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Less Than Jake
- One of the burgeoning army of American
punk/ska bands to gain success in the wake of
Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys' breakthrough,
Los Angeles' Less Than Jake are led by singer
Chris Demakes. The band was founded in
Gainesville, Florida in 1992 by Demakes, Shaun
(bass) and Vinnie (drums), and was actually
one of the first proponents of the punk/ska
style. Roger replaced Shaun and a brass
section comprising Jessica (saxophone), Aaron
(saxophone) and Buddy (trombone) was brought
in to bolster the band's sound. They released
two lively independent label albums, Pezcore
and Losers, Kings, And Things We Don't
Understand, which continued ska's tradition of
irreverence and spontaneity.
The
subsequently signed a major label deal with
Capitol Records, but one of their most
endearing releases to date is the independent
Greased, a mini-album featuring eight cover
versions of songs from the Grease soundtrack.
Their 1998 release Hello Rockview, featuring a
line-up of Roger, Chris, Vinnie, Buddy and
Derron (saxophone), was an attempt to
establish themselves in the mainstream. It was
co-produced by Howard Benson, whom the band
met while recording a cover version of the
Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" for
the Scream 2 soundtrack. Benson helped deliver
clarity to the band's ebullient rock 'n' roll/ska
hybrid. The best example was the attendant
single release, "History Of A Boring Town",
which received regular plays on MTV. Although
navigating a shift to the mainstream, Less
Than Jake remained conscious of their fans,
continuing to insist on a low-pricing policy
on all their albums. They broke away from
Capitol in 2000, issuing Borders & Boundaries
on No FX frontman Fat Mike's Fat Wreck Chords
imprint. |
