Punktuation-What is the name of your band and who are the members?
Less Than Jake - Chris, vocals/guitar; Roger, bass/vocals; Vinnie, drums; Buddy, trombone; Pete, Trombone; JR, Sax.
P-Is it tough to organize a practice with that many people in the band?
LTJ-Since almost everyone lives in Gainesville and we love playing our songs together it really isn't that hard at all. When we've been on the road for a while though, we need at least two weeks of not seeing each other at all, but after that it's hard to keep us apart.
P-What would you say is the one word that epitomizes the band?
LTJ-ENERGY
P-What is your favorite LTJ release of the whole million of them?
LTJ-This week it's Losing Streak, but that could change at any minute.
P-Who writes the songs/lyrics and what are they about?
LTJ-Roger and Chris come up with a shell for a song and then it gets thrown in the middle of the floor and we all kick it around for a while, then Vinnie adds the lyrics to the mix and it gets kicked around some more, and then it gets picked at and toyed with, scrapped and come back to, kicked around in my basement, sent back over to Roger's house via satellite where it is then packaged up and snail mailed to Chris' house where it is approved by Senate and finally becomes a song. Then we scrap it again and start over.
All the lyrics are about different things, but the consistent themes are: people either Vinnie met growing up or we have met over the years, about touring, or the idea of thinking for yourself.
P-How long has Less Than Jake been a band for?
LTJ-You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition so I'm not going to answer this question. The answer's on our website anyway (lessthanjake.com), go see for yourself.
P-In your time together, what are some of the ups and downs you guys have been through?
LTJ-See, now that's a much better question. We have had a six foot black transvestite walk in off the street onto our stage in West Palm, have sung happy birthday to a bum who strolled in while we were playing in Kansas City, we've been through snowstorms, hurricanes, icy mountan roads, and numerous engine fires while in the van, we've slept on wood floors with so much dog hair on them they felt carpeted, and we've also stayed at a mansion on a lake, we've released 500 pigeons from the stage from a real life pigeon trainer, we've been on a major label, left, and continued putting out records, and we all know each other's sleeping habbits entirely too personally, and the list really just doesn't end. You decide which are ups and which are downs.
P-What's the scene like in Gainesville?
LTJ-The honest answer to that question is rewally that we don't know because we're on tour so much, but we are here enough to know that it hasn't changed much since we used to play at the Hardback twice a week at least. There are always new bands starting and breaking up and people moving in or moving out. The places to play are always going out of business or just starting over, and most bands play for the beer. It's college town, USA.
P-Would you say the punk rock world is on its way up or is it GOING DOWN!!!!?
LTJ-The punk rock world by definition is only what you make of it, so if you are referring to the trendy "punk" on MTV and at Hot Topics then we don't really know anything about punk rock now do we? Punk is an ideology, it's about thinking for yourself and doing what you believe in, it's about the truths in life as you see them, it's not necessarily bringing down the system with the punk rock pick axe, but doing what you believe in no matter what anyone else tells you, it's not some prescribed list of things to wear or the list of bands you're supposed to listen to while putting egg whites in your mohawk.
P-What do you guys do in your spare time away from the band? (or is there no escape?)
LTJ-What spare time away from the band? I play drums, guitar, and bass, spend as much time as humanly possible with my wife and have her try to teach me how to relax.
P-What are some of the most embarrassing things that have happened while playing or practicing?
LTJ-One time Derron puked in his horn while we were playing; he also had to leave the stage to take a poo one time and someone followed him in to get an autograph. Chris shits his pants all the time but he's not embarrassed.
P-Speaking of playing, who would you guys play a show with if you had the chance to play one show with five of your favorite bands (past or present)?
LTJ-This is just my opinion, but they would be Jimmy Hendrix (my stoner side shining through), The Descendents/ALL (which we already did), Operation Ivy, Miles Davis (with J.J. Johnson on the t-bone), and your mother.
P-Have any of you guys played in any other bands? What was that like and how did it compare to this one?
LTJ-We've all been in other bands and they were all separate experiences for each of us, but I'm sure that it was never like the monster we've created.
P-What is it like playing on big festivals like the Warped Tour? Are you pumped for Warped Tour 2K1?
LTJ-If you mean pumped like Hans and Frans from Saturday Night Live, then yes we are all pumped. We spot each other down at the gym with those tight little shorts on; you really should see it. The festivals are fun to play because there is such a variety of bands to go see and it's fun to eat warm salad out of the back of a truck.
P-Who is the most outspoken member of Less Than Jake and who is the softest spoken?
LTJ-I think that Chris would have to get the loud mouth award, sometimes you just can't shut him up, but most of the time you don't want to. I know I ended that with a preposition, but do as I say not as I do. I think I'd have to give Vinnie the soft spoken award but that really only pertains to the bedroom.
P-If those two were to get in a kurfuffle, who would come out victorious (ie. in a battle of wits, fistfight, arm wrestle, etc)
LTJ-If Chris gains any more weight, he could beat King Kong in a kurfuffle.
P-What's it like being on Fat Wreck Chords and how did it all happen?
LTJ-It's kind of early to say what it's like on Fat Wreck Chords, but it's definitely been easier to get things started, there's less people in the chain of command. As soon as we found out we could leave Fat Mike called us and it seemed like an obvious choice.
P-What about No Idea? How has that been for you guys?
LTJ-No Idea is a label/distribution company that our friend Var started in his bedroom over ten years ago and he's the guy that had the nerve to put out all of our first releases, so everything obviously goes well with him.
P-Who are your guys' influences?
LTJ-We all listen to so much music individually, but as the band Less Than Jake our influences are kind of obvious if you really listen: Snuff, ALL/Descendents, Green Day, Screeching Weasel, Operation Ivy, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, and the list goes on...
P-How do you think you are influencial to fans/other bands?
LTJ-I would hope that our music inspires others to learn an instrument and that our lyrics help people to see that there are many ways to live your life, but the most important way is the one that makes you happy.
P-What are your weird rituals/traditions that you perform during a show/practice? (ie. black metal ceremonies, etc.)
LTJ-One tour before we would play we all stripped down to our underwear in a circle and drank those little ginseng viles that you get at gas stations.
P-What can one expect from seeing you guys rock a live show?
LTJ-One could expect 100% of our energy and creativity for however long we're allowed to play that day. Anything else is up in the air.
P-Any final words of wisdom, comments, quotes, queries, questions, or concerns?
LTJ-Go buy Dillinger Four records.