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/
Bad Scene and a Basement Show
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well the scene here he wants her back,
he's trying to use the phone,
she's hanging up, he's given up,
he should've known,
looking lost then he wanders off,
and tries to sing along,
to some song he's never heard,
{CHOURUS}
It gets worse before it's all over,
I know I'll get through this somehow,
it gets worse before it's all over,
and nothing's gonna change her mind for now.
{VERSE}
Well the scene here he's still alone,
another band in this crowded basement,
with too much smal talk and lame inside jokes,
feeling useless out of excuses,
he should've known to let it go,
she said "it's done",
second chances seem to never come,
{CHOURUS}
It gets worse before it's all over,
I know I'll get through this somehow,
it gets worse before it's all over,
nothing's gonna change her mind for now,
change her mind,
for now,
change her mind,
it gets worse before it's all over,
it gets worse before it's all over,
it gets worse before it's all over,
I know I'll get through this somehow,
{BRIDGE}
After all the bad endings and misunderstandings,
all of the late night last hopes and lost time,
all that she left for me was only a memory,
and all I can say is she don't understand me,
she don't understand me,
she don't understand me,
she don't understabd me,
she don't understand me.
{this song rulez....enjoy l8rz peace out -Ally-}
The song “Bad Scene and a Basement Show” by Less Than Jake is about a man who is having a tough time getting over a break-up. He keeps trying to call his ex-girlfriend, but she keeps hanging up on him. He finally gives up and decides to go to a concert where he tries to sing along to a song he’s never heard before. He feels lost and alone, among a crowd of people who are in high spirits, and he’s just going through the motions, mouthing the words to the songs.
The chorus repeats the notion that things will get worse before they get better. The man is struggling to cope with the end of his relationship, and nothing he does is going to change his ex-girlfriend’s mind. The bridge adds another layer to his feelings of hurt and confusion. He reflects on all the times they had together, but all that she left him with was memories. He feels that she never really understood him, and he’s at a loss for what to do next.
Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on heartbreak and the struggle to move on from a relationship. The lyrics capture the raw emotions of the man and his struggle to move on, set against a backdrop of a lively concert that he can’t engage with. It’s a relatable song for anyone who’s gone through a difficult break-up and struggled to find their place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Well the scene here he wants her back,
The guy in the scene wants his ex-girlfriend back.
he's trying to use the phone,
He's trying to call her.
she's hanging up, he's given up,
She's not picking up, and he's given up trying.
he should've known,
He should have realized it was over.
looking lost then he wanders off,
He looks lost and then wanders off.
and tries to sing along,
He tries to sing along to a song.
to some song he's never heard,
He's trying to sing along to a song he's never heard before.
but just keeps mouthing all the words,
He doesn't know the lyrics, but still mouths along to the song.
It gets worse before it's all over,
Things will get worse before they get better.
I know I'll get through this somehow,
The person singing knows they will make it through.
and nothing's gonna change her mind for now.
His ex-girlfriend isn't going to change her mind anytime soon.
Well the scene here he's still alone,
The scene has changed, but the guy is still alone.
another band in this crowded basement,
There's another band playing in the crowded basement.
with too much small talk and lame inside jokes,
People are talking too much and making bad jokes.
feeling useless out of excuses,
He's feeling useless and has no more excuses.
he should've known to let it go,
He should have known to move on.
she said "it's done",
She's told him that it's over.
second chances seem to never come,
He thinks he won't get a second chance.
After all the bad endings and misunderstandings,
After all of the bad things that happened in the relationship...
all of the late night last hopes and lost time,
...all of the nights he hoped things would get better and the time he lost...
all that she left for me was only a memory,
All she left behind was a memory.
and all I can say is she don't understand me,
He feels like she doesn't understand him.
she don't understand me,
He really feels like she doesn't understand him.
this song rulez....enjoy l8rz peace out -Ally-
This is just someone signing off the message. It has no relation to the song.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind