October 16 [10:00 EDT] -- Less Than Jake, the Gainesville, Florida based ska/punk quintet is happy to be on "Losing Streak," their thirteenth album and their first to be released on a major label.
Since forming in 1992, Less Than Jake (the name is slang, meaning under par, not up to snuff) have been a do-it-yourself operation, from making T-shirts to booking tours, not to mention cranking out all those albums.
When Capitol Records contacted them about a contract, the band agreed to sign on only if they could continue doing things with their grassroots approach. LTJ members are bassist/vocalist Roger Manganelli, trombonist Buddy Schaub, drummer Vinnie Fiorello, guitarist/vocalist Chris Domakes, and Derron Nuhfer on Bari sax.
Less Than Jake has a penchant for pop culture. Their first LP was called Pezcore, after the kitsch candy dispensers (Vinnie has a collection of 250). Their songs have names like "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" and "Ask The Magic 8 Ball." And every now and then they cover a TV theme song, say, from Laverne & Shirley.
They have played shows with acts like Green Day, Bootsy Collins, VooDoo Glow Skulls, and Blink 182 and are featured on The Duran Duran Tribute Album performing "The Reflex."
Sounds pretty Jake.
