{"id":42658,"date":"2019-04-17T08:06:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T12:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42658"},"modified":"2019-04-17T08:07:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T12:07:02","slug":"on-stage-less-than-jake-is-more-than-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42658","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Less Than Jake is more than fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Less Than Jake<\/p><\/div>\n

Just over a year ago, ska\/punk\/indie rock veterans Less Than Jake energized and thoroughly entertained a sellout audience at The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 202-730-3331,www.thequeenwilmington.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the band from Gainesville, Florida, is back to do it again. LTJ will headline a show at The Queen on April 17 and then return to the area for a show on April 19 at the Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684, http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Formed in 1992, the band features Chris DeMakes (vocals, guitar), Roger Lima (vocals, bass), Matt Drastic (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone) and Peter \u201cJR\u201d Wasilewski (saxophone).<\/span><\/p>\n

DeMakes and Lima are founding members. Schaub joined the band in 1993 and then Less Than Jake welcomed aboard Wasilewski in 2001. Yonker recently came on board to replace Vinnie Fiorello, who was also a founding member.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVinnie isn\u2019t touring with us anymore,\u201d said DeMakes, during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Cincinnati, Ohio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still with us \u2013 behind-the-scenes. Life caught up with him and he wants to spend time with his daughter. Matt Drastic was our sound guy and tour manager. He\u2019s been with us forever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Less Than Jake is an act that knows how important performing live is with regard to a band\u2019s popularity \u2013 and longevity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ultra-popular band, which shares its hometown with the University of Florida, is known for being obsessed with interacting with its fans \u2014 both online and after shows LTJ is a band that is so concerned with making sure the fan gets the perfect experience it features well-known hijinks in every live performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe probably do 150 shows and up each year,\u201d said DeMakes. \u201cEver since we started, we\u2019ve never taken off a year from touring. By now, we\u2019ve probably played over 4,000 shows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It is a band with seemingly unlimited creativity in the form of physical products \u2014 from custom-made cereal boxes to unique vinyl packaging. In its earlier days, the group even had its own set of baseball card-sized trading cards. Less Than Jake also has recordings \u2013 nine studio albums, six live albums, several compilation discs and a large smattering of diverse EPs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Less Than Jake\u2019s latest recorded output is an EP titled \u201cSound the Alarm\u201d which was released more than a year ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t put anything out since \u2018Sound the Alarm\u2019,\u201d said DeMakes, who grew up in Sarasota, Florida. \u201cWe made that EP back in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just still out doing our touring. We spend so much time on the road that it\u2019s hard to get time to go in the studio. We have been writing songs. All of us individually have songs written.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, we\u2019re all in a room together and other times we\u2019re sharing files. Then, at some point, we all get together as a band and write whole songs. Roger, our bass player, has a studio and we made our last two records there. Roger and I write most of the songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Less Than Jake are true road warriors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe end one tour and then we start another,\u201d said DeMakes. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re booked until the end of \u00a0next year. We might take a little time off in November to do some recording. But, basically, we\u2019re road-dogging it. This is what we do. Life on the road is what I\u2019m built for.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe keep picking up new fans as we go along. Our main age group is 28-40 and now parents are bringing their kids to our shows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

2017 year marked the band\u2019s 25th year together but the group didn\u2019t play up the landmark anniversary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a big thing on our 20th anniversary,\u201d said DeMakes. \u201cWe really didn\u2019t do much for our 25th. We could have capitalized more. The fact that we\u2019ve been playing together for 27 years is pretty amazing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cActually, touring has gotten easier. When you\u2019re young, you\u2019re running 150 m.p.h. every night. Now, in our mid-30s, it\u2019s a lot easier. When we tour, we have dinner with friends and visit our favorite record shops \u2013 the few that are still remaining. It\u2019s kind of funny that when our friends come out, they want to raise hell like the old times. We have to remind them that it\u2019s their one night out and we\u2019re out every night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Less Than Jake is a band loaded with experience \u2013 from playing small dive bars to large arenas on the performance side and from recording with major labels (Capitol Records, Warner Bros.\/Sire Records) to self-releasing their records.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with Capitol and then went to an indie label (Fat Wreck Chords),\u201d said DeMakes. \u201cThen, we went back to a major \u2013 Warner Bros. We left Warner Bros. in 2008 and we\u2019ve just been doing our own thing ever since. Leaving the majors was never the end of our career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn our live shows, we go all the way back to the beginning. We still pay stuff from \u2018Pezcore\u2019 (the band\u2019s debut album from August 1995). We never had these huge albums that were all over radio and TV. Bands like that don\u2019t play older catalog stuff \u2013 but we do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re putting a set list together, we have enough songs that we can rotate a lot of them in and out. There are a few songs we have to play. Bnads that have been around for a while have songs the fans demand \u2013 like if the Eagles didn\u2019t play \u2018Hotel California,\u2019 the fans would riot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Less Than Jake \u2014 https:\/\/youtu.be\/y8yvtX9GzHA<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The all-ages show at The Queen, which also features Kali Masi, Punchline, and Mest, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $<\/a>23.50.<\/span><\/p>\n

The all-ages show at the Chameleon Club, which also features Mest and Punchline, will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Becca Mancari<\/p><\/div>\n

Becca Mancari, who is now based in Nashville, grew up in central Pennsylvania. In the last two years, she has returned to the Keystone State several times to perform shows at venues in Philadelphia \u2013 MilkBoy, World Caf\u00e9 Live and Underground Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

All the shows have been in support of her debut album \u201cGood Woman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Mancari is coming back to Philly. On April 18, she will make a return visit to the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400,www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood Woman\u201d is still her latest release but work has already begun on the follow-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just finished making a new record with Zac Farro at his studio in Nashville,\u201d said Mancari, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from Woodstock, New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a really good producer \u2013 and the drummer for Paramore. Some of the songs were written before the sessions and some were straight-up in the studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, we went to L.A. to work with Carlos De La Garza at Eagle Rock Studio, He\u2019s an incredible engineer. We did all the vocal tracking with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Mancari released \u201cGood Woman,\u201d it immediately established her as a Nashville musician who was not a run-of-the-mill country artist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listeners immediately knew that there was something special about \u201cGood Woman\u201d \u2013 right from the opening track \u201cArizona Fire.\u201d A unique, almost-industrial intro leads into Mancari\u2019s sinewy vocals and then atmospheric steel guitar by Blake Reams supplements the hazy-but-still-country sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my first real album,\u201d said Mancari. \u201cIt took a while, but it was worth waiting for. It took a year in the studio with Kyle Ryan producing it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years ago, Rolling Stone Country named Mancari one of 10 New Country Artists You Need To Know and called her music, \u201cThe spacey soundtrack for sunbaked afternoons, full of atmospheric Americana, hazy folk-rock and songwriting that drifts, drawls and draws you in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her album-in-the-works explores new directions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sonically different \u2013- and rhythmically different,\u201d said Mancari. \u201cIt\u2019s just a different vibe than \u2018Good Woman\u2019 \u2013 less drenched in reverb. It\u2019s more open-sounding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very connected to \u2018Good Woman.\u2019 They\u2019re like sisters \u2013 but you can\u2019t compare sisters. It\u2019s definitely rhythmically different. Zac is a drummer. That\u2019s his main forte.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thematically, Mancari is reaching out to her fans in a heart-felt way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sad pop song album,\u201d said Mancari. \u201cIt\u2019s about family, coming out, families not accepting coming out and suicide. It\u2019s for my fans. I need to heal, and they do too. It\u2019s a goal we set for ourselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Staten Island, NY, to an Italian-Irish preacher father and a Puerto Rican mother, Mancari has spent time working as a janitor in South Florida, writing songs with train hoppers in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and traveling to India seeking spirituality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mancari\u2019s debut is hauntingly lonesome, with dust cloud swells of electric guitar and don\u2019t-look-back lyrics that reveal scenes from Mancari\u2019s well-travelled life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually grew up in rural Pennsylvania,\u201d said Mancari. \u201cIt was a little town near Harrisburg. I went to Harrisburg Christian School and even played soccer there. I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida when I was 16 and graduated high school there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents were involved in ministry work and non-profits, so we traveled all over. We were in Africa for a while. Between the ages of 18 and 23, we were living in Zambia and Zimbabwe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mancari\u2019s travels introduced her to an amazing variety of music. For example, her time in Harare, Zimbabwe introduced her to the mesmerizing music of African music legend Thomas Mapfumo, \u201cThe Lion of Zimbabwe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to India when I was in my early 20s,\u201d said Mancari. \u201cI\u2019ve always been really interested in learning from other cultures. I spent a lot of time wandering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went back to West Palm Beach and worked as a janitor in my old high school. That was one of the best times in my life. I did my job and then went to the library and just read. And, it was near the ocean.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Nashville in September 2012. I just got in my car and moved to the city. I\u2019ve been living here ever since.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever since relocating to Music City in Tennessee, Mancari has been writing songs that blur the lines between genres as well as sharing shows with artists like Hurray For The Riff Raff and Natalie Prass (with whom she shares the bill at the World Caf\u00e9 Live)..<\/span><\/p>\n

Mancari never backs away from challenges. As a gay woman in the South, she has found a way to balance her sexuality with her spiritual background \u2013 an avenue to travel a trail that frequently divides people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in a generation where being gay was really taboo,\u201d said Mancari. \u201cI\u2019m really thankful for this generation where it\u2019s more normalized. I think I\u2019ve been a role model of sorts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mancari doesn\u2019t push the boundaries. She steps beyond them and pulls them out to her. The results are very refreshing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Becca Mancari \u2014 https:\/\/youtu.be\/oGwjMGCUKSI<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live, which also features Natalie Prass, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Just over a year ago, ska\/punk\/indie rock veterans Less Than Jake energized and thoroughly entertained a sellout audience at The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 202-730-3331,www.thequeenwilmington.com). Now, the band from Gainesville, Florida, is back to do it again. LTJ will headline a show at The Queen on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[10369,7426,10901],"class_list":["post-42658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-becca-mancari","tag-featured","tag-less-than-jake"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42659,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42658\/revisions\/42659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}