Polyp surgery and Spin notice

By the time of Bivouac ‘s release Schwarzenbach had developed a polyp on his throat, causing him to lose his voice onstage. As the band drove across the United States to fly from New York City to begin a European tour, he began to suffer serious vocal problems. Though the condition caused him great pain while singing, threatened his voice, and was potentially fatal should the polyp burst or lodge in his throat, the band decided to do the European tour anyway. “That period seemed really arduous for me because I was so physically challenged by singing”, recalls Schwarzenbach, “Every day was full of dread, having to stand up there and see what would happen. But it was too late. We had to play or else we would have bankrupted our friends.” By the time the band reached Ireland , Schwarzenbach’s condition had worsened and the tour was put on hold while he had surgery to remove the polyp. The tour resumed a week later. In August 1992, Jawbreaker was noticed by the magazine Spin when the magazine published a story called “California Screamin’”, which documented the East Bay punk scene.