was put out by Shredder in 1990. On this, the band stuck close to the sound coming out of their contemporaries in the nascent pop punk scene in their sound, with the exception of Bauermeister's prominent bass lines and Schwarzenbach's lyrics, at times walking the line of the melodramatic.
Unfun was followed by Bivouac on Tupelo/Communion in 1992. Bivouac proved thicker and darker - both thematically and melodically - yet served to elevate the band above a crowd of previously similar acts. This more ambitious release also artfully used pieces of found-audio, in what was becoming one of the band's signatures, weaving it in and out of the ten minute title track, "Bivouac."
Their third release, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, produced by the ubiquitous Steve Albini, unveiled a sparse pop-punk with more carefully crafted lyrics. This album also holds what has become arguably their best known song, "Boxcar."
Jawbreaker had seemed poised for critical and commercial success by the time of their fourth, and last album, Dear You. Despite a vigorous marketing push, Jawbreaker's album sales were anemic in the wake of a post-Green Day market, and was one of the causes leading to the end of the band's career in 1996.
The group recently reacquired the rights to Dear You and have successfully put the long out-of-print album back into circulation on Pfahler's label, Blackball Records.
The band's cult status as the definitive nineties proto-pop-punk band has grown since its breakup, and songs like "Kiss the Bottle" and "Jet Black" are referenced as influences by bands such as Sparta, Lucero, and Rocky Votolato. 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.
Singer Blake Schwarzenbach went on to form the New York City-based band Jets to Brazil, who have also since broken up, and is now an adjunct English professor at Hunter College (CUNY). In the fall of 2008, he debuted his new band, Thorns of Life, formed with Aaron Cometbus of Crimpshrine and Pinhead Gunpowder on drums and ex-Gr'ups bassist Daniela Sea.
Drummer Adam Pfahler is currently drumming in San Francisco-based Whysall Lane, whose LP was released in 2006 on his own Blackball Records.
Bassist Chris Bauermeister has been playing in post-hardcore band Horace Pinker and pop-punk band Shorebirds, which was formed with Matt Canino, formerly of Latterman; Shorebirds split in the summer of 2008.
In 2021, Blake Schwarzenbach teamed up with Joyce Manor on a release.
In spite of the similar name, the band Jawbreaker Reunion is unrelated.
First step
Jawbreaker Lyrics
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This is a day like any other day
You are free to wake up and shave
Soapy hands fumbling on porcelain
Hot, good coffee and a good, good book
Bicycle, bicycle, breathing easier now
Tear the roof off your day
No one's coming over
So don't try to read it
Smell the hot rain on the street
Could be love, could be alcohol
Cup my hands around your face
A little frame, a lot of pain
I can tell the tears from the rain
One tastes sweet, the other plain
And who am I to think I could hang Such a precious life on a clever line
You're in all the books I read
A hundred pages out of reach
And so I throw myself, hit the street
It'll take some time
To learn the lesson of the fall
And begin another climb
The song "First Step" by Jawbreaker paints a picture of a typical day in the life of the singer. The song acknowledges the small things that can make a day feel good such as enjoying good coffee and reading a book. The singer finds solace in cycling, which helps them breathe easier. The song acknowledges the unpredictability of life but encourages living in the moment and not trying to read into the future. A key takeaway from the lyrics is that life is precious and it's important to appreciate the good moments when they come.
The lyrics use a poignant metaphor of being able to distinguish between tears and rain to describe the difference between what is sweet and what is plain in life. The singer acknowledges that they are not worthy of weaving a story around a precious life, which is a humbling statement. The song has a universal appeal, as it encourages reflecting on the positive moments of each day and appreciating the present.
Line by Line Meaning
Did you ever have one of those days
Have you ever experienced a day that feels just like any other?
This is a day like any other day
Today is unremarkable and ordinary.
You are free to wake up and shave
You have the freedom to perform simple daily tasks, like shaving.
Soapy hands fumbling on porcelain
Your hands are slippery as you wash your face with soap in the bathroom.
Hot, good coffee and a good, good book
You're enjoying a steaming, delicious cup of coffee while delving into a captivating book.
Bicycle, bicycle, breathing easier now
Riding your bike is making you feel more relaxed and refreshed.
Tear the roof off your day
Seize the day and make the most of it.
No one's coming over
You're not expecting any visitors today.
It ain't written
The day's events and outcomes are not predetermined or set in stone.
So don't try to read it
Don't try to predict or control what will happen today.
Smell the hot rain on the street
Take a deep breath and enjoy the aroma of the warm rain on the pavement outside.
Could be love, could be alcohol
The sweet scent in the air could either be a product of genuine love or the result of someone's drunken state.
Cup my hands around your face
Hold your face in my hands gently.
A little frame, a lot of pain
Your physical frame may be small, but you're experiencing an overwhelming amount of emotional pain.
I can tell the tears from the rain
I can differentiate between the tears that are falling from your eyes and the raindrops falling from the sky.
One tastes sweet, the other plain
The tears taste sweet because they evoke emotions of love and empathy, while the rainwater simply tastes like plain water.
And who am I to think I could hang such a precious life on a clever line
It's arrogant for me to believe that I could sum up such a valuable and significant life with a single clever remark or phrase.
You're in all the books I read
You are the inspiration and motivation behind all the books I read.
A hundred pages out of reach
I can't seem to get any closer to you despite having read a hundred pages in different books that talk about you.
And so I throw myself, hit the street
Frustrated and feeling helpless, I hit the street in search of some sort of breakthrough or direction.
It'll take some time
It will require a significant amount of time and effort.
To learn the lesson of the fall
I need to learn from the failures and setbacks I encounter in life.
And begin another climb
I need to persevere and start again, climbing towards my goals and aspirations.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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