Less Than Jake
Meeting of the Minds
2007-12-17
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During their 14 odd years of making records, touring the world and keeping pop-punk horn-y (in more ways than one), Gainesville, FL’s Less Than Jake have definitely forged a reputation as being hilarious, if a little crazy. And with the release of In With the Out Crowd, the follow-up to 2003’s Anthem, and a full slate of dates on this year’s Warped Tour, the band is showing no signs of mellowing with age, musically or otherwise. Drummer and band spokesman Vinnie (the band prefers first names only) is definitely a shining example of this agelessness. In addition to his duties in LTJ, he’s also part-owner of increasingly seminal indie label Fueled By Ramen, home to bands such as Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco and Pittsburgh upstarts Punchline. Punchline frontman Steve Soboslai conference called in from a “payphone in New Mexico somewhere” to interview his friend Vinnie about Less Than Jake’s new album, but Vinnie had other ideas. “Let’s maybe have some three-way phone sex among men,” Vinnie offered. “I’m gonna tell you this right now, I’m the best dirty fucker on the phone, ever. Seriously. I can give you a few references.” Tempting to say the least, but duty eventually called.
Steve: What’s the feel of the new album, compared to Anthem?
Vinnie: What’s interesting about this record is that we take what Less Than Jake is, from pretty much every single record, and combine the styles together. So if you’re looking for the same three-chords-and-a-horn-line ska, obviously it’s not that record, but there’s some of that on it. And there are some things that are a bit moved forward. There’s a song called “The Rest of My Life” and it’s definitely a departure from what our band sounds like. But that’s a good thing, because the subject matter of the song is about my grandfather having cancer and passing away. You can’t really do a fast, happy ska-punk song with horn lines to that.
Could you call the record dark?
The record is definitely, lyrically speaking, a very dark record. But here’s the difference: Anthem was pretty much, “things are disintegrating and I don’t see any hope,” but this record is, “things have disintegrated, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel, the hope that there’s change.”
Does JR have a rocking saxophone solo on the album?
[Laughs] I guess he does, somewhere…
Eddie Money style?
I wish that it was Eddie Money style. But here’s the thing: out of the 12, you have six songs on the record with horns. And kids are always like, “Put more horns on!” but sometimes it doesn’t work. Sometimes putting a horn on it detracts from the bigger picture. And it’s not like I don’t have the love for the horn, because fuck man, I do, but just sometimes it just doesn’t have that feel to it.
What song did you guys just shoot the video for?
A song called “Overrated,” and you know, that song, people have accused it of being simplified and ultra-catchy. But that’s what a catchy song is supposed to be. You’re not out there doing three different time signatures with a falsetto. To me that’s not a catchy song. A catchy song is…go back to The Beatles, go back to The Beach Boys, a memorable chorus and a decent lyric to it. That’s what “Overrated” is. It’s a fun song. There’s a line that says “I think sex is overrated and so is always getting wasted” in it and people are like, “Dude, how can you think sex is overrated?” And I go, “Dude, what I think is overrated is the fact that people live their lives during the week going ‘I’m gonna go out on Friday night and get drunk and find someone to fuck.’” That idea is overrated, the idea of sexuality being pushed down your throat as a commodity, to sell you shit. That idea is fucking bullshit. The idea that you have to drink to have fun is bullshit.
I heard this, but I didn’t hear why so this would be a good time to ask. Why did [Less than Jake frontman] Chris get arrested at the video shoot?
Chris got arrested at the video shoot because the whole premise of doing the shoot for “Overrated” was that it’s an anti-video. So basically we had like eight cameras with us and all eight cameras were hand-held, ones you can buy at Best Buy, and we just did it guerilla style. We showed up at abandoned houses and malls and a porn shoot and Hollywood and Highland Boulevard in the middle of West Hollywood. We just showed up, no permits, no anything. So we were in the mall, and just showed up with our equipment, set up in the middle of the food court and played. It seems like these days that’s frowned upon [laughs]. And I still don’t know how that motherfucker got caught. Dude, I had a fucking high-hat in my hand, a snare drum on its stand underneath my arm, a ride cymbal and floor tom underneath my other arm and I’m running my ass up two flights of steps. All that motherfucker had was a guitar. I don’t know how he got caught, I’m seriously like a pack mule heading up the Himalayas and homeboy’s back there with a fucking can of soda. Ridiculous.
Steve: What’s the feel of the new album, compared to Anthem?
Vinnie: What’s interesting about this record is that we take what Less Than Jake is, from pretty much every single record, and combine the styles together. So if you’re looking for the same three-chords-and-a-horn-line ska, obviously it’s not that record, but there’s some of that on it. And there are some things that are a bit moved forward. There’s a song called “The Rest of My Life” and it’s definitely a departure from what our band sounds like. But that’s a good thing, because the subject matter of the song is about my grandfather having cancer and passing away. You can’t really do a fast, happy ska-punk song with horn lines to that.
Could you call the record dark?
The record is definitely, lyrically speaking, a very dark record. But here’s the difference: Anthem was pretty much, “things are disintegrating and I don’t see any hope,” but this record is, “things have disintegrated, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel, the hope that there’s change.”
Does JR have a rocking saxophone solo on the album?
[Laughs] I guess he does, somewhere…
Eddie Money style?
I wish that it was Eddie Money style. But here’s the thing: out of the 12, you have six songs on the record with horns. And kids are always like, “Put more horns on!” but sometimes it doesn’t work. Sometimes putting a horn on it detracts from the bigger picture. And it’s not like I don’t have the love for the horn, because fuck man, I do, but just sometimes it just doesn’t have that feel to it.
What song did you guys just shoot the video for?
A song called “Overrated,” and you know, that song, people have accused it of being simplified and ultra-catchy. But that’s what a catchy song is supposed to be. You’re not out there doing three different time signatures with a falsetto. To me that’s not a catchy song. A catchy song is…go back to The Beatles, go back to The Beach Boys, a memorable chorus and a decent lyric to it. That’s what “Overrated” is. It’s a fun song. There’s a line that says “I think sex is overrated and so is always getting wasted” in it and people are like, “Dude, how can you think sex is overrated?” And I go, “Dude, what I think is overrated is the fact that people live their lives during the week going ‘I’m gonna go out on Friday night and get drunk and find someone to fuck.’” That idea is overrated, the idea of sexuality being pushed down your throat as a commodity, to sell you shit. That idea is fucking bullshit. The idea that you have to drink to have fun is bullshit.
I heard this, but I didn’t hear why so this would be a good time to ask. Why did [Less than Jake frontman] Chris get arrested at the video shoot?
Chris got arrested at the video shoot because the whole premise of doing the shoot for “Overrated” was that it’s an anti-video. So basically we had like eight cameras with us and all eight cameras were hand-held, ones you can buy at Best Buy, and we just did it guerilla style. We showed up at abandoned houses and malls and a porn shoot and Hollywood and Highland Boulevard in the middle of West Hollywood. We just showed up, no permits, no anything. So we were in the mall, and just showed up with our equipment, set up in the middle of the food court and played. It seems like these days that’s frowned upon [laughs]. And I still don’t know how that motherfucker got caught. Dude, I had a fucking high-hat in my hand, a snare drum on its stand underneath my arm, a ride cymbal and floor tom underneath my other arm and I’m running my ass up two flights of steps. All that motherfucker had was a guitar. I don’t know how he got caught, I’m seriously like a pack mule heading up the Himalayas and homeboy’s back there with a fucking can of soda. Ridiculous.
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