Less than Jake has had a stellar past year.
The ska-punk band from Gainesville, Fla. has recently signed to Capitol Records, released a record on that label and has gone back on their never- ending tour. The band has been together for a little over four years now and has recorded both seven-inches and CDs. Although the members have reached high points in their careers and are more than happy with the popularity they have reached, their fame seems to have little effect on them. In fact, they look and act more like a bunch of kids on an extended road trip than a band on the rise.
After finishing their set at The Webster Theatre, the band went backstage to a large room to change out of their show clothes and into something drier. Roger, the band's guitarist and backing vocalist, is sitting in a chair looking through a bag for a clean pair of pants. Finally, he pulls out a pair of the snowboarding pants that Sno-Core has given the bands.
"They're {the pants} the only thing that's clean," Roger said.
The band just recently came aboard the Sno-Core tour and its only there for six shows. Chris, the band's lead singer and guitarist, explains that Rick, the band's booking agent, is also the Voodoo Glow Skulls' agent. A couple of shows came up and Rick asked the band if they wanted to do them. The band has been planning to do a tour on the East Coast and these dates tied in with their tour.
The band's performance at the Webster Theatre was not very different from any other Less Than Jake show. For the most part, the band played new songs and mixed the set up with enough old songs to satisfy all fans.
The set only stopped a few times as people got onstage for the famous "Trainspanking" of one, and sometimes multiple audience members. "Trainspanking" involves one fan getting buck-naked and getting spanked by every member of the band as the haplass victim crawls through the band members' legs. The fan then recieves a free Less Than Jake t-shirt.
As the show progressed, more nudity abounded and more t-shirts were given out . The band also threw CDs, stickers, recrds and plastic ray guns into the crowd. Less Than Jake's set ended after a heartwarming rendition of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It"
"I could stand it if we had to be on this tour for the whole thing," Roger said.
The band missed three Sno-Core shows during one week. The band felt it was good to be on this tour, but they also wished to be off it at times.
The band's signing with Capitol Records has tremendously boosted its popularity, but at the same time, old fans have been giving them flak for "selling-out" to a major label pressure.
"Everything a band does, it soes because the band chose to do it or the band haas given the control over to someone who will decide for them," said Buddy, the trombonist.
To the band Capitol is just another label from which it has released an album. The members like being on Capitol for all the things it has done for the band, such as printing posters and getting their records into wider distribution.
But they are tired of the flak they have recieved for the move.
"We still feel it was the right thing to do, " Buddy said. "We keep things cheap and do most of the work ourselves. We're the only band her etonight with a $5 t-shirt."
Buddy also said that there were times when the band has butted heads with the label executives at Capitol because the band has not done what Capitol thought the band should do.
Buddy also told a story of how the band put together three-song mailers for everyone on the mailing list. He said the band did nothing for a week but put these tapes into mailing envelopes and address them when they could have just hired a company to do it.
As for now, the band is pretty much living month - to - month and day - to - day.