Editing Less Than Jake (section)

=== Formation and ''Pezcore'' (1992–1995) ===
Before the formation of Less Than Jake, [[vocalist]] and [[guitarist]] Chris DeMakes, [[drummer]] Vinnie Fiorello, and [[bassist]] Shaun Grief led a local band named Good Grief while attending high school in [[Port Charlotte, Florida]]. Good Grief broke up when DeMakes moved north to attend the [[University of Florida]]. On July 13, 1992, Less Than Jake was born. While Grief moved to New York City (he would later return as the band's roadie), DeMakes and Fiorello began writing songs on the weekends before Fiorello would join DeMakes at the University of Florida.<ref>Less Than Jake Official Website [http://www.lessthanjake.com/interviews/index.php?id=vinnie_pt1 Interview]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Accessed September 3, 2007</ref> When united, the pair decided they needed a bass player, but first, they wanted a name. Fiorello said:

{{blockquote|We decided before we tried to get a bass player we'd zero in on a name for the "band" – to either (A) – make it seem like we had our shit together or (B) – make ourselves feel better. I think it was (B) or maybe it was just so I could write it over and over again on notebook paper during my anthropology class.<ref>Less Than Jake Official Website [http://www.lessthanjake.com/history/ History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812175502/http://www.lessthanjake.com/history/ |date=2007-08-12 }} Accessed September 3, 2007</ref>}}

Band members have told various media outlets different versions of the origin of the band's name. DeMakes has stated in interviews that the band's name came from Fiorello's family's pet parrot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/music/a-parrot-a-fish-and-a-reeling-night-of-ska/article_8cf12093-5bff-52d5-a1e9-faebed74406b.html|title= A parrot, a fish, and a reeling night of ska |website=billingsgazette.com|date= 14 May 2015 |access-date=January 18, 2020}}</ref> His story claimed that the parrot would squawk during the band's practice sessions, leading to Fiorello's mother telling the band that they needed to stop playing because they were disturbing the bird. This would lead to the band referring to themselves as being "less than Jake". In June 2020, however, Fiorello clarified that Jake was not a parrot but was, in fact, an English Bulldog.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Taylor|first=Blake|title=Worker Bees Ep.1 – Vinnie Fiorello on Life After Less Than Jake|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRXH7cqVUaM&feature=youtu.be&t=2005 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/XRXH7cqVUaM| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-07-08|website=YouTube|date=17 June 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> After practicing with a different bass player for a couple of weeks, the band met Roger Lima, a guitarist who also attended the University of Florida. After Lima practiced with the band on guitar for a few hours, the band fired the current bass player and recruited him instead. Citing influence from [[Snuff (British band)|Snuff]], the band decided it wanted to add a horn section.

In 1993, the group added its first [[horn section|horn]] player, Jessica Mills, and released its first 7-inch record, ''Smoke Spot'', with the band members hand pressing all 300 records themselves.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} Soon after, [[trombone]] player Buddy Schaub joined the band. Over the first few years, the band put out its first EP, ''Better Class Of Losers'', made compilation appearances, and released several vinyl records (featuring songs that would later appear on the 1995 ''Losers, Kings, and Things We Don't Understand'' compilation), before [[Mike Park]] agreed to release the band's debut album on Dill Records. Right before the band's first U.S. tour in June 1995 with [[Skankin' Pickle]], Schaub had already made plans to travel to [[Europe]] with his friends. The band found a temporary replacement in [[saxophonist]] Derron Nuhfer, who filled in for Schaub during his absence. Derron became a permanent member in August 1995.

Less Than Jake's first full-length LP ''[[Pezcore]]'' debuted in August 1995, featuring such staples as "Liquor Store" and "My Very Own Flag". Originally on Dill Records, the CD contained 21 tracks, including two covers of the TV theme songs for [[Jeffersons]] and [[Laverne and Shirley]] (which were omitted on the subsequent reissues on [[Asian Man]] and [[Fueled By Ramen]] records). The title of the album stems from Roger and Vinnie's unexplained fondness for [[Pez]] candy, clearly apparent in their reportedly sizable Pez dispenser collections, and the pervasively used suffix "core". Ever since, Pez dispenser motifs have been a common feature of Less Than Jake's merchandise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/41h02.html|title=In Music We Trust – Interview: Less Than Jake: Who The Hell Are They and Where Did They Come From? |website=inmusicwetrust.com|access-date=May 30, 2019}}</ref>