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 Wรผnderland 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 (1992โpresent)
Roger Lima - vocals and bass (1993โpresent)
Buddy ''Goldfinger'' Schaub - tenor trombone and backing vocals (1993โpresent)
Peter ''JR'' Wasilewski - tenor saxophone and backing vocals (2000โpresent)
Matt Yonker - Drums (2018โpresent)
Past members:
Jessica Mills - alto saxophone (1993โ1998)
Derron Nuhfer - tenor and baritone saxophone (1995โ2000)
Pete Anna - tenor and alto trombone (1998โ2001)
Vinnie Fiorello - drums (1992โ2018)
Website: http://www.lessthanjake.com/
I Would Walk 500 Miles
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I wake up, yeah I know Im gonna be,
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
And If I get drunk, yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver whatever that means
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you
But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door
When I'm working yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you
And when the money, comes in for the work I do
I'll pass almost every penny on to you
When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you
And if I grow old well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you
And I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door
Surrender
Surrender
When I'm lonely yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you
When I'm dreaming yes I know I'm gonna dream
I gonna Dream about the time when I'm with you
And if I get drunk, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man that gets drunk next to you
And if I haver, whatever the fuck that means
I'm gonna be the man who havers next you
And I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door
Surrender
Surrender
When I'm lonely, yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man whos lonely without you
I'm gonna be the man whos coming home
Cuz I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door
Surrender
Surrender
Surrender
The Less Than Jake cover of the Proclaimers' "I Would Walk 500 Miles" is a song about a man who promises to do whatever it takes to be with the woman he loves. He promises to be with her in every moment, waking up next to her, going out with her, and even getting drunk with her. He loves her to the extent that he will walk 1000 miles just to fall down at her door. He will work hard and give her everything he earns, grow old with her, and be there for her when she's lonely. The song is essentially about a commitment to love and the sacrifices that come with it.
The use of repetition in the lyrics, specifically the line "And I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, to be the man who walked 1000 miles to fall down at your door" emphasizes the intensity of the man's love for the woman. The song is a perfect example of how music can convey a message that, though seemingly simple, holds a lot of meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
When I wake up, yeah I know Im gonna be,
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you
I know I'll wake up next to you
When I go out yeah I know Im gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
I'll be your constant companion when we're out
And If I get drunk, yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
I'll drink and have fun with you
And if I haver whatever that means
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you
I'll chat and talk with you, even when intoxicated
But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door
I'll literally walk 1,000 miles just to see you, that's how much I care
When I'm working yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you
I'll work hard to support you
And when the money, comes in for the work I do
I'll pass almost every penny on to you
I'll give you most of what I earn
When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you
I'll come back home to be with you everytime
And if I grow old well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you
I'll grow old with you by my side
When I'm lonely yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you
I'll miss you when we are apart
When I'm dreaming yes I know I'm gonna dream
I gonna Dream about the time when I'm with you
I'll dream about the moments we'll share together
And if I get drunk, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man that gets drunk next to you
I'll get drunk and have a good time with you
And if I haver, whatever the fuck that means
I'm gonna be the man who havers next you
Even if I speak gibberish, I'll still talk to you
Cuz I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
To be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door
Again, I'm willing to walk a thousand miles just to be with you
Surrender
Surrender
Surrender
Give in to my love, it's worth it
Contributed by Aria E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@deeeznuuuts
Please put on spotify. This is my teenage years.
@fartinazoodle
Down by LawStill a wicked tune
@MartyMcFly88
This is not Less Than Jake, this is the band Down By Law
@xnimrodx
Mate, they definitely didn't cover it. There's even an interview from Warped tour last year where Buddy is asked what's the strangest rumour that he's ever heard about LTJ and that's the first thing that pops into his head. His exact words were "Somebody covered that and eveybody thinks it's us for some reason. It comes up when you try and download it. We never did that; we never recorded it, we never covered it."
@AirborneAnt
The name of the Band Covering is...โDOWN BY LAWโ not Less than jake...
@SarcasticSiren505
Thank you so much for clarifying this! I have been trying for a long time to get this straightened out but could never figure out who it was. Thank you thank you thank you.
@xnimrodx
You do realise that Less Than Jake has never actually covered this song? This lad doesn't sound anything like Chris OR Roger! Haha
@eduardojorqueragonzalez8418
11 years listening this shit thinking its LTJ... I can see the light now, thanks good man.
@Heathvn22
I feel ya man. But I blame Limewire. haha! From way back in the day.
@cara75
Pretty sure that's where my mp3 came from and it's labeled Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Oh well, I love this version! Glad to know who it's really by.