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/
My Money Is on the Long Shot
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Living on a thinner thread
And the new look now is wanting more but have a little less
The new you isn't who
You thought you knew but it's what's left
Let me catch my breath
Let me try and start explaining this
We always say we want to have it better
Take a look around
Setting ourselves up to hold this down
We wait around for something better
And we always wanted something bigger
But we don't work for it
Cause we know it's much too big a risk
It's a long shot
And my chances can't get worse
And the truth stings
Ringing out with every word
It's ringing out with every word
If you knew the future of
Exactly what lies ahead
Would you change a bit or still let it lead you by the wrist
And we pace and we wait
For the weights to crush what's left
Let me take the hit
Let me see if I unravel this
We wait around for the easy answers
And we ignore what really matters
We let the past sink in
But never learned it's much too big a risk
Much too big a risk
It's a long shot
And my chances can't get worse
And the truth stings
Ringing out with every word
It's a long shot
And my chances can't get worse
And the truth stings
Ringing out with every word
It's ringing out with every word
Ready, set or not
I'll bet all I've got
On the longest shot
Ready, set or not
I'll bet all I've got
On the longest shot
Ready, set or not
I'll bet all I've got
On the longest shot
I'll bet all I've got
On the longest shot
Less Than Jake's song "My Money is on the Long Shot" is a commentary on the current societal norm of living on a thinner thread. The song suggests that people are wanting more but have less of what they really need. The 'new look' is the desire for a better life but never really attaining it. The song asks whether people would change anything if they knew the future and suggests that people are waiting around for things to get better but are really just ignoring what truly matters.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the new standard of
Living on a thinner thread
And the new look now is wanting more but have a little less
The current way of life is difficult and unstable, and people want more, but they have to settle for less due to circumstances.
The new you isn't who
You thought you knew but it's what's left
Let me catch my breath
Let me try and start explaining this
The situation has changed people, and they have to adapt to the new reality. The singer is trying to make sense of this and take a break to think it through.
We always say we want to have it bigger
We always say we want to have it better
Take a look around
Setting ourselves up to hold this down
People have high aspirations, but they often do not work towards them. Instead, they hold themselves back and keep themselves from achieving their goals.
We wait around for something better
And we always wanted something bigger
But we don't work for it
Cause we know it's much too big a risk
People hope for something better to come along, but they do not actively pursue it because they are afraid of taking risks and failing.
It's a long shot
And my chances can't get worse
And the truth stings
Ringing out with every word
It's ringing out with every word
The artist is taking a big risk, but at this point, the only way to go is up. The truth of the situation is harsh, and every word hurts.
If you knew the future of
Exactly what lies ahead
Would you change a bit or still let it lead you by the wrist
If people knew what lay ahead in their lives, would they change anything, or would they just keep going and let the future unfold as it may?
And we pace and we wait
For the weights to crush what's left
Let me take the hit
Let me see if I unravel this
People are waiting for something bad to happen, and they are slowly losing hope. The singer is requesting to take the hit and try to understand the situation better.
We wait around for the easy answers
And we ignore what really matters
We let the past sink in
But never learned it's much too big a risk
Much too big a risk
People want quick and easy solutions, but they overlook the important details. They are also unable to learn from their mistakes, and this is a significant risk.
Ready, set, or not
I'll bet all I've got
On the longest shot
The artist is willing to take a gamble, even though the odds are against them.
I'll bet all I've got
On the longest shot
The artist is willing to risk everything they have, even if it means betting on something with a low chance of success.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: LOUIS JAMES SCHAUB, PETER WASILEWSKI, ROGERIO MANGANELLI, VINNIE FIORELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@channelsialan5002
00:25 - CM Punk (WWE)
00:27 - MC Lars
00:29 - Josh Martin from The Wonder Years
00:31 - Officer Bradford & Yellow Intruder (Masked Intruder)
00:34 - Aaron Barrett from Reel Big Fish
00:39 - Falling In Reverse
00:47 - Dave McWane from Big D and the Kids Table
00:49 - John Feldman from Goldfingers
00:52 - Chris Rhodes
00:56 - Jack Barakat from All Time Low
00:58 - Fat Mike from Nofx
01:02 - Brian Baker from Bad Religion
01:05 - Steve Klein from New Found Glory
01:10 - Kemuri
01:12 - The Swellers
01:16 - Darla Burkett daughter of Fat Mike
01:36 - Brandon Carlisle
01:40 - Chris Barker from Anti-Flag
01:42 - Zebrahead
01:57 - Ian Grushka from New Found Glory
02:04 - Dicky Barrett from Mighty Mighty Bosstones
02:10 - Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory
02:41 - El Heve from Nofx
02:35 - Maura Weaver ex-Mixtapes
02:37 - Telle Smith from The Word Alive
02:47 - Mike Herrera from MxPx
@HaydenSchiff
Way back when this video came out, i made a list of every single person/band in it for a contest Fat Wreck Chords was running. Just dug it up again (man this took me forever):
Aaron Abeyta (El Hefe of NOFX)
Aaron Barrett (Reel Big Fish) and his dog
Anti-Flag
Brian Baker (Bad Religion)
Buddy Schaub (LTJ)
Chad Gilbert (New Found Glory)
Chris DeMakes (LTJ)
Chris Rhodes (Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
CM Punk
Darla Burkett (Fat Mike's daughter)
Dave McWane
Dicky Barrett (Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
Dustin Diamond
Falling in Reverse
Fat Mike (NOFX)
Ian Grushka (New Found Glory)
J.R. Wasilewski (LTJ)
Jack Barakat
Jennifer Abeyta (El Hefe's wife)
John Feldmann (Goldfinger)
Jon Snodgrass
Josh Martin
Kemuri
Kent Jamieson (NOFX manager)
Kyle Lucas
Maura Weaver (Mixtapes)
MC Lars
Mike Herrera (MxPx)
Milo Aukerman (Descendents)
Nik Bruzzese (Man Overboard)
Officer Bradford
Pat Brown
Pentimento
Red City Radio
Roger Lima (LTJ)
Rou Reynolds (Enter Shikari)
Soma Snakeoil
Stephen Egerton (Descendents)
Steve Klein (New Found Glory)
Steven Jackson
Teenage Bottlerocket
Telle Smith (The Word Alive)
The Impossibles
The Swellers
Vinnie Fiorello (LTJ)
Vinny Milano (Bald Vinny)
Yellow Intruder
Zac Eisenstein (Man Overboard)
Zebrahead
@Imaweasel1
Here's all the cameos I could name:
CM Punk
MC Lars
Josh from The Wonder Years
Officer Bradford and Yellow from Masked Intruder
Aaron from Reel Big Fish
Falling in Reverse
John Feldman from Goldfinger
Jack from All Time Low
Fat Mike
Brian from Bad Religion
Steve from NFG and Higgins
Fat Mike's daughter Darla
Charlie Paulson
Brandon from Teenage Bottlerocket
Chris from Anti-Flag
Zebrahead
Mrs. Hefe and El Hefe
Ian from NFG
Chad from NFG
Mike Herrera
@channelsialan5002
00:25 - CM Punk (WWE)
00:27 - MC Lars
00:29 - Josh Martin from The Wonder Years
00:31 - Officer Bradford & Yellow Intruder (Masked Intruder)
00:34 - Aaron Barrett from Reel Big Fish
00:39 - Falling In Reverse
00:47 - Dave McWane from Big D and the Kids Table
00:49 - John Feldman from Goldfingers
00:52 - Chris Rhodes
00:56 - Jack Barakat from All Time Low
00:58 - Fat Mike from Nofx
01:02 - Brian Baker from Bad Religion
01:05 - Steve Klein from New Found Glory
01:10 - Kemuri
01:12 - The Swellers
01:16 - Darla Burkett daughter of Fat Mike
01:36 - Brandon Carlisle
01:40 - Chris Barker from Anti-Flag
01:42 - Zebrahead
01:57 - Ian Grushka from New Found Glory
02:04 - Dicky Barrett from Mighty Mighty Bosstones
02:10 - Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory
02:41 - El Heve from Nofx
02:35 - Maura Weaver ex-Mixtapes
02:37 - Telle Smith from The Word Alive
02:47 - Mike Herrera from MxPx
@wmd741
2:01 Rory from The Impossibles!
@thomasowen3678
00:43 Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved by the Bell)
@bradleyspitfire2705
Mustard plug...
@kirablades9928
One of my biggest regrets in life is not having been born 10 yrs earlier so I could enjoy LTJ, MMBT, RBF, Goldfinger, And all these great bands at the peak of their popularity. Discovering all these great musicians too late makes me sad but if you feel like you’re music is getting too old just know it lives through the hearts of some of us younger fans and it will live on forever. Lmao this cheesy as hell but idc. Love you guys!
@leadme2thebliss21
Roger's voice is heaven!
@Scottcollins1983
Punk rock community is the best in the whole bloody world. Some of the music may be come a cross aggressive but it's just passion baby. At the end of the day we are the best! We take care of our own.
@MsAkbar14
Stacynow yup, while there are competitions between musician in a certain genre, we, punk musician most of the time promote other punk band while on stage or even in daily basis and make ourselve like a walking ads, we never demand an ads fee, we do it because we are community.
@A4LStudios
Yep knock someone down in the pit and help them up Haha
@goldenhydreigon4727
0:25)
More like CM Punk Rock AM I RIGHT?!