Dear You
Dear You is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Jawbreaker, released on September 12, 1995, through DGC Records. While promoting their third studio album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, Jawbreaker was approached by a representative from Geffen Records. After securing management, they had meetings with various label representatives, before circling back to Geffen. Eventually, they signed to them and started recording their major label debut at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, with producer Rob Cavallo. While bassist Chris Bauermeister and drummer Adam Pfahler recorded their respective parts within a few days, frontman Blake Schwarzenbach did his parts over six weeks in February and March 1995.
Mainly described as an emo, and punk rock album, Dear You returns to the darker sound of Jawbreaker's second album Bivouac. Cavallo had given the album its thick sound by layering three different guitar tones from Schwarzenbach, whose playing style was anchored on open-string parts. The lyrics largely revolve around the aftermath of the relationship that was the inspiration for 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. Others, such as "Save Your Generation" and "Chemistry", deal with slacker culture and attending school, respectively. Unlike previous releases, Dear You sees Schwarzenbach sing more instead of scream. His vocals evoked Morrissey, while the overall band was compared to the work of Green Day, Jawbox, and Nirvana.
Dear You was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the album's sound and highlighted the lyrics. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States. There, it sold 40,000 copies by 2002. "Fireman" was released as the album's lead single in August 1995. Jawbreaker then embarked on the Monsters of Jaw tour with Jawbox, where they were met with hostility from the audience who did not like the band's choice to go with a major label. They toured Australia as part of the Summersault festival. "Accident Prone" was released as the next single by April 1996, which was promoted with a supporting slot for the Foo Fighters. Following a fist fight between Bauermeister and Schwarzenbach, Jawbreaker announced their break up in July 1996.
Jawbreaker's fanbase was not receptive to Dear You at the time of its release, criticizing the album's production. The decision to sign with a major label overtook the album's content, becoming the narrative that dominated the press. Following the band's demise, fan perception of the album shifted to a positive one, as the album became an influence on the next wave of emo and pop-punk artists, such as on My Chemical Romance, Saves the Day, and Thrice. Many Dear You songs featured on tribute albums in the ensuing years, and several publications included it on bestof emo album lists from the likes of Kerrang!, NME, and Rolling Stone. After going out of print, Pfahler's label Blackball Records reissued it in 2004. Jawbreaker eventually embarked on a celebratory tour of the album in 2022.
Background
Jawbreaker released their third studio album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy in February 1994 through Tupelo Recording Company and The Communion Label. It was quickly overshadowed by the popularity of Dookie by Green Day and Smash by the Offspring, both of which pushed pop-punk and punk rock into the mainstream. In turn, major labels wanted to replicate the success of these two releases with bands of their own, taking acts from the underground. A month before the album's release, vocalist and guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach taped demos of songs that appeared on the band's fourth album, including one of "Jet Black". Jawbreaker began playing venues with capacities over 500 as a result on their seven-week-long tour of the United States in March. Journalist Dan Ozzi, in his book Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994–2007 from 2021, said the material on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy strengthened the audience's relationship to Jawbreaker, which in turn made their live performances more intense. The fallout from this meant that the band was more appealing to record label A&R representatives, as the shows were full of hundreds of fans that knew the words of the songs.During this trek, Jawbreaker debuted five new songs, including as "Accident Prone" and "Basilica" in the vein of their second album Bivouac. "Shirt" and "Sister" also debuted, both romantic songs in the style of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. They received backlash from readers of the punk zine Maximum Rocknroll and people in the East Bay region of San Francisco, California. The band were already being criticized for touring with Nirvana sometime prior, as well as for dropping their earlier material from their live shows and Schwarzenbach's voice changing as a result of throat surgery. In interviews and interactions with crowd members and friends, the band were being repeatedly asked if they had or were going to sign to a major label. During gigs, Schwarzenbach had to preface "Indictment", which talked about the relationship between music and companies, telling their audiences that they intended to remain independent. This was done nightly, even though industry people attended the shows. While this was occurring, Tupelo and Communion struggled to tackle demand from fans and press. Jawbreaker went on a short, ten-day-long tour on the U.S. West Coast with Jawbox in July 1994. The members of Jawbreaker asked Jawbox about their experiences with major label Atlantic Records. Shortly after this, they recorded a demo of "I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both".
Major label meetings
Despite hesitancy to join a major label, the members of Jawbreaker contacted friend and Engine 88 drummer Dave Hawkins. He worked with Elliot Cahn and Jeff Saltzman at Cahn-Man Management, a company that worked with both Green Day and the Offspring. Pfahler said they sought advice from Hawkins as they were unsure how to deal with the large volume of calls they were receiving. Saltzman said if the members of Jawbreaker went with them, he could get the band ten offers within the next week. Major label attention towards Jawbreaker led to two sold out shows in Los Angeles, California in September 1994. That same month, the members and Saltzman held meetings with three labels: Captiol, MCA, and Warner Bros. Records. In his 33 1/3 book 24 Hour Revenge Therapy on the band, author Ronen Givony gave an alternate list, with some A&R representatives: American Recordings, Gary Gersh at Capitol, Geffen Records, MCA, and Lenny Waronker at Warner Bros. Schwarzenbach's housemate Bill Schneider said the band were continually ignoring advances, which reached a point where people were frequently knocking on their door. Despite testing new material during shows, the members' relationships were strained to the point they discussed breaking up. They returned from a tour in Europe lacking inspiration and were struggling to get along with one another. Money was also becoming a factor between them, while their friends were having success in the alternative music gold rush.Bauermeister said that amidst the strained group dynamic, the prospect of signing to a major label appeared to be a viable option. Schwarzenbach said that if the choice was break up or make one more album, they should aim for a worthwhile deal with creative control and a decent amount of money. In November 1994, Jawbreaker formally parted with Cahn-Man Management. Theyfelt they had reached a peak on the type of album they could make with the small budgets they were given, and wanted to see what they could do on a bigger label. Subsequent meetings went as the band expected with individuals from labels telling Jawbreaker that they were their biggest fan, despite never having heard their music. Schwarzenbach admitted that among the "blow-hards", there were "some very genuine people ." The members were wined-and-dined. Drummer Adam Pfahler saw the meetings as a joke, while Bauermeister was intentionally rude to each industry representative they met. Pfahler served as the band's negotiator, a skill that he learned up from reading the Donald S. Passman book All You Need to Know About the Music Business, which he made notes on while reading. He figured out that the greater sum of money labels invested in Jawbreaker, the higher chance the labels would be combative towards them to get a return on their investment.
Jawbreaker received one of the biggest offers from Mark Kates, a representative of Geffen Records and its imprint DGC Records. He saw them while they were touring with Nirvana and had wanted to work with them since then. Kates and Jawbreaker talked backstage on the tour, with the band able to relate to him, despite Kates being a businessman. They were also attentive to his rock credentials, such as being a disc jockey and friends with the members of Mission of Burma. At the time, Kates was looking out for new artists to sign to the label, but did not attempt to sign Jawbreaker when he became aware of their stance against major labels. In light of this, he remained in contact with them, for the possibility they would change their minds. Upon getting a call from Saltzman, Kates embarked on a flight at the earliest opportunity. He took the band members to a café in San Francisco, where he tried to impress them: "I had the confidence of what was behind me. The company was too strong and significant in that genre." Schwarzenbach liked bands Kates had previously worked with, such as Hole, Nirvana and Sonic Youth, and thought Kates seemed genuine.
Amidst a bidding war between Capitol, Geffen, Interscope Records, and Warner Bros., the members of Jawbreaker ultimately went with Geffen based on a gut reaction Bauermeister had. Before this, Pfahler and Schwarzenbach briefly talked about the decision while walking down a street, when the former shrugged and asked if the latter wanted to sign, Schwarzenbach agreed and settled on Geffen. The initial version of the contract omitted Bauermeister's name. Though trade publication Hits reported that the signing with Geffen happened in December 1994, Givony wrote that it took place on February 17, 1995. The signing deal amounted to a three-album contract, with the members receiving a $1 million advance from the label. In hindsight, Pfahler thought that Geffen misinterpreted that their cult fan base as something that could translate into mainstream success. Jawbreaker was given full creative and production control, and were allowed to do side projects on independent labels should they wish to. They used the advance to update their rehearsal space, purchase a new touring van and pay off the balance for their equipment. The remainder was used as the members' monthly salary for the next year.