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/
Rock-n-Roll Pizzeria
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This city never stays the same
It's always "I've got to keep on moving
And I've got to keep on going"
But just maybe it's to keep itself sane
That it's always "I've got to keep on moving
So I don't have any feeling"
So I'm on my way out of this place
I'm on my way
All the feeling in this place
Has all up and gone
So with one hand on the wheel
The other out the window
With a smile on my face
And my middle finger up
With one hand on the wheel
This city's going crazy
Without a care that it's all fucked up
The first verse of Less Than Jake's song Rock-N-Roll Pizzeria talks about a city that never stays the same, where people always feel the need to keep moving to keep themselves sane. The singer reflects on the numbness that has engulfed him and is planning to leave. The second verse reveals the frustration he feels about the city that has gone crazy without a care that everything is messed up.
This song could relate to any bustling city of the world where people are always on the go and where they have to adapt to regular changes. The constant need to stay moving can lead to people feeling emotionally and mentally exhausted, which could explain the "numbness" mentioned in the song. However, the city still buzzes with energy, despite it all being messed up.
Overall, Rock-N-Roll Pizzeria conveys a message of frustration and exhaustion brought by the need for constant change and the difficulties of adapting. It reflects the fast-paced life of the city and the effects it has on the people living in it.
Line by Line Meaning
Man, it's really strange
It's weird how things are in this city
This city never stays the same
The city is always changing
It's always "I've got to keep on moving
And I've got to keep on going"
People are always in a rush to keep moving forward
But just maybe it's to keep itself sane
That it's always "I've got to keep on moving
So I don't have any feeling"
Perhaps the constant movement is necessary for people to avoid feeling overwhelmed
So I'm on my way out of this place
That has me turning numb
I'm on my way
The singer is leaving the city because it's making him numb and he needs a change
All the feeling in this place
Has all up and gone
There's a lack of emotion and passion in the city
So with one hand on the wheel
The other out the window
With a smile on my face
And my middle finger up
The singer is leaving the city with a mix of happiness and anger
With one hand on the wheel
This city's going crazy
The city is spiraling out of control
Without a care that it's all fucked up
Despite everything going wrong, the people in the city aren't doing anything to fix it
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind