The band's name derives from a bird Vinnie had while growing up, which was treated better than the rest of the family. It's also a reference to the phrase "everything is jake," which is an old phrase meaning everything is cool.
Less Than Jake released their debut album, Pezcore, in 1995, following a series of independent seven-inch single releases. The band's subsequent two studio albums, Losing Streak (1996) and Hello Rockview (1998), were released on major label, Capitol Records, leading to increased exposure. The band's fifth studio album Anthem (2003) was their most commercially successful to date, featuring the singles, "She's Gonna Break Soon" and "The Science of Selling Yourself Short".
In 2008 the band founded its own label, Sleep It Off Records, and released its seventh full-length album, GNV FLA. The band has recently stated its preference for EP releases, and independently issued Greetings from Less Than Jake (2011) and its counterpart, Seasons Greetings from Less Than Jake (2012). In late 2012, the band combined the two to create the compilation album, Greetings and Salutations (2012) Their eighth studio album, See the Light, was released on November 12, 2013.
Miscellaneous Info:
Vinnie was previously the owner of the independent record label Fueled by Ramen, as well as a toy company called Wünderland War (formerly Monkey Vs. Robot). This label has signed bands such as Fall Out Boy, Punchline, The AKAs, Gym Class Heroes, Panic! At The Disco and Days Away. Roger, meanwhile, is in a second band, called Rehasher, for whom he composes lyrics and plays guitar. JR played sax on the last track of Off Key Melodies. JR works with a promoting company called the CT Mafia, as well as composing solo music. He contributed one track to the Drive-Thru compilation tribute to Bob Dylan, using the band name The Stay At Home Joneses (Roger sang backup for this track).
Roger and Vinnie have an unexplained fetish for Pez candy and they reportedly have sizeable dispenser collections. This love for Pez goes so far as to name one of their albums, Pezcore (parodying of the way in which many bands are described as [something]-core, starting with hardcore) and Pez dispenser motifs are a common feature of their merchandise.
Roger's employment history includes a smoke shop in the band's hometown Gainesville, Florida known as Knuckleheads which has since been transformed into a similar establishment named Smoke. Band member haunts have included Eddie C's, the Hardback (which was transformed into the Lyric), and Insomnia (which used to be the Covered Dish, and is now the new location of Common Grounds).
The members of Less Than Jake also served as backup musicians for Asian Man Records owner Mike Park in the B.Lee Band (once called "the Bruce Lee Band", changed for legal reasons).
The track "Look What Happened" appeared on two of their albums, "Borders & Boundaries" (2000) and "Anthem." (2003) The "Anthem" version is completely re-recorded, and has eschewed the brass at the beginning of the song that was featured in the previous recording. The re-recording features guest vocals from Teen Idols/Bullets To Broadway's Heather.
They have also re-recorded many other songs, including "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts," "Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore" and "Shotgun".
They recorded the main theme song "We're all Dudes" for the 1997 film "Goodburger" based on the sketch from the Nikelodeon TV show "All That." The song features Kel Mitchell (main character, Ed, in the movie). The song is based off of the jingle "Ed" would always sing while waiting for the next situation to come up in the Goodburger sketches. At the end of the song Mitchell says "Ah, Ed and Less than Jake, oh, uh... no?"
In 2004, Less Than Jake appeared on the Projekt Revolution Tour, joining such artists as The Used, Snoop Dogg, Korn, and the headlining band: Linkin Park.
Lineups:
Chris DeMakes - vocals and guitar (1992–present)
Roger Lima - vocals and bass (1993–present)
Buddy ''Goldfinger'' Schaub - tenor trombone and backing vocals (1993–present)
Peter ''JR'' Wasilewski - tenor saxophone and backing vocals (2000–present)
Matt Yonker - Drums (2018–present)
Past members:
Jessica Mills - alto saxophone (1993–1998)
Derron Nuhfer - tenor and baritone saxophone (1995–2000)
Pete Anna - tenor and alto trombone (1998–2001)
Vinnie Fiorello - drums (1992–2018)
Website: http://www.lessthanjake.com/
All My Best Friends Are Metalheads
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and I promise I will not judge any person only as a teenager.
If you will constantly remind yourself that some of my generation
Judges people by their race, their belief, or the color of their skin,
And that this is no more right than saying all teenagers are
Drunken dope-addicts or glue-sniffers.)
Do you think its strange
That there's a way
Of how you look and how you act and how you think
Pretend they're not the same as you
Do you think its strange
That there's a way
Of how you look and how you act and how you think
Pretend they're not the same as you
Did you know about his strength of conviction
Or how she puts all her faith in religion
Did we take the time
To really discover
How little we know about each other
Keep us from saying anything
Can't separate from everything
Yet all this really means is
You're one in a crowd and
You're paranoid of every sound
Another friend you won't miss anyhow
Do you think its strange
That there's a way
Of how you look and how you act and how you think
Pretend they're not the same as you
Do you know about his strength of conviction
Or how she puts all her faith in religion
Did we take the time
To really discover
How little we know about each other
To keep us from saying anything
And separate from everything
Yet all this really means is
You're one in a crowd and
You're paranoid of every sound
Keep us from saying anything
Can't separate from everything
Yet all this really means is
You're one in a crowd and
You're paranoid of every sound
Another friend you won't miss anyhow
Do you know about his strength of conviction
Or how she puts all her faith in religion
Did we take the time
To really discover
How little we know about each other
Keep us from saying anything
Can't separate from everything
Yet all this really means is
You're one in a crowd and
You're paranoid of every sound
Keep us from saying anything
Can't separate from everything
Yet all this really means is
You're one in a crowd and
You're paranoid of every sound
Paranoid of every sound
Paranoid of every sound
The song "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" by Less Than Jake is about the tendency people have to judge others based on their appearance or beliefs, without taking the time to get to know them. The lyrics ask if it's strange that people can be so quick to pretend that those who look or act differently than they do are not the same as them. The song highlights the importance of taking the time to get to know others and discover their beliefs, strengths, and convictions, rather than making assumptions based on appearance.
The lyrics mention different beliefs and convictions that people may have, such as religion or strength of conviction, emphasizing how little is often known about another person. The chorus suggests that people may be paranoid about others, and may even avoid saying anything or separating themselves entirely from others because they feel that they do not belong. However, the bridge of the song reminds the listener that we are all part of a crowd, and that everyone belongs together in it.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you think its strange
That there's a way
Of how you look and how you act and how you think
Pretend they're not the same as you
Do you find it peculiar that people judge you based on how you look, act, and think, while pretending that they are not just like you?
Did you know about his strength of conviction
Or how she puts all her faith in religion
Did we take the time
To really discover
How little we know about each other
Do you have any idea about someone's deeply-held beliefs or values? Have we ever tried to genuinely understand how little we know about each other beyond our surface-level interactions?
Keep us from saying anything
Can't separate from everything
Yet all this really means is
You're one in a crowd and
You're paranoid of every sound
Another friend you won't miss anyhow
We refrain from speaking our minds and fail to distinguish ourselves from others, but in reality, we are just one of many and always listening for potential threats. We may lose friends, but ultimately, it won't make much of a difference.
Paranoid of every sound
Constantly on guard and suspicious of anything that could pose a threat.
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind