By Andrew Gilhooley / 411
High energy ska-punk that’s guaranteed to have even the most reluctant audience member on their feet dancing. That’s what Florida-based band Less Than Jake will be bringing to the Catalyst in
Less Than Jake’s history began in 1992 when two high school friends, Chris and Vinnie (none of the band uses their last names) began to jam together. Vinnie played drums, Chris sang and played guitar and the resulting sound was, by their own admission, a little rough. “It was sloppy and messy but it was fun to stumble over drumbeats, hear all the mumbled words and half-finished chords on guitar. It was our noise, our messy songs.”
The duo enjoyed their noise enough that when Chris moved to
The band began its career playing straight punk-pop music, but soon a ska influence began to creep in. “I didn’t grow up listening to ska, and neither did Roger or Vinnie,” Chris recalled, “I learned to play guitar jamming to Green Day, 7 Seconds, Screeching Weasel… Then Vinnie came to me one day with a Specials (British ska band from the late 70s) record, and we started throwing some ska strokes into the mix.” The band members also listened to another
Soon, the five-piece version of Less than Jake was writing, recording and booking dates for its first
In 1996, Less Than Jake released “Losing Streak” on Capitol, followed by “Hello Rockview” in 1998 and “Borders and Boundaries” in 2000. The band is currently on tour to promote its latest release, “Anthem.” The members of the band have also formed their own label, “Fueled By Ramen,” an independent label which gives exposure to and promotes new bands in the punk / ska genre. If the spirit of punk is all about doing it yourself, then Less Than Jake can certainly be held up as a shining example of that spirit.
First published in "411", The Salinas Californian, November 13, 2003