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/
Bless the Cracks
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out of touch
Back when it was different, growing up
We're the ones
That would run
When it's said and done, yeah, it was us
You and me
It's all we ever needed to believe
Piece by piece
Breaking me
They told us how we should be, and we agreed
Hey, brother
How you living?
Night after night in your own prison
There's nothing truer that's ever been said
When you live on hope alone
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breeeaaath
You and I
Will survive
But ask me if I knew I'd pay the price
Hanging on
By a thread
The voices in my head stop making sense
On the edge
Once again
Living in the moment 'til the end
Every night
Of our lives
I wonder if it'd been right the whole damn time
Hey, brother
How you living?
Night after night in your own prison
There's nothing truer that's ever been said
When you live on hope alone
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breeeaaath
Can you say you found the voice that's deep inside
Deep inside?
Drank along as they came in, made up our minds
Made up our minds
Can you say that they have been right all this time
Every time?
Feels like forever since we
Built our cages (We built our cages)
Of empty phrases
Hey, brother
How you living?
Night after night in your own prison
There's nothing truer that's ever been said
Take a look at yourself, try to save what's left
Hey, brother
How you living?
When you live on hope alone
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breeeaaath
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breeeaaath
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breath
Don't go holding your breath
The lyrics of Bless the Cracks by Less Than Jake, revolve around the idea of growing up and the sentiments associated with it. The song reflects on the past and the way things seemed different back in the day when the band members were young and carefree. The line "We were young, out of touch, back when it was different, growing up" highlights the nostalgia of the band members for their youthful days when they didn't have the responsibilities of adulthood to deal with.
The song goes on to explore the way society imposes its ideals on the youth, how it expects them to behave, and how they are encouraged to set themselves high standards that may not always be realistic or achievable. The lines "Piece by piece, breaking me, they told us how we should be, and we agreed" underline the pressure on young individuals to conform to societal expectations and how this can weigh them down and stress them out.
The song also explores themes of identity and existentialism. The lyrics, "On the edge, once again, living in the moment 'til the end" suggest the precarious nature of life, and how it is fleeting and transitory. The repeated refrain of "Don't go holding your breath" is a reminder to the listener to seize life and live it fully and not wait in anticipation for something to happen.
Overall, Bless the Cracks offers a thoughtful commentary on the way society interacts with young people and the impact of those interactions on individuals as they grow into adulthood.
Line by Line Meaning
We were young
Back when we were young and naive
Out of touch
We were disconnected from the world
Back when it was different, growing up
We were growing up in a very different time
We're the ones
Out of all the people around, it was us
That would run
Those of us who would run and take the risk
When it's said and done, yeah, it was us
We took responsibility for our actions
We were free
We felt free to do what we wanted
You and me
Just us two
It's all we ever needed to believe
We didn't need anything else but our freedom
Piece by piece
Slowly but surely
Breaking me
Breaking my spirit
They told us how we should be, and we agreed
We let others dictate how we should act and we went along with it
Hey, brother
A familiar greeting to a close friend
How you living?
How have you been doing lately?
Night after night in your own prison
Stuck in your own routine without realizing it
There's nothing truer that's ever been said
This is a universal truth
When you live on hope alone
When you only have hope to hold onto
Don't go holding your breath
Don't get too excited or optimistic
Don't go holding your breeeaaath
Don't hold on too tight
You and I
Both of us together
Will survive
We'll make it through
But ask me if I knew I'd pay the price
I didn't know what it would cost me to survive
Hanging on
Just managing to hold on
By a thread
Barely hanging on
The voices in my head stop making sense
I can't make sense of my own thoughts
On the edge
Close to losing control
Once again
This isn't a new feeling
Living in the moment 'til the end
Enjoying life while it lasts
Every night
Each and every day
Of our lives
Throughout our existence
I wonder if it'd been right the whole damn time
I question whether we did the right thing all along
Can you say you found the voice that's deep inside
Did you find your true self?
Deep inside?
At the core of your being?
Drank along as they came in, made up our minds
We went along with the crowd and made decisions without thinking
Made up our minds
We decided without hesitation
Can you say that they have been right all this time
Have they been right this entire time?
Feels like forever since we
It feels like it's been a long time since we
Built our cages (We built our cages)
We created our own limitations
Of empty phrases
Using words that have no meaning
Take a look at yourself, try to save what's left
Reflect on your life and try to save what's left
When you live on hope alone
When all you have left is hope
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind