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/
Where In The Hell Is Mike Sinkovich
Less Than Jake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And what pushed you over the edge,
When we were up on the roof
Was it the truth when you said
You never made a single difference.
Did you get it in your head
That things are better left unsaid
when you up and left town now?
Or did you need to make a change
Rather than just rotting the place
We used to hang around?
I know that things have gotta change,
I know your never coming back to this town.
I wonder where you've gone,
Who you're with;
I still ask myself,
Where the hell is Mike Sinkovich?
The lyrics to Less Than Jake's song "Where in the Hell is Mike Sinkovich" explore the band's confusion and frustration about the sudden departure of their friend Mike Sinkovich. They question what led him to leave and wonder if there was anything they could have done to prevent it. The line "I've never known what made you get up and go" highlights their confusion, while the questions directed at Sinkovich like "Was it the truth when you said you never made a single difference" and "Did you get it in your head that things are better left unsaid" express their frustration with his departure.
The lyrics also suggest a feeling of betrayal, with the line "Rather than just rotting the place we used to hang around" insinuating that Sinkovich did not care about the memories they shared or the impact his sudden absence would have on the band's dynamic. Despite this, they still wonder where he is and who he might be with, questioning "Where the hell is Mike Sinkovich?".
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of confusion and frustration at the sudden departure of a friend and the impact it has had on the band's dynamic.
Line by Line Meaning
I've never known what made you get up and go
I am unaware of the reasons for your sudden departure.
And what pushed you over the edge,
What reason made you take such a drastic decision.
When we were up on the roof
When we used to spend time together.
Was it the truth when you said
Did you really mean it when you said,
You never made a single difference.
You said you never did anything significant.
Did you get it in your head
Did a realization dawn upon you?
That things are better left unsaid
Certain things are better not spoken.
when you up and left town now?
When you left suddenly?
Did you need to rearrange
Did you feel a need to reorganize your life?
Or did you need to make a change
Did you feel the need for a change?
Rather than just rotting the place
Instead of stagnating and being unproductive here.
We used to hang around?
We used to spend time together here?
I know that things have gotta change,
I understand that change is inevitable.
I know your never coming back to this town.
I know that you will never return here.
I wonder where you've gone,
I am curious about your whereabouts,
Who you're with;
Who are you spending time with?
I still ask myself,
I keep pondering,
Where the hell is Mike Sinkovich?
Where could Mike Sinkovich possibly be?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
weasel2149
Pezcore is still definitely my favorite. Just knowing they recorded it in less than a day, and re-made most of the songs on future albums makes it that much more impressive (btw, liked the originals from this album over the remakes in every case)
puke.13
This one is so damn underrated.
Steny138
I had a less than jake album entitled "blue and White" I think it was a tribute to their first van they had to tour, it was blue and white. Wish I still had that.
SMfan199
I really fucking love Pezcore
Frank Sinatra
They ever find this guy?
Oblate Spheroid
Nope, I think Roger tracked him down to someplace but never actually found him.
nschnabel
Somehow they knew he went to NYC, but they never heard from him again.
Cruelcumber
Mandatory comment talking about how weird it is for there to be no comments in 3 years
Cruelcumber
I mean 4, dammit january
Mark McGwin Comedy
rock and roll pizzeria?