Less Than Jake
Major Independance

By Dominick Scala

Funny how technology makes all the difference in the world, or in the concrete world at least.

Back in the proverbial day, a new band’s main objective was to attract the attention of the major labels. Yes I know, countless bands do not share the aspiration of ‘sell outs’ and love eating cat food while traveling in a van that breaks down all over the country- blah blah, lets be real. Artists (you know who you are) want to be paid even if only to sustain their art. Now-a-days in this so-called high tech world, the growing trend with bands is to ride the majors (assuming you have the material to keep people’s attention) garnering a solid fan base, then start a label of your own.  In my humble opinion, today, an independent band needs only their inspiration and songs (assuming that the material is worthy of word of mouth).  The internet alone allows for international distribution at the touch of a finger.  Now this tangent has gone far enough and brings me to my obligatory point, Less Than Jake is another band that has snatched the reins from their major and are carrying on indie-style.

Straight up Ska-punk, Less Than Jake (named after drummer Vinnie Fiorello's dog, Jake, who was treated better than the rest of the household, so everything was "less than Jake") consists of the vocals and guitar of Chris Demakes, Roger Manganelli on Bassist/Guitar, Peter Wasilewski on saxophone, Buddy Schaub on Trombone, and Fiorello. The band formed in 1992 at the University of Gainesville as a power pop trio, and evolved into a variance of Ska with elements of punk and grunge.  The band released their first full-length in 1995 called “Pezcore” and signed with Capitol Records shortly after. Their first major label release “Losing Streak” was a twisted, fast-paced brand of (ska-punk) anthems.  “Losing Streak” housed such fan favorites as "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts," "Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore," and "Automatic.”  They soon found
themselves on the Vans Warped Tour as well as touring with bands such as Descendents, Guttermouth, Blink-182 and Handsome.  Less Than Jake’s fan base grew extremely fast in the late ’90s and this awarded them close to a year on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. 

To date, Less Than Jake has released seven full-length records, their latest being “GNV FLA” in homage to their home town (it’s the Gainesville airport code).  “GNV FLA” is Less Than Jake’s first release on their new label, Slept It Off. 

“GNV FLA” seems to be a return to the origins of the band’s sound, and bouncy grooves — which already seems to be a successful model. The album was released on June 24, 2008 and hit the Billboard 200 at No. 61 and No. 9 on the Top Independent Albums charts on the week ending on July 12th, selling 10,300 copies. Now on tour, Less Than Jake fans will be able to bounce to the groove in person.

Less Than Jake will perform at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 at Revolution Live, 200 W. Broward Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale. It’s an all ages show, and tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door.

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