Photo By Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer

By Krystle Uy
For the Daily Titan

Last Saturday, under the dim lights of Pomona’s Glass House, fans of all ages were eager to let loose, dance and sing along to their favorite Florida punk band, Less Than Jake.

Less Than Jake, blends pop-punk, ska and rock into their high-energy albums, and sound every bit as good live as they do on their records. The band’s members include: Chris Demakes, vocalist and guitarist; Roger Manganelli, bassist, guitarist and vocalist; Peter “JR” Wasilewski, saxophonist; Buddy Schaub, trombonist; and Vinnie Fiorello, drummer.

The band has been busy, touring the last 15 of the 17 years they’ve been together. Less Than Jake have released seven studio albums, including 2008’s GNV FLA, pronounced Gainesville, Fla., as an ode to their hometown. GNV FLA was released off the band’s new label, Sleep It Off Records, that they use to release and distribute their music. Sleep It Off is re-releasing their entire catalog and have already re-released three albums with new art work and a bonus DVD.

Demakes set aside time to talk about the history of Less Than Jake and where the band is headed.

“We’re going to start writing next year. I don’t know what we’re going to release in what capacity. I don’t think we’re ever going to make a CD again. Going to a store and finding a new Less Than Jake CD is probably never going to happen again. There’s just no a reason for it. Of course we’ll do vinyl and collectable stuff, but we want to come up with something that’s going to be interesting and it’d be digital downloads; but we’re trying to figure maybe something past that. We’re trying to figure out how to get our music out there in a cool way,” he said.

Demakes said that they’ve probably done the annual Vans Warped Tour more than any other band.

“It’s a good way, the only way, for our band to get up in front of a younger audience. We’re not on the radio, we’re not on MTV, and we’re not in the press besides the Internet. The only way for younger kids to know about our band besides word of mouth is to come see us at Warped Tour,” Demakes said.

Indeed, there were younger fans at the show. A mother was seen buying a ticket for her adolescent son as she happily accompanied him in line. Even older fans were seen at the show. Demakes asked Pomona natives, Dwayn Kaiser, 62, and his wife, Joanne, 74, to come up on stage.

“I feel like they’re not supposed to be here. They might have read the flyer wrong,” he joked.

Less Than Jake were always quick with their wits, bantering with each other as well as making sure to interact with the audience as much as possible. Demakes was annoyed at a fan and he mimicked her by pretending to be bored, drooled and made motions as if he were texting on a cell phone. The audience all shifted their gaze to the girl.

“Thanks for texting through our first three songs,” Demakes said sarcastically.

Often the band would make fun of themselves or their surroundings by saying things like “Thank you, we are Reel Big Fish from Orange County!” or “Thank you, San Dimas!”

Other notable antics include Schaub taking off a fan’s glasses, putting them on, and walking around as if he couldn’t see.

Demakes invited another fan on stage, Lake Forrest native, Marilyn Blank, 50, to “dance like it’s 1979” with a male fan of the band’s choice.

Blank was enthusiastic to comment on the show. “It’s great because it was kind of small, a more intimate show than normally. Was I embarrassed? Yeah,” she said chuckling. “I’ve seen them a bunch of times. My daughter is one of their biggest fans.”

Her daughter, Brittany, 21, confirmed, “They’ve been my favorite band for the last 10 years. I’ve been to 15 to 20 of their shows.”

When asked about the future of Less Than Jake, Demakes confirmed that they are just as loyal to their fans as their fans are to them.

“I didn’t think I’d be doing it at 21, past 23, past 25 and somehow, someway still going. I know our band will never break up. We’ve been together for too long. When a band says they’ve broken up, you alienate and hurt a lot of people. Our band means too much to too many people,” Chris said.

Less Than Jake is an infectious, energetic and fun band whether you’re seeing them at a small club show or at Warped Tour. Their music brings together people of all ages, including a new fan like myself.