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/
Surrender
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She also told me, "Stay away, you'll never know what you'll catch"
Just the other day
I heard a soldier falling off some Indonesian junk that's going round
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Surrender, surrender but don't give yourself away
"Before we married, Mommy served in the WACS in the Philippines"
Now, I had heard the WACS recruited old maids for the war
But Mommy isn't one of those, I've known her all these years
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away
Whatever happened to all this season's losers of the year?
Every time I got to thinking, where'd they disappear?
When I woke up, Mom and Dad are rolling on the couch
Rolling numbers, rock and rolling, got my Kiss records out
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Surrender, surrender but don't give yourself away
Away
Away
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Surrender, surrender but don't give yourself away
Less Than Jake's song "Surrender" tells the story of a young man who seems to be struggling with the conflicting advice he has received from his parents about women. His mother warned him about women like the ones he is now attracted to, warning him to stay away from them. However, his father has a different perspective and thinks his wife is knowledgeable about things. He shares that his mother was in the WACS in the Philippines before they got married, which was a way to recruit old maids for the war. The singer knows his mother isn't one of those old maids but is perplexed by the different messages he is receiving from his parents. The confusion is only amplified when he sees them rolling numbers, rocking and rolling, and listening to Kiss records.
The song is a commentary on the generational divide in society and how the expectations and perspectives of different generations differ. The young man is struggling to reconcile his own desires, the expectations from his parents, and the reality of his parents' behavior, which seems to contradict their advice. The lyrics show how societal norms and values differ across generations and how the younger generation often struggles to understand the decisions made by their elders.
Line by Line Meaning
Mother told me, yes, she told me I'd meet girls like you
My mother warned me that I would encounter girls like you.
She also told me, "Stay away, you'll never know what you'll catch"
She advised me to avoid you because you might be trouble.
Just the other day
I heard a soldier falling off some Indonesian junk that's going round
Recently, I heard that a soldier fell ill from something going around in Indonesia.
Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
Surrender, surrender but don't give yourself away
My parents may be a bit odd, but they're fine. However, don't let yourself be taken advantage of.
Father says, "Your mother's right, she's really up on things"
"Before we married, Mommy served in the WACS in the Philippines"
Now, I had heard the WACS recruited old maids for the war
But Mommy isn't one of those, I've known her all these years
My dad agrees with my mom's advice, and she has experience from serving in the military. Though I had heard the military recruited only unmarried women, my mom doesn't fall into that category.
Whatever happened to all this season's losers of the year?
Every time I got to thinking, where'd they disappear?
When I woke up, Mom and Dad are rolling on the couch
Rolling numbers, rock and rolling, got my Kiss records out
I wonder what became of last year's failures. As I pondered, I found my parents listening to music, perhaps reminiscing about their own youth.
Away
Away
A way of repeating the previous line and ending the song.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NICKOLAS ASHFORD, VALERIE SIMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind