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/
Danny Says
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That he got caught up,
In all the talk of
How it used to be.
And He says,
I never used to mind
That same way of life,
Its just you and me.
That he's so boring now,
Since he figured out,
That back in the day
Really says,
How I remember this,
And don't give a shit,
About what you have to say.
He's only 19,
Burnt out on the scene, yea.
He's only 19.
Danny says,
That he got caught up,
In all the talk of
How it used to be.
And He says,
I never used to mind
That same way of life,
Its just you and me.
Danny says,
That he's so boring now,
Since he figured out,
That back in the day
Really says,
How I remember this,
And don't give a shit,
About what you have to say.
He's only 19,
Burnt out on the scene, yea.
He's only 19.
He's only 19,
Burnt out on the scene, yea.
He's just getting by,
On the memories.
Woah-oh.
Woah-oh-oh-oh.
Woah-oh-oh-oh.
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh.
[Interlude Thingy]
He's only 19,
Burnt out on the scene, yea.
He's only 19, only 19.
He's only 19,
Burnt out on the scene, yea.
He's just getting by,
On the memories.
Woah-oh.
Woah-oh-oh-oh.
Woah-oh-woah-oh-oh.
Woah-oh-woah-oh-oh-oh.
The song "Danny Says" by Less Than Jake seems to be inspired by the idea of nostalgia, growing up, and the way we reminisce about the past. The opening lyric, "Danny says, that he got caught up in all the talk of how it used to be" suggests that Danny is reminiscing about something. Maybe he's thinking about his past, a time when he was more carefree and less burdened by the responsibilities of adult life. He's mourning the loss of something that once was and trying to figure out how to connect that past to his present reality.
The song seems to be told from the perspective of somebody observing Danny and the way he's stuck in the past. There's a sadness to the song, a theme of loss and regret, as it explores how memory can be both a blessing and a curse. The line "He's just getting by on the memories" seems to sum up the core message of this track - that sometimes, our memories are all we have left.
Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on the way we think about the past and how we try to reconcile it with our present lives. It's a beautifully crafted piece of music that speaks to our shared human experience in a way that we can all relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
Danny says, That he got caught up, In all the talk of How it used to be.
Danny admits that he got carried away with the talk of the good old days.
And He says, I never used to mind That same way of life, Its just you and me.
Danny and someone else enjoyed reminiscing about the past, but they're the only ones.
Danny says, That he's so boring now, Since he figured out, That back in the day
Danny realized that he's become dull and uninteresting ever since he got nostalgic about the past.
Really says, How I remember this, And don't give a shit, About what you have to say.
Danny only really cares about what he remembers from the past, and doesn't care about anyone else's opinion.
He's only 19, Burnt out on the scene, yea.
Danny is still young, but he's already tired of the music scene and everything in it.
He's just getting by, On the memories.
Danny is relying on memories of the past to get him through the present.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind