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/
Escape From the A-Bomb House
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been making plans
To leave this house and yes I'm sure
So lock the door, and turn the
Front porch lights out
After all the endless fights
The who's been wrong and who's been right
So there's no need to apologize
Don't wait up, I'll be fine
If you could see inside my head
Maybe you could understand
That I'm better off
I'm better off gone
Dear Mom and Dad,
I've been making plans
To leave your house and yes I'm sure
That nothing's wrong, so just
Be strong on my way out
After all the endless nights
The who's been wrong and who's been right
We just never saw eye to eye
So there's no need to apologize
Don't wait up, I'll be fine
If you could see inside my head
Maybe you could understand
That I'm better off gone
I'm better off gone
‘Cause we don't see eye to eye
Escape From the A-Bomb House by Less Than Jake is a song that explores the theme of leaving home and the strained relationships between a parent and child. The song’s lyrics follow a young adult, presumably a teenager or young adult, who has decided to leave home due to the constant fighting with their parents. In the first verse, the singer announces their intentions to their parents and insists that leaving is the best option. They urge their parents to lock the door and turn off the front porch light, signaling the finality of this decision.
The second verse reiterates the singer's decision to leave and emphasizes that nothing is wrong, despite the constant arguing. They acknowledge that they and their parents have never seen eye to eye and that there is no need for apologies. The singer laments that if their parents could see inside their head, maybe they would understand why leaving is the best decision. The chorus emphasizes this idea that the singer is better off gone and that leaving is the best thing for everyone.
Overall, Escape From the A-Bomb House is a song that tackles the tension and turmoil that can exist in family relationships. It highlights the complicated emotions that come with leaving home and emphasizes the importance of putting one's mental and emotional health first.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear Mom and Dad,
I've been making plans
To leave this house and yes I'm sure
So lock the door, and turn the
Front porch lights out
The singer is informing his parents that he has made the decision to leave their home and wants them to know that he is sure about it. He also requests that they lock the door and turn off the front porch lights.
After all the endless fights
The who's been wrong and who's been right
We just never saw eye to eye
The singer acknowledges that there have been a lot of fights between him and his parents and they never really agreed on anything.
So there's no need to apologize
Don't wait up, I'll be fine
If you could see inside my head
Maybe you could understand
That I'm better off
I'm better off gone
The singer does not want his parents to feel guilty about his decision to leave and assures them that he will be okay. He also suggests that if his parents could understand his perspective, they would see that he is better off leaving.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I've been making plans
To leave your house and yes I'm sure
That nothing's wrong, so just
Be strong on my way out
The artist reiterates his plans to leave his parents' house but assures them that there is no problem and they should just stay strong as he makes his way out.
After all the endless nights
The who's been wrong and who's been right
We just never saw eye to eye
The artist acknowledges that there have been a lot of disagreements between him and his parents which contributed to his decision to leave.
So there's no need to apologize
Don't wait up, I'll be fine
If you could see inside my head
Maybe you could understand
That I'm better off gone
I'm better off gone
‘Cause we don't see eye to eye
The singer again emphasizes that there is no need for apologies and assures his parents that he will be okay. He suggests that if they understood his perspective, they would see that he is better off leaving because they do not see things in the same way.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER DEMAKES, LOUIS JAMES SCHAUB, PETER JOHN WASILEWSKI, ROGERIO LIMA MANGANELLI, VINCENT PHILLIP FIORELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind