Less Than Jake

“Music saved my life many, many times,” drummer and lyricist Vinnie Fiorello admits. “Not to be melodramatic, but it has. It’s guided me the right way and helps me when life gets stormy – kind of like today!” he laughs and lightens the mood.
“Seriously it’s been pouring here all day – I can’t wait to get to Australia.”
When Less Than Jake wrap up their tour of sunny ol’ England, they’re heading our way with California’s favourite ska punks Reel Big Fish for their first co-headline tour in years.
“This is the first time we’ll be down in Australia to play solo shows since the release of See the Light (2013) and we’re sharing the top spot with our buddies from Reel Big Fish. We’ll both be playing full-length sets, so you can believe it’s going to be a good time.”
Although Fiorello wouldn’t confirm a RBF/LTJ mash up or plans for an onstage collaboration, he was forthcoming when asked about backstage hijinks. “We all hang out during the day and before the show when we’re on tour. Even though we poke fun at each other we’re part of a brotherhood, and that comes into play onstage. Less Than Jake would never put on a scripted show,” he continues. “What you see is what you get – we feed off the fun we’ve had together during the day and hopefully the crowd has fun too.”
Less Than Jake were pioneers of ska-punk when they broke out of the college scene in Gainesville, Florida back in 1992 – and 20 years on from their debut album Pezcore (1995, which featured one of their most enduring anthems ‘Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts’), Fiorello says that they’re as committed as ever and never get sick of fielding audience requests. “Yeah man, we still play ‘Johnny Quest’ every night. To me that’s so cool because that’s a 20-year-old song,” Fiorello says.
“But at the same time we’re equally as excited to play songs off our latest record See the Light. Songs like ‘Good Enough’ or ‘Give Me Something to Believe In’ are equally as fun to play. Personally, I think it doesn’t matter if the song is old or new as long as it gets good crowd reaction – and at the moment we’ve got about 45 or 50 songs in our rotation, so we never have any trouble busting out an oldie.”
While Fiorello concedes that he stole the idea of adding horns to the fold after listening to The Specials, an entire generation of ska and pop punk bands cite Less Than Jake as a major influence – an honour that’s not lost on the band.
“Any time that something you do has a ripple effect … that’s one of the coolest things about this job to be honest. Less Than Jake and punk music aside, I love the fact that music can resonate with people and bring them back to a time and place they’d forgotten,” he says.
“Music gives people an anchor when things are bad or it can lift people up. To me, that’s the coolest thing and why I feel lucky to be able to do it for a living and be amongst people I consider my brothers.”
As a father to a little girl and the co-founder of record labels Paper + Plastick, Fueled By Ramen and Sleep It Off – as well as taking on the role of head designer for his company Wunderland War – these days his duties with Less Than Jake are a treat rather than a chore.
“Touring is my vacation time and I need it! In my personal life, being a dad or just handling business stuff, there are all those little parts that make up the bigger picture. So when I get to tour all I wanna do is have fun,” he says.
If fun is numero uno on the agenda for the Australian leg of their tour, I’ll wager that they made the right choice in picking the life of the Party! Party! Party! That’s right, The Bennies will support Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake at the upcoming shows.
“It was a funny coincidence because Anty [lead singer of The Bennies] and I talk online and we’ve always said that we’d love to tour together, but our promoter thinks it was his idea. He said: ‘I’m thinking of this great band the Bennies to be your support’. Of course we jumped at the chance! I’m a big fan of the band and I love their attitude, so I think that Less Than Jake and The Bennies together will equal a lot of fun times! We can’t wait.”
Written by Natalie Rogers
PHOTO CREDIT Jodi Photography
When & Where: The Prince Bandroom. St Kilda – Australia – October 1