Ska legends, Less Than Jake are returning to Australia this October-November for the first time in seven years.
The Floridian five-piece will be performing their 1998 classic album 'Hello Rockview' in full, plus fan favourites from their extensive discography.It's an iconic and nostalgia-filled album that soundtracked the late '90s skate-punk era for millions featuring the anthems 'All My Best Friends Are Metalheads' and 'History Of A Boring Town'.
Since 2023, Less Than Jake have been touring 'Hello Rockview' around the world. For vocalist-guitarist Chris DeMakes, this brings back memories of touring the album when it was released over 25 years ago.
"We [originally] toured 'Hello Rockview' for about 18 months, it was 1998 and well into 1999. It's been great, it's been a trip down memory lane. The fans have been incredible, every night it's 'I saw you when I was at uni' and it's all those memories and a lot of firsts for people that they've really held on to," Chris explains.
"At the time, we knew the record was popular and it did well, but you didn't realise how it impacted people. They're bringing their kids out now and it's become a family affair in some places.
"To think that people care about something you put together when you were 22 years old this many years later is phenomenal."
At the 'Hello Rockview' shows, the audience is transported back in time as the full album is performed with every detail included, just like the record. For Chris, the album transports him back to the busiest time of his life.
"Overall, people are there to hear the record in full, we play it from start to finish, we don't play it in a weird order or anything. We play it how you hear it with every bell and whistle, and all the little segues and intros that the songs have and the samples we put in.
"We wrote these songs at a time where. . . I think my life is fast now, it was incredibly fast-paced [back then], we were never home, we were on the road the whole time. Writing these songs and recording them as fast as we could and throwing them out there. Not really having any game plan.
"I don't think I've ever met a band that could say with a straight face that 'oh we knew we were changing the world'. Maybe Oasis would say something this bold. 'We're changing the world and in 25 years these songs are going to be legendary.' Or people are going to want to hear them.
"This was just the next batch of songs that we wrote and the irony is not lost on me that, here I am 25 years later coming to Australia and people want to hear these songs. It's incredible."
When other bands revisit albums from 25 years ago, they very often have to relearn many of the songs due to not performing them live for a decade or two. Luckily for Chris, 'Hello Rockview' is such a fan favourite it hasn't been as challenging to perform as their other albums.
"Over the course of the last 25 years, we've played all of these songs at some point. Some more so than others; 'All My Best Friends Are Metalheads' gets played every show, 'History Of A Boring Town' gets played a lot, a lot of the songs do. This wasn't as hard to go back and dust off like some of the other stuff is."
Although the album was released 25-plus years ago, Chris still has a deep connection to 'Hello Rockview' and performing it brings back strong emotions and memories. "I connect to it so closely in some regards, and I'm as disconnected as I could ever be from it, because it seems like a lifetime ago and a different person almost.
"Every once in a while someone will send a link of a new video posted on YouTube of a new VHS tape in a closet and digitise it. I'll be watching this show from the 'Hello Rockview' tour; like there's this skinny kid up there that kind of looks like me, like a young version of me. I know I was in this building playing, I have no idea where this was at, I don't remember the show, but I know I was there. It's crazy to look at it that way.
"But at the same time, just the emotions, I remember playing the record for my dad, who was like the band's biggest fan. I lost my father a couple of years ago and my dad he was 50 when the record came out, and I was 25 and 25 years later, roughly, he passed away in late 2022.
"So I'm his age now when the record came out. The age he was then. So there's memories like that that are attached to it."
Throughout their career, Less Than Jake have done numerous tours playing their earlier albums in full; everything up to 2006's 'In With The Out Crowd'. However, Chris thinks 'Hello Rockview' is the one that translates the best live. "'Hello Rockview' is a concise album. It clocks in at 35, 36 minutes, it punches you in the face, it's a quick, fast, energetic listen.
"The lyrics and the ride it takes you on, I would never probably say this out loud, probably ever again, but it's almost like a concept album, it feels like it can be played in full. I don't feel like the other records translate like 'Hello Rockview' does. So whether we do any album shows in the future, it remains to be seen."
Less Than Jake 2024 Tour Dates
Fri 25 Oct - 170 Russell (Melbourne)Sat 26 Oct - Coopers Alehouse (Adelaide)
Sun 27 Oct - Freo.Social (Fremantle)
Tue 29 Oct - Waves (Wollongong)
Wed 30 Oct - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Fri 1 Nov - King Street Bandroom (Newcastle)
Sat 2 Nov - Kirwan Tavern (Townsville)
Sun 3 Nov - Chardons Corner Hotel (Brisbane)
