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/
Surburban Myth
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and i'll show you where i lost my job
and where i got chased by cops
so we'll jump the fence at 13th and 10th
to see where we played our first show
i told you everybody loses sight of
all the how it's been and never was
so let's hit the streets tonight
and hung out in that parking lot
left at the light there's park 16th on the right
and that's the place that we called home
that place you'll never get a chance to know
and all the people through the years you could've known
it makes me wonder what your seeing is almost "home"
The lyrics of Less Than Jake's "Suburban Myth" capture the nostalgia of revisiting old haunts, of taking a metaphorical trip down memory lane. The singer invites us to join him/her as they revisit places that have been significant in their lives. They start with the place where they lost their job and were chased by cops - this can be seen as a reference to times of rebellion and nonconformity in their youth, back when they were more likely to be grounded in the present than concerned about the future. The singer then takes us to a location where they played their first show - this location is significant as it represents the first step towards fulfilling their aspirations, of making a name for themselves in the musical world.
The singer then reflects on how easily people forget the past - the "how it's been and never was" - and how we become so enamoured with what is new and current that we forget the places and people that were once important to us. The following lyrics capture a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past - the reference to drinking on the job and hanging out in that parking lot - and how those moments were once so significant to us. The reference to "park 16th on the right" is probably a reference to a street or a club that was once important to the singer, but it is not clear what that place is. The closing lines of the song - "and all the people through the years you could've known/it makes me wonder what you're seeing is almost 'home'" - suggest that the people we meet and the places we visit throughout our lives have a significant impact on us and that they make a place feel like home.
Line by Line Meaning
So let's hit the streets tonight
Let's go out and explore the town
and i'll show you where i lost my job
I will take you to the place where I got fired
and where i got chased by cops
I will take you to the place where I had a run-in with the police
so we'll jump the fence at 13th and 10th
We will trespass by jumping the fence between two streets
to see where we played our first show
We will go to the location of our debut performance
i told you everybody loses sight of
I mentioned to you that people tend to forget
all the how it's been and never was
All the things that were and never happened
so let's hit the streets tonight
Let's go out and explore the town again
and i'll show you where i drank on the job
I will take you to the place where I drank alcohol while working
and hung out in that parking lot
I will show you the parking lot where I used to hang out
left at the light there's park 16th on the right
If we turn left at the traffic light, we will see Park 16th on the right side
and that's the place that we called home
That is the place where we used to live
that place you'll never get a chance to know
You will never have the opportunity to know that place
and all the people through the years you could've known
I wonder about all the people you could have met over the years
it makes me wonder what your seeing is almost "home"
I wonder if the things you see now feel like home to you
Contributed by London J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.