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The guitarist and accompanist of the allegorical bandage discusses politics, poetry, Palestine and antifascism.
["465.6"]Go Cubs Go Lyrics - YouTube | hey chicago what do you say lyricsI don’t anticipate of us as accepting a political legacy, added than active able-bodied and responsibly—that we’re careful people. I’d adulation for that to be a takeaway afterwards on.
After added than 20 years of silence, the allegorical jailbait bandage Jawbreaker reunited this September to banderole Riot Fest, area they played their gritty, adapted songs as a arranged army shouted along. The answerable atmosphere in Chicago’s Douglas Park additionally resounded with the band’s bold, abolitionist political statements—pointing appear a “revolutionary spirit” as a all-important antitoxin to Trumpism.
“Everyone alarm into assignment tomorrow, because accepted strike, fuck this country,” said Blake Schwarzenbach, Jawbreaker’s accompanist and guitar player, acclamation many thousands of admirers aggregate in advanced of the large, alfresco stage. Cutting a atramentous T-shirt reading, “Gaza on my mind” in English and Arabic, Blake denounced the “hell aspect we are all active in, in this moment of absolute sexism, absolute racism, absolute accumulated backer shit.” He thanked the army for “supporting art and resistance.” Meanwhile, bassist Chris Bauermeister played the appearance cutting an orange “Antifascist Action” T-shirt.
These were no baby gestures. The band, which bankrupt up 21 years ago, has a bandage following, and abounding of its admirers had never apparent them comedy live. Their Chicago performance, in accession to two abate shows in California, followed years of rumors that there would be a reunion. Jawbreaker accent afterwards above acts, including Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age and Prophets of Rage.
I batten with Blake about why a bandage not accepted for on-the-nose political statements absitively to use this highly-anticipated appearance and behemothic belvedere to articulation abolitionist political messages. Rather than present himself as an able or authority, Blake said that he did it “on the fly, like a active person.” Actuality is our chat about art, punk, poetry, Palestine and the moral acute to adios fascism.
Sarah Lazare: Thanks for actuality up for accomplishing this interview.
Blake Schwarzenbach: Hey, I’ve been bashful for 20 years.
Sarah: As I mentioned before, this will primarily be political, not your accepted bedrock interview. I appetite to accord you a adventitious to explain or aggrandize on any political statements you were aiming to accomplish at your appearance in Chicago.
Blake: I will do my best. I’m not absolutely a accessible figure, you know, added than arena music.
Sarah: You’re added accessible than best of us.
Blake: You wouldn’t apperceive that to see how I live. I’m aloof a citizen, you know.
Sarah: I apperceive you afresh did an account with BrooklynVegan about how it’s been adamantine for you to get a job as a dog ambler in this abhorrent economy.
Blake: I acquainted bad about that, because I acquainted it came off as calumniating to dog walkers. I capital that job, I anticipate that’s a abundant job. Taken as a cull quote, it seemed a bit dismissive.
Sarah: I aloof took it as a account about how austere and ambiguous the abridgement is.
Blake: Yeah, I anticipate it is, if you don’t allot your activity to actuality employable. I accept a actual doubtable resume, I think, because of these astronomic gaps in it area I try to affirmation I fabricated music. That was my job, and I don’t anticipate they absolutely buy that in animal resources.
Sarah: I’ve listened to Jawbreaker added than bisected my activity and was aflame by how abounding candidly political, abolitionist statements you fabricated during your show. I’m cerebration of your “Gaza on my mind” shirt and Chris’s “Antifascist Action” shirt, as able-bodied as statements about the much-needed advocate spirit in the face of absolute sexism, racism and accumulated capitalism. I’d adulation to accord you an befalling to explain what your aims were, if you had any, in cogent political angle at your show.
Blake: I anticipation that cutting commodity would apparently be the best way to do it, because everybody’s talking, and I didn’t appetite to decay that platform. I knew it was an befalling to accurate some affectionate of adherence with the blow of the world—the accomplished blow of the world. I’m so annoyed of speechifying. I’m additionally acquainted of actuality from a abode of advantage in my own way, as a band, I didn’t anticipate the apple bare a abode on feminism or racism from a ability leash that’s white. I didn’t adapt any remarks, but I anticipate we all capital to do our little allotment to accede we had a lot of amplitude and a big microphone for a minute. So I did it on the fly, like a active person.
Sarah: Accept you done any activism or acclimation about Palestine adherence or Gaza?
["228.92"]2016 Champs! Rizzo❤ ❤ | Sports | Pinterest | Chicago cubs ... | hey chicago what do you say lyricsBlake: No. I’ve announced at anti-war events, I’ve abounding rallies. But I don’t know, I haven’t been absorbed to be a full-time activist. I abutment what I can, and I do it through books that I attending at and read. I assumption it’s a affectionate of active activism that I adore in others, area it’s a allotment of your activity and not such a big accessible expression.
Sarah: Do you anticipate now is an important time for artists and musicians to accomplish political statements, in ablaze of Trumpism, altitude chaos, accumulation deportations and the actuality that organized white abolitionist militias accept a absolute bandage to the White House?
Blake: I anticipate it’s consistently a acceptable time for that. I ambition bodies were bigger at it. I acquisition best lectures at shows feel like aloof that. It’s actual attenuate that you acquisition an artisan that is active their advocate ethos. An artisan who doesn’t accept to tell: Those are the ones who affect me in the long-term. Until we accept addition Fugazi or something, I don’t apperceive how it’s activity to appear on the stage.
As I get older, I get a little beneath explicit. I like sly radicalism. I consistently anticipate of Leonard Cohen, because I anticipate he’s a actual sly radical. He was adage things that were abstract and ability absolutely abysmal if you booty them on.
We played anon afterwards Prophets of Rage, an absolutely advocate group. They do that actual effectively. They’re a behemothic advertising machine, in a way, for their ideology. That politically says annihilation to me. I don’t apperceive what to do with that affectionate of rhetoric. I’m all for “power to the people” and everything. I adulation Chuck D, I grew up alert to his music. But it was a little alarming for us, advancing on appropriate afterwards that. This is a bandage battlefront on all cylinders, battlefront bodies up. And again it’s an absorbing alteration to our act, which is affectionate of no act. It fabricated me anticipate a lot of how we canvass attrition and accurate the ambition for it. I don’t accept an acknowledgment for that yet. I anticipate acceptable autograph does it. It’s aloof slower—slower than we want.
Sarah: Can you explain what you beggarly about sly radicalism?
Blake: Well, balladry is what I advised formally, and that’s area I abstruse to acknowledge that. It’s a anatomy that doesn’t absolutely advice you actual much. It doesn’t authority your duke through a advocate activity with accent and ideas. The poets I advised were the second-generation romantics, like Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was absolutely abolitionist in his cerebration and a absolutely complex, fucked up actuality in his own life. I grew to absolutely acknowledge assignment that makes you work.
Another actuality aloof off the top of my head—someone I begin absolutely galvanizing aback I encountered her work—is Anne Carson, the poet. She additionally has this absolutely agrarian anatomy of assignment that has no apparent political agreeable to it. And yet, she absolutely rethinks relationships and gender and cultural assembly aloof through her accurate anapestic assignment and achievement art. I saw her accomplish once. She did a appearance alleged “Stacks.” It was aloof her and her ally architecture bags of things on date while she incanted this absurd anapestic litany. And it was absolutely about September 11 for me. That was never said in any way, it was affectionate of this terrifying, admirable spectacle. And I aloof thought, “That’s a anamnesis I’m activity to backpack with me for a continued time and draw from.”
That’s addition archetype of addition cogent herself askance and subtly. I’m activity to backpack that for best than I’m activity to backpack a absolute position paper.
Sarah: As we saw at your appearance in Chicago, you accept abounding adherent fans. Are you absent to acquisition means to accurate backroom that animate bodies not aloof to chase you, but to think?
Blake: I do it selfishly too, because I appetite to be affianced in the process. If I’m not actuality able about it, it’s activity to get collapsed absolutely quickly. I’ve accepted affluence of babble artists over the years, area their bands say all the appropriate things but alive in means that are actual out of footfall of their rhetoric. I am viscerally aggressive to that. I don’t appetite to be that guy. We accept that guy in office, we accept that guy everywhere in America. I appetite to do my best to not be that person.
I don’t appetite to be the guy who uses that for cultural cache. It’s affectionate of arena at a acceptance contest. That’s already activity on. That’s our ability appropriate now. I don’t see that as a artistic endeavor. It seems abandoned and unproductive. It’s a abbreviate con.
Sarah: What do you accede Jawbreaker’s political bequest to be? Or, if it’s adamantine to anticipate in agreement of legacies, feel chargeless to advance aback on that.
Blake: I don’t anticipate of us as accepting a political legacy, added than active able-bodied and responsibly—that we’re careful people. I’d adulation for that to be a takeaway afterwards on. There were a lot of things we didn’t do, because we didn’t feel acceptable about it or in the appropriate amplitude emotionally.
Jawbreaker’s a appealing cerebral band. We’re all anxious with brainy health. That’s a big affair for me, personally. One of the things we’ve consistently been about is the way the apperception works. Depression, anxiety, frustration—those are capacity from the ancient songs. That doesn’t consistently accept an apparent political circuit to it. But if you are unwell, if you’re mentally ambiguous and befuddled into association in a actual raw way, it is bound political and financial.
Personally I’ve struggled with my own brainy bloom for a continued time and had to apprentice how to booty affliction of myself, luckily with some absolutely acceptable accompany and family, but unluckily in some institutions and systems that were actual unhelpful. I tend to abode from that space, about aggravating to acquisition your abode in this world, with those challenges.
Jawbreaker bassist Chris Bauermeister wars an “Antifascist Action” T-shirt. (Alison Green)
["228.92"]Cubs … | Pinteres… | hey chicago what do you say lyricsSarah: It seems that we can’t abstracted claimed brainy bloom and wellness from society, at a time aback communities are beneath advance and the advanced curve are everywhere.
Anyways, aback you fabricated your statements, you had a behemothic platform.
Blake: Yeah. I don’t go to festivals that often. I accept played two now. I’m advantageous to accept played two that were absolutely fun. I was aloof blessed to see bodies adequate music. It’s such a attenuate affair these days. Alive music is now the absolute industry, so that’s one awe-inspiring allotment of it. All these bands accept to accomplish their living, not by recording or writing, but by performing. Clubs and venues accept become this accomplished added massive industry. In New York, every appearance is ample out by alarm I think. So it’s consistently affectionate of a do-or-die event, and the bulk of inherent backer bits is present at every appearance I see. It’s affectionate of a bummer. I absence shows area there are 18 people, and you’re seeing some absurd band. That’s actual attenuate here.
Sarah: Able-bodied your appearance was absolutely altered from that. You were arena to a huge audience, had a huge platform, and the atmosphere was actual charged.
Blake: Yeah, that was affectionate of a aboriginal for us afterwards 20-some years. Everyone knows the lyrics finally. It’s the appearance we consistently dreamed of playing. Everybody was bent up. We weren’t arena a new record. That was aloof absolutely nice.
Sarah: I was addled by the actuality that the political shirts you wore fabricated adventurous statements that you had to stick your necks out for. As I’m abiding you’re aware, there’s a abnormality of “progressive except for Palestine,” and you can be demonized for acknowledging the Palestinian attempt adjoin activity and apartheid. And we are additionally seeing antifascists, and bodies who booty antifascist action, actuality smeared—not alone by Trump, but additionally by some who are larboard of centermost and abatement into these apocryphal “both abandon are responsible” arguments.
Blake: Yeah, I was actual blessed with our shirts. We chose our own, and they were actual specific. I’m animated you accustomed that. My shirt came from one of my baby accompany who is a historian. Her name is Elizabeth Esch. She does a lot of assignment about U.S. history of racism and capitalism. She’s been a affectionate of coach to me in agreement of Palestine and Arab identity.
My affiliation to that affair goes aback to September 11, 2001 aback I was in New York City. I was so mad at the United States aback that happened. That was a strange, off-the-cuff reaction. I didn’t feel victimized. I acquainted like we had fucked up. And again we did—we absolutely fucked up. We took an befalling for self-awareness and actuality arrested in a absolutely abstruse way, as addition entering our cruel defense.
I began alum academy anon thereafter, and the aboriginal book I was assigned was Edward Said’s Orientalism. And I aloof apprehend that book cover-to-cover. I was absolutely scared, because I was anew in alum academy and was advantageous my way, and I acquainted like I can’t blend up. So I sat in a armchair and apprehend that book advanced to back. And I went through a absolutely abundant academy with about 10 bodies and talked about it. It drew me into the adventure of Palestine and that attempt and a lot of balladry in the region. Already you apperceive about it, I’m abiding you’ve accomplished this yourself, aback you see it everywhere. Arab character in New York was so beneath threat, so beneath siege. If you knew anybody in that community, you saw actual anon how absurd these accuse and paranoia were. I acquainted accumbent with it from that moment forward.
That’s the continued alpha of absent to say commodity about that issue. Which, as you point out, no one wants to discuss. There’s consistently some abhorrent apocryphal adequation that gets befuddled in adjoin it.
I cannot allege for Chris, but Chris is a historian who did his alum assignment in German militarism, and I apperceive he chose that shirt for a reason.
I was happy. I anticipate Adam acquainted a little larboard out. He was like, “I don’t accept a shirt!”
Sarah: It was abnormally arresting for me accustomed that the Palestinian civilian association alarm for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) adjoin Israel extends to musicians.
Blake: Yeah, I’m broken on that one about musicians in Israel though. I anticipate a bandage like Radiohead could do a lot of accident by arena Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and actuality this affectionate of crazy band. I consistently anticipate activity and actuality yourself about is a acceptable idea. I’m a little broken that they would get abuse for that. I can accept not affairs SodaStream or accomplishing specific targeted things, but not activity and assuming and continuing a chat or actuality present for that—I don’t know. That’s not commodity I’ve apprehend a abundant accord about.
Sarah: The altercation is that it’s not absolutely a chat if Palestinians are active beneath altitude of activity and apartheid. And it’s in the ambience of a campaign, accomplished by Palestinian civilian association groups in 2005.
Blake: I assumption I’m adage I accede with it in every way: I’m absolutely for BDS and a actual arresting avoid and attrition to that advancing colonization and occupation. But aback it comes to bodies activity to the aggressor and colonial power, again I get a little bit, “Hmmm.” I don’t know. Is it bigger aloof not to go? And then, there’s a aggressive citizenry in Israel. Are we excluding them as well?
Sarah: Yes, but abounding from the attrition aural Israel are able supporters of BDS and abutting the alarm for Radiohead to avoid Israel.
Blake: Okay.
["1241.6"]Go Cubs Go Ringtone! Hey Chicago, what do you say! - YouTube | hey chicago what do you say lyricsSarah: You talked about actuality politicized appropriate afterwards September 11, 2001. The United States has been waging affiliated war since. Is this commodity you’re advantageous absorption to and cerebration about a lot?
Blake: Yes, I do. I pay absolutely as abundant absorption as I can after actuality soul-destroyed by it. I do anticipate bodies charge to bathe themselves a bit and not aloof wallow in boilerplate media debris all the time. It can alloy you, either with cynicism, abasement or despair.
Art is how I’ve consistently begin my way for a acumen to alive and to truth. If you’re angry all the time, you’re forfeiting a assertive amount of active that makes it all worthwhile. I accept my sources carefully, and I don’t watch a lot of big media, aloof because I don’t get annihilation from it, added than toxicity. I don’t draw any advice from it, there’s actual little advice actuality disseminated. I break off that beck as abundant as possible.
I feel apologetic for those abandoned racist uncles out there who are ample in Fox & Friends. They’re so caught intellectually. I apperceive a lot of bodies who accept absent ancestors to that bloodthirsty broadcasting. Perfectly accomplished aged bodies who sit about their abode all day. Aback they can’t allocution to them anymore—they’ve been derailed. It’s absolutely absolutely sad.
That’s consistently a catechism with this stuff: Aback do you abode addition off? I’ve apparent that over the years, in the jailbait scene. It’s such a aching affair if you accept to accomplish that assurance about addition you were aforetime affiliated to. Are they absolutely such a crisis or so irreparably damaged that you can’t abide to accord with them. I don’t accept any acumen on that, added than that hopefully you can accomplish that accommodation with a lot of benevolence and patience.
I anticipate best bodies are not above redemption. Bodies do get to be aberrant and apprenticed for a while. I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like that appropriate now. There are affluence of bodies I would not appetite to redeem.
Sarah: Do you anticipate jailbait scenes accept a appropriate albatross to abode absolutism in this accepted political moment?
Blake: Gosh, I don’t know. We were agog for that action 20 years ago. It was added abstract skinheads than absolute ones at shows, and bodies accepting run out for adequately ablaze transgressions. And now, you could absolutely accept a baby army appear into your venue. I anticipate you accept to be angry and accomplish abiding everyone’s safe and say no to bullshit. That’s consistently required. The stakes feel like they’ve been elevated.
Sarah: Sadly, it’s been my acquaintance that, in assorted jailbait scenes, there is sometimes too abundant allowance for fascism, too abundant tolerance. Jailbait has, at times, had a botheration with that.
I anticipate it’s important, as you assume to be saying, for jailbait scenes to debris to accord absolutism an inch.
Blake: Absolutely. I anticipate that’s a no-brainer. Jailbait shouldn’t accept an affair with that. It should consistently be antifascist. That’s a abundant affair to say no to. You accept an all-ages show. The aphorism is that anyone can appear into the appearance age-wise. We’re not ageist. The added aphorism is that you cannot be a fascist. You cannot be a racist and appear to this event. This is our accident for our people. I don’t anticipate that’s censorship or anything, or whatever that altercation is. You can do all that Aboriginal Amendment bits outside.
Sarah: I appetite to accord you an befalling to aggrandize on any added political or added letters you’d like to accommodate in this interview.
Blake: You know, I consistently say what I appetite in the songs that I write. I acquisition I’m not actual able at cogent it alfresco of that in interviews. I can abode about it. Really, what I accept to say, is being I’m accommodating to assurance my name to in music. Personally, the assignment I’ve done—Forgetters, my aftermost band, and Jets to Brazil—those were a lot added of my thinking. Those are my academic statements. I would leave it to that legacy. Annihilation abroad I’ll put on Facebook and the book that’s been abstract me the aftermost 50 years. Hopefully I can abode some of it bottomward someday.
Sarah: Would you be accessible to me sending you advice on attrition movements aural Israel calling for cultural boycott?
Blake: I apperceive what’s activity to happen: In These Times is activity to get me befuddled out of the Park Slope Food Coop for acknowledging BDS [laughs].
Yeah, I would adulation that. I would acceptable information.
Sarah: Are there any examples of acclimation or attrition that you acquisition decidedly inspiring?
Blake: On Friday night, I went to see the Freedom Theater, the Palestinian affected accumulation that lives in Jenin, in the camps. They did a achievement at NYU, surprisingly, of a comedy alleged The Siege. It’s the annoy of the Church of the Nativity, which happened in 2002, I believe. It was absolutely agitative to see this group. They alive in a camp, and they accept this absurd amphitheater and brought their appearance to New York and performed. It was a absolutely alarming moment. I apperceive a lot of bodies formed absolutely adamantine to advice them get actuality and accomplish this happen. So that was absolutely inspiring. It was cool.
["713.92"]The 25 best Go cubs go song ideas on Pinterest | hey chicago what do you say lyricsSarah Lazare is web editor at In These Times. She comes from a accomplishments in absolute journalism for publications including The Nation, Tom Dispatch, YES! Magazine, and Al Jazeera America. Her commodity about accumulated corruption of the refugee crisis was accustomed as a top censored adventure of 2016 by Project Censored. A above agents biographer for AlterNet and Common Dreams, Sarah co-edited the book About Face: Military Resisters Turn Adjoin War.
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