Interviews

Less Than Jake

Interview with J.R. on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

Thanks to Vanessa at Fat, Jeb (Less Than Jake`s efficient road manager), and J.R. of Less Than Jake for the interview. The interview was conducted at the Birch Hill Nite Club on 3/13/02. Pictures courtesy of Colin at showpicsyo.com. 

PB: The band has quite an album history. Which one has become your favorite, and which is the band's best seller?
LTJ: Ummm... my personal favorite is "Borders and Boundries", it was the last record and was on Fat Wreck Chords. I think in the progression of music in Less Than Jake, I joined in that progression and that was "Borders and Boundries". If you listen to the progression from "Pezcore" on.... it sounds like quite a growth, and the most mature thing the band has done. That's my personal favorite, and the song writing is superior to other songs. "Hello Rockview" or "Losing Streak" or "Pezcore" are equally good records for the time period of the band, but I always tend to go with (in general) and like the latest record. Maybe not so much the latest record, but the most stretched record and one that sounds like a lot of thought was put into it. I know there was a lot of thought put into "Borders and Boundries". The biggest selling Less Than Jake album was "Losing Streak" at about 300,000.

PB: If you had the chance to play with Bon Jovi again, would you do so? How was the experience, and do you have any regrets?
LTJ: Yes, in a second. If they called and said "Hey would you guys come play again?".... Yes! I know I speak for everyone else in the band when I say yes. It was one of the most surreal, shocking, and amazing tours we've ever done. We were opening for a band I used to watch constantly. I have no regrets. None of us have any regrets about that tour. The only regret I may have is that I didn't power on the guys in Bon Jovi more, and try to be tighter friends with them. There was a definate seperation between Less Than Jake and Bon Jovi, but that's the way it is in big production tours.

PB: Are there any bands you're still longing to tour with, and how did you guys get hooked up with the Bad Religion Tour?
LTJ: Bands I would like to tour with myself are..... see I don't know if you'd count Warped Tour so that kind of lessens it. I would like to see a full club tour with us and Rancid. I would also like to do club dates with The Bosstones and have always looked up to The Bosstones. Green Day.... would love to tour with Green Day. I know everyone would freak if we got to tour with those guys. Then there's the retarded ones like, I would like to tour with Outkast. I think that would be an amazing tour. It's no stranger than us touring with Bon Jovi.

We got hooked up with Bad Religion because we share the same booking agent. They needed someone to tour with and they asked us if we would do it. We said yes! It's like we did tours with The Descendents, All, and other punk bands. Yea, of course why wouldn't we want to do it. The shows have been great, and it does expose us to a different audience and it exposes Bad Religion to a younger "our crowd" which is good. When they threw Hot Water Music into the mix we were like "Yea, that's a no brainer."

PB: Besides your eqipment trailer being blown over, have there been any other highlights or lowlights from the tour so far?
LTJ: Last night in New York, me and George (the drummer for Hot Water Music) were walking down Times Square and this car pulls up. I thought I had seen it all. I'm from Connecticut and had been going to New York since I was a kid, and lived in Boston for like six years, so I've like seen it all. So we're walking down 47th and Broadway and this girl goes "Hey guys come here!" we roll over there, and thought they were going to ask for directions. It's like 3:30 in the morning. She's like, "So do you guys wanna get together for a little bj?" I was like no thanks I had one of those earlier and they took off. I was like "Wow... the hookers are now mobile." You don't have to drive to the hookers anymore, they come to you. God bless New York! So that was one of those things that I just couldn't believe. Either than the truck flipping over, there's little things every day. The truck flipping over was just unexpected.

PB: Does Less Than Jake's cult following and popularity suprise you at all, and have you noticed a difference since moving to Fat Wreck Chords?
LTJ: Popularity..... I'm shocked to see anyone see our band play. I think we're all like that. It's a weird concept. We get to do what we love and people love what we do. it's kind of scary sometimes. When I walk out on stage I'm not like the kind of guy that's like "Oh my god there's a lot of kids here!" The first time I see how many people are there is when I walk out on stage or when I'm watching an opening band. You walk into Birch Hill or walk into Roseland and wonder... are there going to be people here? And there are always people there.

As far as Fat goes, a lot of kids didn't even know we put a record out on Fat for a while. It's not because it wasn't in stores, but it's because Fat went in a different direction. They did what Fat Wreck Chords does, and that freaked out a lot of snobby punks. The ones who think my punk is better than your punk, or I have more tattoos or piercings. What's a ska band doing on Fat Mike's label? Mike's an amazing guy and we sold a good amount of records on the last record we put out. Kids are still discovering it which is a cool thing.

PB: How did the signing come about?
LTJ: We had left Capitol and our manager at the time was Kevin Lyman who was running Warped Tour, and NOFX was out on Warped Tour the summer we didn't do it. Kevin told Fat Mike we recorded a record and Fat Mike was like "I'll sign those guys in a second, lets make it happen!" When Jake signed with Capitol, it was the first label that showed interest. That's what we did with Fat, and they work their label very well. They are honest which is refreshing in the slime bag music industry that it is. Fat Mike has the best pills too! 

PB: If there is one flavor of Pez you wish they'd make, what would it be and why?
LTJ: The flavor of Pez I wish they'd make is the painless flavor. The one that doesn't hurt when it is thrown at me on stage!

PB: What's happening with new material?
LTJ: We've taken six months off, and wrote a bunch of new songs. We demo'd like ten, and have total about fifteen or seventeen new songs. After this tour we're going to go into the studio and record a record, put it out, and see what happens. 

PB: Is it true there are no more Warped Tours for Less Than Jake?
LTJ: That is a rumor that I can't "confirm nor deny"! We may do it again, but I know for sure we aren't doing it this year. It's kind of a weird thing..... kids always come up to us and say like "You're the best band to see on Warped Tour." We thrive on Warped Tour ourselves. It's long, it's hot, and no showers. If you go to it for one day it's cool. SHIT.... to do it for seven and a half weeks.... at week three it's like this isn't funny. Where's the joke in this? Come on.... come on! Will the air conditioner work today? So.... maybe or maybe not!

PB: Why did you guys decide to part ways with Pete after Warped Tour 2001?
LTJ: We didn't decide to part ways with Pete, Pete decided to part ways with us. It's his choice and we didn't want him to leave. He wanted to move on, to pursue other ventures in his life and we have to respect that. There's no hate or anger.... We love Pete and we hope to see him in Chicago. He's been touring for three years in Less Than Jake, then four to five years in Slapstick. We miss Pete and we hope he's doing well. Actually, one of our new songs is about him and it's called "Best Wishes To Your Black Lung".

PB: Any name for the new record yet?
LTJ: The name that is being kicked around is "Anthem". I'm going to say that because I have heard Vinny say it, so I think it's safe to say that.

PB: Whose behind the mask on stage?
LTJ: Ummmmmmm.......... I choose not to answer that question. Next question! He's not on this tour with us. We're letting that take a little bit of a break, because there will be a return.

PB: Lastly, thanks for the time. What are your five most memorable experiences as a member of Less Than Jake? Besides the bj offer?
LTJ: Oh I thought you were talking about Bon Jovi for a second. For me I'd say..... 5: Touring in Japan. 4: Warped Tour last summer. Made friends with a lot of people and bands I never thought I'd know. 3: When we sold out three nights of the Astoria Ballroom in London. 2: Winning the "Sprirt of Independence Award" by Kerrang Magazine in London and being presented it by members of The Cult. Hanging out with the guys in Papa Roach and all these new metal guys, and us and Green Day. 1: Touring with Bon Jovi. Hanging out and just talking with the guys was kind of surreal. So I guess those would be the top five.