Less Than Jake is a ska punk band formed in 1992 in Gainesville, USA. Their… Read Full Bio ↴Less Than Jake is a ska punk band formed in 1992 in Gainesville, USA. Their current line-up consists of Chris DeMakes (vocals, guitar), Roger Lima (vocals, bass), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone) and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone).

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/

St. James Hotel
Less Than Jake Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There is a place not far from the city
Where old men go to die and bums are pissing
Last night no one checked out,
And I checked back in

While toothless winos
Watched and grinned
And they don't really care about you

Some things you can't tell

Sometimes I can't take the smell
St. James Hotel

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "St. James Hotel" by Less Than Jake describe a dark and seedy place that is not far from the city, where old men go to die and bums are pissing. The singer has checked back into the hotel, but last night no one checked out. Toothless winos watch and grin as if they enjoy seeing the guests suffer. The hotel staff don't really care about their guests, and there are things that the singer cannot even bring himself to tell us. The smell is so bad that sometimes the singer cannot take it.

The song is about a fictional hotel, but it is likely that it is inspired by real-life experiences that the band has had while touring. The lyrics paint a picture of a bleak and depressing place, where people have given up on hope and have accepted their fate. The toothless winos are a metaphor for the darker side of human nature, and the fact that they watch and grin suggests that they take pleasure in the misery of others. The hotel staff are portrayed as uncaring and indifferent, as if they have stopped caring about their guests.

Line by Line Meaning

There is a place not far from the city
There is a hotel located near the city, but away from the city's hustle and bustle.

Where old men go to die and bums are pissing
The hotel is inhabited by elderly people who are expected to die soon and homeless people who resort to urinating in public places.

Last night no one checked out,
Nobody left the hotel last night.

And I checked back in
The singer found himself checking back into St. James hotel.

While toothless winos
The singer is referring to homeless people who are alcoholics and have no teeth left in their mouth.

Watched and grinned
Homeless alcoholics standing around and watching others are enjoying the sight and taking pleasure in other people's misfortunes.

And they don't really care about you
No one cares about the well-being of guests who stay at St. James hotel.

Some things you can't tell
The hotel and its inhabitants are a mystery, and it's better not to ask any questions about them.

Sometimes I can't take the smell
The singer cannot bear the stench and filth that emanates from the hotel and its surroundings.

St. James Hotel
The name of the hotel that the singer is describing is St. James hotel.

Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS

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