LTJ: We had a nice amount of time off, so we kinda went into this charged up. We did some Florida shows before (the tour). I kinda got sick right before we left, and then I got better. This tour has been me getting sick and getting better the whole tour. We have no days off, first day we've had off was yesterday--Yeah, the tour's been good. I think everything has been sold out so far. Except maybe Colorado Springs. Hanging out with the bands has been fun, hanging out with the Teen Idols has been fun.

IMWT: What is your favorite album?

LTJ: I think that every one has been a progression, in not only the recording quality, but the song writing. We've had a chance to work with different people too while doing this. I think the best thing about the new one is that we've actually taken some time to do it. When we did Hello Rockview, we got home from Ska Against Racism tour, we had six songs, we go into the studio, we're writing and everything was changing frantically Warped Tour. Then we were on the Warped Tour we were getting these mixes back and saying "we should have done this, we should have done that". So this time we took a lot of time, thought about some stuff and made a lot of changes before hand.

IMWT: Are you guys working on anything now (new album)?

LTJ: The wheels have been in motion since we got done recording the last one. We all start writing. We havent even talked about when to record it. When we get back from Warped Tour this summer, we're going to Europe after that. Then we'll probably take a couple months off and work on songs. Or go out again. We basically plan things out like three months in advance. Things are completely tentative. Our lives are a mess.

IMWT: Why did you recently release the Greased album again?

LTJ: Basically kids were complaining that they couldn't find it or it was an import and they were having to spend $30 to get it on Ebay. We released it with a different cover, so now those who had it before have their little collectable.

IMWT: Why did you take it off the market in the first place?

LTJ: Well, it was copyrighted material. You know, when we do stuff like that--I guess that was a CD--but when we originally came up with the idea, it was supposed to be a record. We had a thing with Capitol where we aren't supposed to release other CD's. So it was a limited pressing. I think maybe 1000 originally?

IMWT: How do you like being on Fat?

LTJ: It's been excellent so far. We havn't had any complaints at all. It makes things a lot easier as far as chain of command for getting things done.

IMWT: Is it nicer being on a smaller label again?

LTJ: There are obviously ups and downs to both of them. It definitely feels more like where we're supposed to be.

IMWT: Are you guys napster fans?

LTJ: Never been to the site once. I've always tried to answer this question cause I get asked all the time. I really think I should go there, cause I'll be kicking myself in the pants when it's gone. While it's free, get it. I think the guy fucking rules for coming up with it. It was the wave of the future, so it was going to happen sooner or later. But the fact that it's completely free and there's no retribution at all for the artist is kinda stupid. It's like, as soon as DVD's are burnable, you should be able to put all the movies up on the net and Blockbusters will be out of business. And all that should be free. And every book should be free. And everything should be free. We should be able to go to McDonalds for free, cause it's food and it should be free. People work to write those songs and pay a lot of money to record those songs. And a lot of times Napster will put it up three months before the album is out. I don't even see how the debate can be going on. It's basically people want everything for free. And that doesn't make any sense. It's a pretty black and white issue. It's good for bands that are up and coming and it gets their music out to people that havn't heard them. That's pretty kick ass, if you want to put your music up there for free. But bands that are already established and that's what they do for a living, that's like taking it out of their hands. It's like saying nobody in the world should have a job. It's a double edged sword. It really seems kinda silly to argue this though and not argue other things--like McDonalds and why it's not free.

Some recent concert photos (click for bigger view):

INTERVIEW: Less Than Jake: Buddy

INTERVIEW: Less Than Jake: Who The Hell Are They and Where Did They Come From?

[Issue Thirty-Eight // June 2001]