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/
Let Her Go
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
Worlds apart, I'm torn apart, I'll stall up my senses
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
Somehow through it all we've become defenseless
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
I'm living this lie and I can't pretend
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
And I know I'll get that feeling when we meet again
And I know I will be stronger in the end
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
Now we realize the compromises you and I
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You fell from heaven to heartbreak in the blink of an eye
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
And I know I'll get that feeling when we meet again
And I know I will be stronger in the end
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
If I leave right now, get up and walk away
Our yesterdays will begin to fade
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
If I leave right now, get up and walk away
Our yesterdays will begin to fade
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
The song Let Her Go is an emotional song that tells the story of a relationship that has ended but one person cannot let go. The lyrics refer to the struggles the person is going through in trying to move on from the relationship, going back and forth in their mind trying to process the pain they feel. The person acknowledges that they must let go, but it is difficult to do so. They are torn apart and stalling their senses, living a lie and unable to pretend anymore. The person knows they will be stronger eventually but it is a difficult process.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the person's distress, repeating "I think I'm gonna lose my mind, cause I don't wanna say goodbye" multiple times. These lines show the pain the person is going through and how the thought of letting go is unbearable.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics mention that if the person leaves now, they will walk away from the past and begin to move on. The last repetition of the chorus emphasizes once again that they must let go, with the phrase "You gotta let her go, gotta let her go" being repeated several times.
Overall, Let Her Go is a powerful song that captures the emotions one goes through when trying to let go of a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Going back and forth inside my shut up brain again
I'm constantly thinking about this situation again and again.
Worlds apart, I'm torn apart, I'll stall up my senses
We're in completely different places in life and it's making me feel like I'm falling apart.
Somehow through it all we've become defenseless
Despite all our defenses, we've still been hurt and left vulnerable by this situation.
I'm living this lie and I can't pretend
I'm pretending everything is okay, but deep down I know it's not.
And I know I'll get that feeling when we meet again
I know I'll still have feelings for her when I see her again.
And I know I will be stronger in the end
Despite the pain, I know I'll come out stronger and better in the end.
I think I'm gonna lose my mind
I'm really struggling with this situation and it's driving me insane.
'Cause I don't wanna say goodbye
I don't want to let go of this person and say goodbye.
Now we realize the compromises you and I
We're realizing that we both had to make compromises in this relationship that we didn't anticipate.
You fell from heaven to heartbreak in the blink of an eye
You were once my everything, but now you've caused me heartbreak in the blink of an eye.
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
I need to accept that I have to let go of this person and move on.
If I leave right now, get up and walk away
If I just leave this situation now, it will be easier to move on and leave the past behind.
Our yesterdays will begin to fade
Our past memories together will start to fade away if we separate.
You gotta let her go, gotta let her go
I need to keep reminding myself that I have to let go in order to move on.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Chistopher Demakes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind