About Jawbox

Jawbox is an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins , Kim Coletta , and Adam Wade . After the trio released the album Grippe in 1991, Bill Barbot joined as the fourth member. Jawbox released their second album Novelty in 1992, followed by Wade being replaced by Zach Barocas that same year. Jawbox signed to the major label Atlantic Records and released their third album For Your Own Special Sweetheart in 1994, which spawned the band's most recognizable song "Savory". After the release of their fourth album Jawbox in 1996, the band departed from Atlantic, and subsequently disbanded in 1997. They reunited for a brief one-off show in 2009, followed by a full-time reunion in 2019. Barbot left the band in 2021 and he was replaced by Brooks Harlan.

From 1986 to 1989, J. Robbins played in the final incarnation of Government Issue, the longest lived of the early Washington, D.C. hardcore punk bands. After Government Issue disbanded, Robbins formed Jawbox with bassist Kim Coletta and drummer Adam Wade. At the time, Robbins and Coletta were in a relationship, and Wade was a friend of Robbins that had recently returned home from college. The band's name was found while they were reading Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, in which they saw that "a jawbox is a sink or sewer, and slang for television." Jawbox have cited various bands and artists as influences, including Fugazi, Helmet, Sonic Youth, Big Black, and Naked Raygun, among others.

Jawbox's first concert was alongside Shudder to Think and Fugazi in September 1989. Jawbox's first compilation appearance was with the song "Bullet Park", which was included on Maximumrocknroll magazine's 1989 compilation album, They Don't Get Paid, They Don't Get Laid, But Boy Do They Work Hard!. The trio released a self-titled demo EP in late 1989 on their own, followed by a second self-titled EP on Slamdek Records. In early 1990, they released the single "Tools & Chrome". The single was their first use of the name DeSoto Records. DeSoto was an independent record label that was initially created by the band Edsel, and after Edsel distanced themselves from the business aspects, Jawbox took control of it which later grew in size. "Tools & Chrome" was also distributed by the independent punk rock label Dischord Records, although the band continued to utilize their own label DeSoto for various distribution purposes.

In 1991, the band released their full-length debut album Grippe, which was also issued by Dischord. Grippe featured both newly written material and re-recordings of older tracks. They also released a split single with the band Jawbreaker for the independent label Selfless Records, and both bands' contributions were cover songs exclusive to the release. Shortly after the release of Grippe, Wade's friend and roommate Bill Barbot joined the band as an additional guitarist and singer. Jawbox supported the album by playing shows alongside bands such as Superchunk, Corrosion of Conformity, Fuel, and others. The band went on their first major tour alongside Helmet during the second half of 1991 as Helmet was touring behind their debut album as well, Strap It On.

Barbot's first appearance in the studio with Jawbox was on the "Tongues" single, released in early 1992. A few months later the band released their second album Novelty, again on Dischord. The album spawned the band's first music video, "Cutoff". To support Novelty, Jawbox went on tour with Shudder to Think again. Prior to and during the tour, Wade became frustrated with the band's internal struggles, such as Coletta and Robbins ending their relationship, in the aftermath of which Coletta and Barbot started a romantic relationship, followed by Robbins' subsequent erratic behavior. Immediately after the tour ended, Wade departed from Jawbox and quickly joined Shudder to Think as their drummer.

Wade was replaced by drummer Zach Barocas, a friend of the band that had conveniently been living in the band's home building already. Barocas' unique drumming style became central to the band's signature sound, and his joining also prompted the band to work more collectively as a whole.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jawbox", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.