Credits:

Jawbreaker

Description:

I didn't mean to flip."
Tension running high at the reunion of the band members after 11 years.
The untold history of Jawbreaker, the most important American punk band of the 1990s.

Jawbreaker was active for 10 years from 1986 to 1996, and was one of the most important punk rock bands in the U.S. in the 90's. They were very popular in the independent scene among punk rock bands after American hardcore blew up in the early 80's, and were also called "emocore (emotional hardcore)". Jawbreaker. Blake (Vo., G.), Adam (Dr.), and Chris (B.) were big fans of SST, a label run by BLACK FLAG's Greg Ginn, and Blake and Adam hit it off in high school, when they were directly recommended by Joe Strummer and D. Boone (minutemen). When they were attending college in New York City, Blake and Adam were told that their favorite bands were Government Issue, Naked Raygun, WIRE, Husker Du, Rites of Spring, Descendents, Sonic, Youth, Necros, and Necklaces. The two were shocked by the name of the band on Chris's ad for band members, which read "Band Members Needed," and contacted each other. The band moved from New York to Los Angeles to San Francisco, working in the indie scene and seemed to be the only band that could fill the gap between Green Day and Nirvana, but after an incident in which they were called out for "going against the spirit of punk," they bought tickets and turned their backs to the stage to protest. The band suddenly disbanded in 1996, after receiving a tremendous amount of bashing, with many fans protesting by turning their backs to the stage and even buying tickets.
Jawbreaker/Don't Break Down" is a film that directly depicts the trajectory of Jawbreaker's activities and the circumstances surrounding their breakup. The band's activities as an indie band, their solicitation for a major label, their approach to songwriting, and their relationship with their supportive audience. The distortions that arise when a band seeks commercial success, no matter how large or small, cannot help but lead one to ponder fundamental questions about what the band is for, what it means to be a band, what it means to create, and what it means to express oneself.
Directed by Keith Skieron and Tim Irwin, the duo behind the minutemen documentary "Minutemen: We Jam Econo" (2005). This film also shows the members reuniting for the first time in about 11 years in 2007, suggesting that the project for this film had been in the works at that point. However, it was not until 2017 that the film premiered at the festival, and it was not until 2019 that all rights were processed and the film was ready for commercial distribution. The director, Keith Skieron, passed away in 2016 from a glioblastoma brain tumor.
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