I, like many other human beings that inhabit this planet, am often guilty of taking things for granted.
Moments before picking up my phone to dial Less Than Jake’s vocalist and guitarist, Chris Demakes, I slid open the gate to the battery compartment of my trusty and battered Sony digital recorder and slipped in a pair of fresh, out of the package replacements.
I dialed, Chris answered and I had to put him on hold as the brand new batteries I had just put in where, in fact, useless lifeless crap. Duds. I explained the situation to Demakes and luckily he found humor in it and chuckled as I asked for his patience. I now know why I uncovered two unopened cases of these batteries in the pantry when I moved into this apartment. Luckily, this was a phone interview and not conducted in person, where the kitchen supply wouldn’t be just a quick dash away.
“Are you still there?” I inquire, Demakes laughter ensures me that he is still finding my idiocy amusing. More importantly, he has yet to hang up on me. If nothing else, the ice was broken.
While I was researching the history of the band, I stumbled upon a strange tidbit on Wikipedia (Yes, I know, hardly a trust worthy resource) about the origin of the bands moniker. Surely it didn’t derive from a dog named Jake. “That’s true” replied Demakes when asked about it, “It was our drummers dog. His Mom and Dad would treat the dog better than us and make us stop practicing when the dog would start howling. So we were less than the dog, we were less than Jake.”
“His Mom and Dad would treat the dog better than us and make us stop practicing when the dog would start howling. So we were less than the dog, we were less than Jake.”
Chalk one up for Wikipedia. “He was an eighty pound English bulldog and we didn’t have a name for the band. But we had recorded this demo tape and we were going to take it to shows around Florida and start passing it around for free to get our name around. So I was like, send me the demo tape, because I was living in Gainesville already. He was living about three hours south of Gainesville, Florida where the band is from and he fucking sent me this package of cassettes. I get it and there was a cover on it that said Less Than Jake. So, I call him and go “What the fuck is that?” and he goes “Well, we’re less than the dog. So we’re Less Than Jake. Here we are twenty one years later and the name has stuck.”
This gives me an overwhelming desire to call up somebody from Better Than Ezra and find out who the hell Ezra is. For them to be better than him, or her, he or she was be pretty bloody awful at everything.
See Also : Tony Sly of No Use For A Name
Over the years, Less Than Jake have become one of those bands that fans like to throw things at. Some girls like to hurl their bras at band members. In the past year alone, I’ve seen a box of crackers thrown at NOFX and a bag of candy lobbed at Snuff. Less Than Jake get Pez dispensers lovingly hurled at them wherever they go. So naturally, I had to ask what was the story behind that.
“They were fun when we started touring in a van years ago when there wasn’t cell phones. There weren’t many things to keep you occupied in the van besides music and Pez. Pez were cool because every time we stopped at another gas station, we’d be like, lets see if they have any Pez here. They were fun to find and they dispense candy. Sugar is good for a long ride so that’s why we named our first album Pez-Core.”
And then the rain came down. Then the storm, as dispenser after dispenser rang down upon the band, and hasn’t stopped yet. “I have about a hundred and thirty different Pez dispenses from over the years that fans have thrown on stage. So you can imagine how many get thrown up and how many doubles we get” Demakes tells me. “There’s a lot of really popular ones like Batman and Spiderman, so there’s been a lot of Pez thrown at us over the years for me to have a hundred and thirty different ones.”
“I have about a hundred and thirty different Pez dispenses from over the years that fans have thrown on stage”
What does somebody do with so many candy dispensers? Box them up and store them in the attic? That seems pretty pointless. “I have a room in my house I keep them in, like a little spot for them.” says Demakes. Obviously, the man has a shrine to Pez as the centerpiece in his living room, or something. Years back, Less Than Jake’s had bobbleheads of themselves made that were included in the re-issue of the groups Pez-Core, that came packaged in a cereal box. Along with other goodies such as the bands first four 7″ releases. As well as a t-shirt and a pin.
But how much more fun would it have been to get a Pez dispenser instead of those gimmicky bobbleheads! “You know, we thought about it but Pez is very picky about what they do and we’re not Kiss. Or something in pop culture that a lot of people identify with. We’ve had friends that do plastic molds and have offered to do our own for us so maybe one day we’ll have them. But they wont be official or recognized by Pez, so we’ll see.” I pointed out that should the band market such an item, they could lob them back at the ghastly fans that have been pelting them for years! Oh sweet, sweet revenge.
On the horizon is a brand spankin’ new record from these Californian Skanksters, but there seems to be a little confusion when it comes to how many albums the band has produced. Officially, this new album, “See The Light”, is their ninth effort. However, the lads don’t see it as that clean and cut, as Demakes explains. “That’s tough. I guess its the ninth but I lost count because we put out compilation albums and B-Sides albums before so I count those right along with it. So I think we’re up around twelve or something now.”
We’re talking about a matter of twenty one years here. That’s quite the discography. “Yeah, we haven’t slacked when it came to recording evidently.” Demakes jokes.
See Also : Mike Ness of Social Distortion
After so many years. So many albums. Surely, creating new music that still resembles your product must be difficult. “It probably is harder to try stay on course” agrees Demakes. “Meaning to try and deliver a record that sounds like your band. Because we’re five different guys with five different influences and sometimes I’ll bring stuff in and the guys will be like that’s really weird. It just doesn’t work for Less Than Jake. So staying focused to what we sound like and whats best for us is sometimes challenging. At the same time, we know what works and what doesn’t at this point.
Assuming that eludes to a lot of material that is abandoned before it sees the light of day. Vetoed ideas and dismissed concepts. I wondered aloud about how much extra material the group has. Locked away in the mind’s storage lockers. “On this record, not too many” ponders Demakes. “There were two songs that we recorded that didn’t make it to the record. We have a couple B-Sides left over and there there’s probably seven, eight or nine ideas that never were recorded or got passed the idea stage. We know pretty quickly if somethings going to work or if its not.”
One of the benefits of repetition, is learning what’s what. Playing with the same band, with the same people, more of less, gives you that possibility. “You get to a point when you’re writing a song where you realize it isn’t working” explains Demakes. “You know to throw the idea to the side and work on another idea that’s starting to grow. And you put the time into that one and feel it out.” Experience makes you wise.
Chris and Vinnie Fiorello have played together since the start of Less Than Jake. They grew up together. Went to high school together. The dynamic duo stayed in touch when Demakes left for Gainesville, to attend the University of Florida. A year later, Fiorello followed and Less Than Jake was born. The members of Less Than Jake treat each other as family. With respect, Knowing when to leave one another alone and when to be present.
” I think its the best thing we’ve ever put out production wise. It sounds amazing.”
With just a month to go before the release of their new opus, “See The Light” – Less Than Jake seem healthier than ever.
“I think the record, for me, is just good vibes. Its a really positive record lyrically” proclaims Demakes. With an excited energy about him. “If you’re familiar with Less Than Jake, you’re going to immediately recognize that its us. And if you a fan of the band, I really think you’re going to love the record. It has has really great songs and good lyrics. The production quality and sound” he pauses briefly and takes a deep breath, ” I think its the best thing we’ve ever put out production wise. It sounds amazing.”
“We didn’t set out to do it, but I think we wrote a Less Than Jake greatest hits album with this” boasts Demakes. A real sense of purpose and nervous energy pulses from Demakes. “I think all the songs are really strong. I think we took elements from all our past releases and threw them in a blender and we amped up the production level. Its all the best hooks and horns, and harmonies from over the years. We kind of made of own Less Than Jake Frankenstein, so to speak.”
Time well tell if Less Than Jake have finally reached their swansong. And I, for one, am pumped to hear the record once it launches. I wonder how many Pez dispensers I can sneak into their next show.
Their new album, “See The Light”, is available November from Fat Wreck Chords.
