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 WĂĽnderland 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/
Sugar In Your Gas Tank
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It seems that I'd more content with it all,
If I had it in me to stop my random thoughts,
And my dumb dreams
I could deal with this nonstop spinning world.
If only I could say that everything's ok
Take a good look
And look the other way,
I'd rather sit back,
And just smoke cigarettes.
Be the one with the loudest mouth
Be the most closed minded that I could get
The lyrics of Sugar In Your Gas Tank by Less Than Jake explore the theme of frustration and the desire for a simple life. The singer wishes he had a scheme for everything and could stop his random thoughts and dumb dreams, believing that if he could, he would be more content with the world. He wishes he could say that everything is okay, but instead, he would rather sit back and smoke cigarettes, being the one with the loudest mouth and the most closed-minded.
The song's lyrics are reflective of the modern age, in which people are constantly bombarded with information and struggle to cope with the complexities of daily life. The singer appears to be overwhelmed by his own thoughts and desires, looking for a way to escape the endless cycle of frustration and disappointment. The song seems to suggest that sometimes, it's okay to step back and take a break, even if it means being closed-minded and ignoring everything else going on in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
If I had a scheme for everything,
If I had a plan for everything in life,
It seems that I'd more content with it all,
I would be happier with my life,
If I had it in me to stop my random thoughts,
If I had the ability to control my thoughts,
And my dumb dreams
And my unrealistic aspirations,
I could deal with this nonstop spinning world.
I could cope with the constantly changing world.
If only I could say that everything's ok
If only I could convince myself that everything is fine,
Take a good look
Examine things carefully,
And look the other way,
And then ignore them,
Frustration, hell, who needs it anyway.
Nobody needs to deal with frustration,
I'd rather sit back,
I prefer to relax,
And just smoke cigarettes.
And smoke cigarettes to calm myself down,
Be the one with the loudest mouth
Be the person who talks the most,
Be the most closed minded that I could get
Be as narrow-minded as possible.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mr Comix
Verse 1]
If I had a scheme
For everything it seems I'd be sure
I could change it all
It all, it all, it all, it all
[Chorus]
If I had it in me
To stop my random thoughts and my dumb dreams
I could deal with this non-stop spinning world
[Verse 2]
If only I could say
That everything's OK, take a good look
Look the other way
Frustration, hell, who needs it?
Who needs it, anyway?
[Chorus]
If I had it in me
To stop my random thoughts and my dumb dreams
I could deal with this non-stop spinning world
Yeah, this non-stop spinning world
Yeah, this non-stop spinning world
[Bridge]
But I'd rather sit back
Just smoke cigarettes
Be the one with the loudest mouth
Be the most closed-minded
As I could get
And just smoke cigarettes
Be the one with the loudest mouth
I'm the most closed-minded
As I could get
Yeah, as I could get
Yeah, as I could get
Yeah
Flux
I used to have this CD. This song used to skip after a year of having it because it got scratched. To hear this without the skip was unexpectedly amazing and soothing.
Mr Comix
Verse 1]
If I had a scheme
For everything it seems I'd be sure
I could change it all
It all, it all, it all, it all
[Chorus]
If I had it in me
To stop my random thoughts and my dumb dreams
I could deal with this non-stop spinning world
[Verse 2]
If only I could say
That everything's OK, take a good look
Look the other way
Frustration, hell, who needs it?
Who needs it, anyway?
[Chorus]
If I had it in me
To stop my random thoughts and my dumb dreams
I could deal with this non-stop spinning world
Yeah, this non-stop spinning world
Yeah, this non-stop spinning world
[Bridge]
But I'd rather sit back
Just smoke cigarettes
Be the one with the loudest mouth
Be the most closed-minded
As I could get
And just smoke cigarettes
Be the one with the loudest mouth
I'm the most closed-minded
As I could get
Yeah, as I could get
Yeah, as I could get
Yeah
MrPsychout69
I remember intentionally failing one of the first levels in Street Sk8ter just so this song would start over ^_^ <3
Heyhon Puds
WAY COOL!!!
Jory Armstrongest
Yes.
Kurt Phillips
They would play in a CD player lmao
crossfadeking
@Kurt Phillips use to take out the portable cd player to skate with so i could session with this track
High on boxin
Yes I remember the game l love this song street s8ter came out 99
Tatenda Tambo
I remember this from when I was a kid. A friend of mine gave me a cassette with a Good Charlotte album on it, and he'd accidentally recorded half of this song at the end. So glad I found them after 18 years wondering where this song came from. Anyone else remember when you could rewind music with a pencil, or having to make sure it didn't get tangled?
Buster Brown
Glad you found them again man... and to anyone reading this... please search Travis M on youtube... this guy has around 500 full albums of relatively small bands that you will never of heard of, but you will find some absolute gems! Stop reading and do it... DO IT NOW