by Jose Villalba
It's past midnight. It's cold outside. There are cows mooing in the background. And above all, it's loud. Local musicians Less Than Jake are practicing new material in a rented warehouse on the outskirts of Gainesville, preparing for their upcoming show at the Hardback Cafe this Friday night. They're also willing to answer questions for this interview.
The band started as a trio, with Chris on lead vocals and lead guitars, Roger on bass, and Vinny on drums. They added a horn section, with Buddy on the trombone, Jessica on the alto saxophone, and Derron on the baritone saxophone, shortly after.
Due to their large fan base, two national tours, and a recent record deal with Capitol records, the band has acquired a lot of press lately. Most of their interviews have revolved around their recent signing with Capitol. They let it be known they're tired of answering the same questions and tell me they do not wish to talk about it.
"All you need to know is that it's a one-record deal, that's it," says Chris. "It will probably come out in August or September," adds Vinny.
Me: OK, so I'll scratch out the record deal questions and proceed. Where did the band's name originate?
Vinny: My parents had a bulldog named Jake. When I was a kid, they would go out to dinner at Red Lobster and bring back the left overs for Jake while I ate frozen chicken roundolettes. So I've always said I got less than Jake. Jake also refers to a '20s term meaning everything is smooth. So...
Me: How are sales from your first full length CD on Dill Records going?
Roger: Pezcore has sold around five billion copies.
Chris: It's actually closer to 10,000 copies.
Me: I recently saw a new album, Losers, in the CD bin at Schoolkids. Is that a recent recording, or old stuff?
Vinny: That record has been put out on No Idea Records. It's a compilation of all our old 7" and 10" recordings.
Me: I notice it wasn't in the ska section. So, are you guys ska?
Roger: Well, we don't like to label things. We have a clean, up stroke guitar and we have a horn section. So, if that means ska to some one, fuck it then we're ska.
Chris: We play glam metal, with a hip hop, 96 twist to it.
Vinny: Ska purists, people who like Madness and the Skatellites, don't consider us ska. We're a punk band with a horn section.
Me: While you're touring, what cities other than Gainesville stand out as havens for Less Than Jake fans?
Band: Portland, Oregon. Chicago.
Me: Wow, you've toured that far from home?
Vinny: We've conducted two national tours, aside from all our Florida dates.
Chris: We went up the east coast then to Wisconsin and down to Texas last summer. We also went across the bottom states, through Texas, to California, up the West coast, and back over the middle states like a big pretzel on another tour.
Roger: I thought for sure we were gonna die in Lake Tahoe on the last tour.
Vinny: There were no guard rails. We were up on the top of a mountain and were looking down a gorge and there's ice on the road. We had never driven on ice before.
Roger: Yeah, we're all from Florida.
Vinny: We've braved everything from hurricane winds, to heat waves that shut down Chicago, to blizzards while on tour.
Me: It appears that ice and snow follow Less Than Jake wherever they go.
Vinny: Ice and the Silver Surfer.
Me: O.K., so you are one of two bands to make it out of Gainesville by landing major record deals. Is there any competition or animosity between you and For Squirrels?
Roger: No way!
Chris: What they did in a year and a half, you know, putting out their own CD in January of '94 (and getting signed shortly after), it's incredible. They've worked as hard, if not harder than any other Gainesville band. Bottom line.
Me: So there's that mutual, artistic respect.
Chris: Yeah.
Roger: ...But we challenge For Squirrels to a kickball game any time.
Me: Would you say there's a Gainesville sound, just like there's supposed to be a Seattle, or Athens sound?
Band: No! Nope!
Buddy: There's just a lot of creative people doing their own thing.
Chris: It's like, people say there's a Chapel Hill sound, but if you were to go there and check out the night life, you'd realize there are a lot of different sounds. Just because there are two bands that broke out of there that sound similar makes it a "scene?" That's bullshit!
Me: OK, I'm done with the questions. Anything else?
Vinny: Yes. We might as well plug the free 7" record we're gonna give out at the Hardback on Friday.
Chris: It's got two songs by us and two songs by a local band called Pung on the other side. And we're gonna look like real assholes if (the records) don't come in on time.
Roger: We'll give everyone a voucher then.
After the interview, I gave Chris a ride to his girlfriend's house and asked him where he'll say the band is from when they're on MTV and famous. He responds, "I love this town. So there's your answer. We're a Gainesville band."
(2/22/96)