Less Than Jake is:
Chris - Vocals, Guitar
Roger - Vocals, Bass
Vinny - Drums, Songwriter
Buddy, Pete, and Pete #2 - Horns
Vinny, Chris, and Roger founded Less Than Jake in 1992 as a pop-punk trio in their hometown of Gainesville, Florida, and added the horn section about six months later. A relentless touring schedule - the band averages eight or nine months a year on the road - and a slew of indie-label and DIY releases quickly established the group as a favorite in the exploding ska-punk underground, allowing Less Than Jake to graduate from hall and basement shows to larger venues, and eventually capture the attention of Capitol Records.
LTJ's obsession with punk's grassroots, Do It Yourself ethic - the band still books its own tours, produces its records, and designs its own merchandise - might seem in direct contradiction to its association with Capitol. After all, to many punk-rock purists, "major label punk band" remains an unresolvable oxymoron. But Less Than Jake doesn't see it that way.
The Capitol deal affords Less Than Jake the benefits of major label distribution and marketing for new albums, but leaves the band free to release as many independent-label singles and compilation tracks as it wants. That's important, because LTJ has always been unusually prolific - in the band's six-year existence, it has been featured on over 50 different releases, from DIY 7-inches to international compilations.
1998 found Less Than Jake as busy as ever, ceaselessly touring behind 1997's Capitol debut "Losing Streak", including a headlining spot on the headline-making Ska Against Racism tour and a stint on the summer's Vans Warped Tour. The band returned to its homebase in Gainesville just long enough to record "Hello Rockview".
But even with that kick-ass horn section, which includes Buddy (trombone), Derron (bari sax) and newest member, Pete, who takes over for Jessica, don't make the mistake of lumping Less Than Jake in with the small army of ska-punk pretenders littering the CD bins these days. Hello Rockview enlarges LTJ's punchy groove with pop and punk and even a little metal. Chris says that the band didn’t grow up on ska. They started out imitating 7 Seconds and The Descendents, but one day, Vinny came to them with a Specials record and the ska riffs began.
UPDATE 9/16/00: Hey people. I saw LTJ play with the Suicide Machines last night at Roseland Ballroom and, may I say, it was one of the best shows I've ever been to. The Machines rocked the place and played all their best songs: "SOS", "Vans Song", "Break The Glass", "New Girl", "Islands", "Permanent Holdiay", and a bunch others. I think they played for close to a hour. Anyways, LTJ came out with some pyro and lighting stuff, which was cool. Of course Mr. Skull and Spiderman were on stage with them. LTJ played most of "Hello Rockview" and "Losing Streak", as well as some old songs and 2 or 3 new ones. One of the new ones was "Look What Happened (Last Time)", which you can download from Fat Wreck Chords. Halfway through the set, Roger blew out the bass amp, so the band played 3 songs without bass. The first one was "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts", which was kick-ass without the bass! All in all, they played for around 90 minutes, topping it all off with a 3 song encore ("Automatic", "Lockdown", and "Last One Out Of Liberty City"). I've always heard that Less Than Jake is one of the best live acts on the planet, but now I KNOW that it's true!
1995 - Pezcore
--- LTJ’s debut was put out on Dill Records and later re-released on Asian Man. It includes a lot of songs that turned up on later albums, like "Liquor Store" and "Johnny Quest Thinks Were Sellouts".
1996 - Losers, Kings, and Things We Don’t Understand
--- This was a compilation of really old stuff. A lot of LTJ’s old school metal/skunk sound. Includes "Who Holds The Power Ring?" and "24 Hours In Paramus".
1996 - Losing Streak
--- Released shortly after "Losers", LTJ’s second full-length was full of ska-punk anthems. "Automatic", "Dopeman", and "Shindo" are all on here.
1997 - Greased
--- "Greased" has 8 songs on it, all remakes of songs from the movie "Grease". "We Go Together" and "Sandra Dee" remain LTJ classics.
1998 - Hello Rockview
--- Less Than Jake’s latest release is nothing short of a masterpiece. Songs like "Scott Farcas Takes It On The Chin" and "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" really display the band’s lyrical and instrumental maturity.
2000 - Borders And Boundaries
--- Some say that this album sucks, as LTJ has definetely lost some of their fast-playing punk style. Still, this is all around a good album, redeemed by awesome songs like "Mr. Chevy Celebrity" and "Look What Happened".
The "Smoke Spot" 7" was supposedly LTJ’s first recording. Features "Glumble", "Awkward Age", and "Who Holds The Power Ring?"
LTJ’s "Pez Kings" 7" was one of their first recordings. It includes "Pez King", "This Is Going Nowhere", and "Where The Hell Is Mike Sinkovich?".
"Unglued" was yet another early EP. It has "Black Coffee", "Time And A Half", and "Econolodged" on it.
"Making Fun Of Things You Don’t Understand" was released on Far Out Records. The EP includes "St. James Hotel" and an early "9th At Pine".
LTJ had a vinyl split with Against All Authority. It includes their cover of Duran Duran’s "Hungry Like The Wolf".
LTJ’s "G-Man Training" vinyl (from 1997, I think) is a collection of TV theme songs remade by the band. It has "Three’s Company", "Happy Days", and "The Jeffersons".
The "Muppets" 7" includes remakes of Sesame Street songs, including "Rainbow Connection".
LTJ have a vinyl called "Cheese". The record is shaped like a triangular piece of cheese, and features the title track and Twisted Sister’s "We’re Not Gonna Take It". While it was only sold on the Ska Against Racism Tour, the same exact songs can be found on their split with Sprocket Wheel.
Among LTJ’s other 7" are their two splits with Kemuri, a split with J Church, and numerous singles off of the LPs. Less Than Jake has appeared on over 40 international compilations, including the "Mailorder Is Fun!" series, and "Misfits of Ska".