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Hi everyone. Thomas Nassiff here, with the second installment of the LP Interviews series. This month, we have an interview with Buddy Schaub of Less Than Jake for you guys. We talk about how LTJ is doing things that really no other bands are doing right now; about how they come up with and execute these unique plans and about the music industry in general. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed talking to Buddy. Thanks to him and LTJ for taking part in this.

First off, can you introduce yourself and say what you do for Less Than Jake?

I’m Buddy and I play trombone and jump around like a monkey on stage. I also do most of the video projects for the band and am now in the beginnings of handling the ins and outs of our web store.

Most recently, LTJ released the Greetings From Less Than Jake EP, which was received well by critics and fans. Can you talk a little about the EP? How it’s different or similar to your past work? And whether we’ll see a 7” of it in the future?

Working on this record was a nice breath of fresh air for our band in that no one else was involved at all this time around. It’s been a long time since we’ve done a record with no outside involvement at all such as a producer or label schmooks tossing in their opinions here and there. We recorded everything at Roger’s studio (The Moat House) and got done with everything: writing, recording, mixing, and mastering in only a couple of months. I believe the plan is to put this out on vinyl in the very near future as well as get back to the drawing board and start working on another EP.

Less Than Jake also just wrapped up a couple months on the Vans Warped Tour. You guys were probably the most “veteran” band on the tour. What can you say about being one of the older and more established bands on a tour that always includes a lot of up-and-comers?

We’ve actually been running with the older crowd on the Warped Tour the last few times we’ve been on it and have definitely learned the ropes from bands such as NOFX on how to utilize your seniority on the tour. It was a lot like The Godfather movies this year with us playing the role of Don Corleone…

Less Than Jake has always made a point to offer products that are a little out of the norm to its fans, like the TV/EP and past products, such as the cereal box and things of that nature. On Warped Tour, you guys were selling LTJ rolling papers that, if purchased, would also get the customer a download of the EP. What goes into the formation ideas like this?

A lot of these great ideas pop out of Vinnie’s brain, but we do sit around and brainstorm some ideas before tours for new merch goodies. These days people expect to get the songs for free so it’s become really important to make the physical record be worth something to the fans whether it be a cool packaging concept, some sweet colored vinyl or a specialty item that comes with a download.

Let’s talk a little about the live shows you guys have released and the DVD you just put out. Products like these excite fans easily because they aren’t very common. What gave you guys the idea to put all of the shows together in a DVD format, and what is it that makes Less Than Jake so much more apt to try out things that no one else is really doing?

The DVD was kind of a no brainer in this situation. The real genius was the idea of playing all of our records at six shows around Florida and filming and recording the whole thing. It was great for us as a band because it really made us go back and do our homework; we very rarely play some of the songs on those records if at all, so it was really fun and a rejuvenating bonding for us. And on top of that playing them in small venues around our home state was really exciting for our super fans who were essentially the people that bought tickets early enough to get in. What maybe makes us a little different than some bands I think is the conviction we seem to have to actually bring an idea to fruition. Many bands have good ideas, “wouldn’t it be cool if we…” but we take that crucial next 69 steps it takes to actually make the idea a reality.

A while ago, Less Than Jake said that it wouldn’t put out another full-length record. That’s something that goes hand-in-hand with the costs of recording an album and the profits that album goes on to return to the band. Are you guys still planning on sticking by that plan? Will all new Less Than Jake tunes in the future be delivered via EPs?

I don’t know if we want to paint ourselves into a corner and say we’ll never do something again, but these days an EP is plenty for people to digest. It trims the fat so to speak. Putting out 5 quality songs is better than 10 mediocre songs. And with our schedules and Roger’s studio, going in to bust out 5 songs at a time keeps the frequency of music into the fan’s hands at a peak.

Continuing on the same track, the band also refused to make Greetings available on iTunes. If I remember correctly, I think a Facebook status once said that you “can’t afford to let iTunes take 30 percent.” What can you say about iTunes, acting as essentially the world’s largest record label, and the future of not only Less Than Jake’s releases on iTunes, but your thoughts on what the future for digital music looks like in general?

Well, this is true for almost all aspects of being in a band. The days of letting someone else do the work for your band are coming to a close. Everyone always wants a piece of the pie, but the pie keeps getting smaller and the ability to take charge of your band is getting easier by the second through technology.

While we’re on a broader plane, let’s talk a little about record labels. Less Than Jake has its own label, Sleep It Off, where you guys put out your own releases. Can you guys ever foresee a situation where you sign to a traditional label again? Is the traditional label format even worth it for bands anymore?

Going to a major label these days will 99 out of 100 times mean signing a 360 deal which means they take a piece of EVERYTHING. The only reason to do this as a band is if you are young, good looking, and are sure you’re going to be the biggest thing since sliced bread. We’re pretty sure we are no longer any of these things.
We can do pretty much anything an Indie label can do on our own, so I don’t foresee us breaking the new mold we’ve made for ourselves any time soon.

Now let’s narrow it down a little. Who runs your webstore? Do you do it yourselves or does someone distribute stuff for you?

We currently have our merch in a couple of different places. MerchDirect.com has a wide array of stuff from our band on sale at their site and they handle all of that with the designs that we provide. But just this past summer we set up an account with LimitedPressing, which we are currently handling all ourselves, the posting of items to the store, stocking and inventory of the merchandise and shipping the products themselves. From the moment someone orders something, the responsibility of it getting there relies on us. It’s all part of our plan to put all things LTJ back under one umbrella.

What are some plans for the future? You guys have some time off before FEST in late October, and I believe the Orlando Calling festival is in Orlando? What’s the band planning for the time off?

We are in the midst of some new members to the Less Than Jake family arriving at our doorstep via stork, and while we’re figuring out how that whole world works, we will also be writing and recording some new material, getting together more items for our web store, and planning for the big year we have ahead of us. Next year Less Than Jake turns 20!!!

Anything else you would like to add?

Your Mother!