jets to brazil
9
"What can we do
for you here at the
Jets to Brazil?" asks
Blake Schwarzenbach, almost
in earnest. The former lead
singer and guitarist for pop
punk patriarchs Jawbreaker,
Schwarzenbach has been per-
fecting his customer service
schtick, a role that doesn't
come naturally to him. "I have
a few questions I hope you can
help me with," I stammer.
"Well, we are here to help," he
replies easily enough.
Out of the spotlight
since Jawbreaker's demise in
1996, Schwarzenbach returns
with some familiar faces:
former Handsome bassist
Jeremy Chatelain, drummer
Chris Daly, most recently of
Texas is the Reason, and Van
Pelt guitarist Brian
Maryansky. The band's first
release, Orange Rhyming
Dictionary, is a collection
of dark, biting tales of
distorted Americana.
What had you guys been doing before Jets?
Blake was doing some new project and then
a few months later this was a full band.
C: Blake moved out to New York and then he
and Jeremy had a mutual friend and started
hanging out and talking. When Handsome broke up,
Jeremy wanted to do something drastically different. So he
and Blake started playing together. Eventually, Jeremy
asked me to play with them. I've known him since I was in
108 and we had wanted him to sing for Texas originally.
How has the reception been so far since the
music is so obviously different than Jawbreaker?
B: There is some mystification going on or at
least some mild bewilderment. But there are also
a lot of people who are just into it. It's strange
touring without a record; people are getting it for
the first time.
A lot of these are songs with real life under-
neath the façade, especially "Morning New
Disease" and "Starry Configurations." What is
that all about?
B: It is my war with America and comfortable
living and modern convenience. I find myself
grossed out by courtesy. You know, how someone
can say, "Thank you, have a nice day" and really
mean, "Fuck you, I really wish I weren't here."
Customer service. Artifice in commerce. "Morning
New Disease" reflects that.
Then you must love New York, because they
don't give a shit about being polite and no one is
going to kiss your ass.
B: Yeah, it is very direct and I really like that
about New York. It has been a great relief.
It seems that the band is on this scenester
fast track: the record will come out, the kids
Blake: I moved to Brooklyn and have been writing will love it, and...
reviews on video games for a CD-ROM magazine.
Also I was a DJ for the last year in New York at this
bar called the Lucky Strike.
Chris: I wasn't doing much, just working manag-
ing a health food store in New Jersey. I was just
chillin' out, not playing music really aside from just
messing around with people. But nothing serious.
How did this whole thing come about? I had heard
B: Don't say that!
I don't mean to put a hex on you. After having
gone through experiences with Jawbreaker and
Texas, what have you learned about the pitfalls
that bands face, balancing the work and fun?
C: That was our demise with Texas, when it
started to become work and not fun. It is the best
time, if any, to end a band, when you're doing it for
the wrong reason.
B: The idea is to be producing at a
rate that you are comfortable with.
Playing is always the hard part
because I am more interested in
writing than playing. And then the
first time you play it well in front of
people and can see that they really
get the idea of the song-that is
really cool too. But I am more inter-
ested in staying on the creative
curve by always writing more than
we can possibly play.
Do you feel that there is pressure
for this band to live up to the lega-
cy of Jawbreaker?
B: Yeah. I only find that when we
are touring and I see this kind of
expectation in people's eyes, which
is something I really want to get
away from. We all put plenty of
pressure on ourselves. I know I did
with writing, and I am much more
satisfied with this writing than any
that I have done. But I have to stop
applying pressure to myself to per-
form. So if I am satisfied, then I
think that people ought to be too.
On "Sea Anemone," you ask to
"throw out the old shoes I never
could fill." Did you feel that people
wanted more from you than you
could ever give them? Does Jets
feel more comfortable?
B: I don't know yet. But that is the
song that I am most proud of on this
record. That song is like the heart of
the record and it felt really good to
write. When we came together as a
band that was one of the highlights
of the Jets lifecycle.
-Joseph Epstein
Liberation Records
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