Bio

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Since the band’s 1993 formation, Less Than Jake has been committed to the road first and the studio second. Often banging out albums in a week or two (maybe three, if lucky), the band couldn’t wait to get back out on tour’either in the clubs, on memorably zany Warped Tour appearances, or at special concerts like 1998’s Ska Against Racism tour.

By no means does the band intend to slow down, but on Borders & Boundaries, their fifth full length studio album, Less Than Jake took a little extra time to get to know the recording studio. Founding member, drummer and main lyricist Vinnie explains, ‘We are and have been a live band, primarily, and we’ve worked that angle. It’s been almost like an afterthought: ‘Do all the touring, and then we have to go do a record.’ This time, we kind of stepped back, wrote the songs and took our time to flesh things out and make sure it was a really well rounded record. Before, there was a time restraint. Like, we’d have three weeks to do a record, so we’d have to write the songs, perform the songs the best we can, and then it is what it is.’

Bassist Roger adds, ‘We’ve been doing the live thing for a long time, so it feels like that engine is purring, y’know? This is our first attempt at making a real studio record. I’m really excited that we could spend so much time on it, ‘cause I think it’ll definitely show.’

How much time, you ask? Believe it or not, the Jakes left their Gainesville homes and came to Hollywood’s Grand Master Recordings for eight (!!) weeks, plying their metallic, ska-infused punk in a co-production effort with Steve Kravac, who engineered the band’s previous full-length, Hello Rockview.

The hard work and attention to detail was, by all accounts, exhausting. But Less Than Jake believes it was worth it.

‘It’s a thicker, fatter record,’ says Roger. ‘I think we kind of came back around to the stuff that we did before we had horn players. I don’t wanna say that it’s really less ska, but it came out being less ska.’ Vinnie adds, ‘Less ska, but more horns. The songs are cut from the same cloth as all our other stuff, but a little bit more intricate and more thought out.’

Among the 15 songs written for Borders And Boundaries, one of Vinnie’s favorites is ‘Bigger Picture,’ which gets Roger into the mood for analogy. ‘Making this record, we actually had more than two guitars and a couple of amplifiers in the studio’ he explains. ‘It was like learning how to use the right paintbrushes and the right paints to get things to happen.’

Other tracks, like ‘Malt Liquor Tastes Better When You Have Problems’ and the metallic ‘Gainesville Rock City’ maintain Less Than Jake’s distinctive punk sound in its latest, evolving incarnation. The album, says Roger, is certainly more varied than its predecessors, Hello Rockview and Losing Streak. ‘It’s not crazy variance, like Moog synthesizers and DJs and shit,’ he cautions. ‘But it’s a little more open.’ It’s enough of a change to keep the band fresh and creative, and for longtime fans to notice.

LTJ has since moved on and released Anthem on Warner Brothers. We still love ‘em though, and they’re always welcome to park their bus at Fat.