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Less Than Jake
It’s been 16 years but Less Than Jake is still alive and kicking, proving they’re probably one of the scene’s most beloved ska punk bands. After releasing the watered down In With The Out Crowd in 2006, the band got out of their major label contract and instead of going with a respected indie like Fat Wreck or Epitaph, Less Than Jake chose to start their own label called Sleep It Off and put it out entirely themselves. Titled GNV FLA, it hit shelves this past summer and now the band are busy on the road promoting their new record that they created exactly how they wanted to.
Before their first ever show in Winnipeg, I had a chance to chat primarily with the band’s saxophonist JR but the band’s bassist Roger and trombonist Buddy randomly contributed too. Touring, their latest record and side endeavours are what dominated our discussion. Special thanks to Jason Consoli and Kyle for making this possible!
Less Than Jake have been a band for around 16 years and this is the first time the band has ever ventured to Western Canada. What made you guys finally decide to make the stop?
JR: I don’t know what made us finally decide to do it but I know we’d been talking about doing it for about 2 or 3 years. You know, where we’d come to the entire country and play. I think maybe one of our managers said “Oh, Reel Big Fish might be interested in doing it too” and we love those dudes so then it just made the most sense, if they wanted to do it then we wanted to do it too. A lot of these places we’ve never been before, like we played Regina last night and we’ve never been there before. That’s cool; to go to places we’ve never been and have people show up excited.
So the reception has been good I’m assuming?
JR: Yeah, we haven’t gotten any bottles thrown at us or anything. Its fun, it’s been really good!
Awesome, what all have you been doing for this tour? I’ve read that you guys go the extra mile and have done things like the Price is Right spoofs in the past.
JR: Yeah, we’re not going to do anything the Price is Right. That was like a one time, one tour sort of thing. We’re just going to have fun! There’s no special things planned but that’s just kind of how our show is, it’s just kind of off the cuff, you know what I mean? We try our best to be funny and entertaining because sometimes you can be funny and not entertaining. And sometimes you can be entertaining but not funny. It’s just about finding that balance.
You’ve been doing acoustic shows too, in fact you’ll be doing one here later this afternoon.
JR: I’m not personally; I just hang out and look at records. Roger and Chris are the ones who actually play the show.
Yeah, Roger can probably answer this question better then. Plugged in or acoustic?
Roger: It’s like a totally different animal. Acoustic is purely for fun and to try and get fans to see us, it’s not serious; we’re playing with the volume on 2 you know what I mean?
JR: To totally contradict what he just said, acoustic is really cool. They’re able to take these full songs and break them down to 2 guitars and vocals and it still sounds awesome. They really did do great arrangements with the songs.
A unique thing about Less Than Jake is that you don’t just have shirts and posters for merch, you also have bobble heads and toys. Where does the inspiration for that come from?
JR: It’s all Vinnie; he’s really into collecting those sorts of things. He just said “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we did a bobble head or a toy?”and so he did it. He’s always coming up with these different things and he’ll show them to me and I’m like “Fuck man, that’s crazy!” It’s cool; no one else really does that sort of stuff. I mean some people have dolls and I don’t want to say that we’re the first but I don’t think anyone’s done anything quite like what we’ve done.
Which design is your favourite?
JR: When Anthem came out, there were these 20 inch bobble heads that held a sign that says “Buy Anthem Here” and you could put the record right in it. I have one sitting on top of my television at home, it’s really kickass and that’s my favourite one!
Moving on, what’s your favourite thing about GNV FLA?
JR: My favourite thing is that we did it on our own literally. Sans a couple of buttons being pushed here and there with the help of our engineer/producer, we did everything. Writing the songs, arranging the songs, working on the marketing plan, putting it out, the artwork, everything.
Roger: The best part is no one telling us what to do.
JR: Yeah, we’re all proud and happy we were able to do it.
Would you say there are any cons to releasing your own record?
JR: The only cons I can find at this point is that it’s a little bit more work because we don’t call the fucking guy at the record company anymore, we have to do it ourselves but that con is still a pro because then we know it gets done! It’s not that bad to be honest with you, I think a lot of bands are scared to do stuff like this but fuck it; it’s so much easier if you get to do it yourself.
Do you have any plans to release any other bands through Sleep It Off?
JR: Maybe, it’s not going to be anytime this year let’s put it like that but maybe in the future.
What’s something you’ve been the most proud to accomplish during your time in Less Than Jake after all these years?
JR: It’s crazy, we’ve done so much! I don’t know what’s left; I think the only thing left is if we got a gold record. I don’t even want a platinum record, just a gold record that would be sweet but other than that we’ve done everything that any band gets to do. There are a couple of countries that I still want to go to that we haven’t yet. We’ve been really lucky and blessed though to do what we do.
Can you narrow it down a little more?
JR: I don’t know. It was unbelievable going to Japan; we’ve played the Reading Festival 4, 5 times, three times on the main stage and going to Australia. It’s so hard to pick a favourite every time I go “This one is my favourite!” then I go “Oh fuck, well this new one is my favourite!” so it always changes. My favourite thing is that we’re still able to do this, that’s my favourite thing.
Moving on, a lot of the other guys are busy with their own side projects and stuff. I’m wondering what you do when the band is focusing on those endeavours. Have any plans to start a side project of your own?
JR: I manage a band called There For Tomorrow, they’re on Hopeless Records in the States and worldwide. I do that and I used to manage another band another band called the Higher, they’re on Epitaph. I’ll probably pick up one or two other bands at some point but doing the stuff with us and managing the other band, I get pretty busy. I’ve thought about doing a side project but I never seem to have enough time.
Cool! Are there any bands that have caught your eye recently, ones that you may want to manage?
JR: The Flatliners! They’re awesome and they’re on this tour. I like The Real Deal too, they’re both really good Canadian right on bands. The thing that’s fucked up about music now is that there’s not really that many good things. If you asked me what I’ve been listening to, I’d say Earth, Wind and Fire, The Beatles, Depeche Mode, you know what I mean? It’s sad because most of the bands nowadays don’t write very good music anymore; there aren’t really a lot of good bands. It’s all really passive and watered down and sounds like everything else so I’ve been listening to the stuff that came out 30 to 40 years ago and it’s still good today. As far as punk rock and ska goes, there’s still a bunch of good bands around like the Streetlight Manifesto...
Buddy: Frank Turner! The Gaslight Anthem!
JR: Yeah, Frank Turner is really awesome. He’s like an acoustic artist from the UK.
Last question. I know you play the saxophone for Less Than Jake so I’m just wondering how you picked up that instrument, in previous interviews you admitted to being a hardcore kid and there certainly aren’t any horns in hardcore.
JR: Yeah, there aren’t any horns in hardcore. When I was in elementary school and middle school I played the clarinet and my teacher in middle school asked me to play the saxophone instead and I agreed. I didn’t know I’d be playing saxophone now many years later, it just kind of happened. I did use to be a hardcore kid; I was at hardcore shows all the time in Connecticut which is where I’m from. It’s just cool to be able to play the saxophone after all these years and not have to go to college and crap like that.
*Check out a review of the band's show here!
