Lay Me Down

Summer is right around the corner which can only mean one thing: it's time for summer music. You see, there are some bands that crank out melodies particularly fitting for the summer months.

To name a few, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Reel Big Fish, Less than Jake, and Sublime fall into the aforementioned 'summer' category.

Sublime, in fact, provided the inspiration for today's song of the day post. The reggae-influenced quartet known as Sublime performed together from 1988 to 1996 when, after a heroin overdose by frontman Bradley Nowell (vocals and guitar), the group immediately parted ways.

In 2009 the three remaining original members of Sublime rejoined forces and teamed with new lead singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez to perform as "Sublime with Rome."

Rome, a bit of a democratic artist opting not to limit his talents with just one group, partnered with fellow reggae rock artist The Dirty Heads for one of the most popular alternative rock singles of 2010.

"Lay Me Down" featuring Rome from Sublime is a single off of The Dirty Heads' 2008 album Any Port in a Storm. Even though it is somewhat striking that two years passed since the album's release to the issue of this single the wait was well worth it.

The song peaked at #1 on Billboard's Alternative Songs list and earned it's keep into this music aficionado's playlist.

So grab yourself a drink, sit on your porch, and go add Dirty Heads to your summer mix. You can thank me later.

Concert Review: Less Than Jake

For the dozens of loyal followers of Stars and Slights it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Less Than Jake. After all, they have been the featured artist in several song of the day posts.

So when I heard that they were coming to the Twin Cities I knew I had to capitalize on the opportunity (my first time seeing them live)!

Earlier this evening at the Station 4 nightclub in St. Paul I watched the ska/punk crazies from Gainseville, Fl promote their latest album, aptly entitled "GNV FLA." The Swellers and The Casualties opened for Less Than Jake and set the stage for a pretty memorable night.

I honestly knew little about both opening acts and didn't pay much attention to them while at the concert but what experienced was certainly worth mentioning here.

The Swellers reminded me of an early stage Blink 182 (think Dude Ranch) and The Casualties are in a league of their own.

In fact, The Casualties provided perhaps the most indelible moment of the evening when they attempted to organize both the largest circle pit Station 4 had ever seen and the often talked about but rarely well-executed 'wall of death.'

While giving the instructions for the 'wall of death' guitarist Jake said "get as far to the walls as possible and spread yourselves... like butt cheeks." Hilarious.

In terms of showmanship it was obvious that Less Than Jake was the most seasoned group out of all three bands. Their presence and crowd interactions were genuine and diversified. They even razzed their merchandise manager for forgetting to bring a stash of free swag for the concertgoers like myself (though the group members wound up throwing tons of free stuff into the crowd throughout the concert).

For a tour that is supposed to promote their new album the boys of LTJ managed to work in a solid mix of old and new stuff. They dipped back to Pezcore by playing "Liquor Store" and played several songs off of Losing Streak.

Hellow Rockview was another album whose songs were heavily featured tonight along with Anthem and, of course, GNV FLA.

With exception to "The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out" all of my favorite songs were performed. Their albums usually feature dual guitars to cover lead and rhythm but tonight only Chris Demakes played. Even without a rhythm guitar the songs still sounded very close to the studio recordings but with some added pizzaz.

Less Than Jake was absolutely worth the price of admission. I'll be seeing them again next time they come to the Twin Cities.

I'm providing a link rather than embedded video because that feature was removed at the request of the record label. Here's one of the songs performed tonight: "The Science of Selling Yourself Short."

Song Of The Day - August 18, 2008

We interrupt Olympics central here at Stars and Slights to bring you a song totally unrelated to the Beijing games. "Does the Lion City Still Roar?" is the first single and third track off of Less Than Jake's newest album, entitled GNV FLA. The album name was selected to honor LTJ's roots in Gainesville, Fl where singer and guitarist Chris Demakes and drummer Vinnie Fiorello attended the University of Florida. The duo began writing songs together and quickly realized that they needed a bassist. Before finding one, however, they wanted to create a band name. Fiorello's dog, Jake, was treated like a king in his household and everything was thought to be "Less Than Jake." 

Song Of The Day - July 13, 2008

For your listening pleasure today we bring to you Less Than Jake. These rockers from Gainesville, Florida are a unique blend ska, punk and even a little bit of pop. After 16 years in the music industry they are still alive and well, which is more than most bands that belong to their genre(s) can say. "The Rest Of My Life" comes from their sixth studio album In With The Out Crowd, which was released in 2006. The album was not well-received by diehard fans as it marked a distinct escape from the traditional LTJ sound, which features involvement from the horns section. 

Fun trivia fact: "The Rest Of My Life" was co-written by Mark Hoppus, formerly of Blink-182 and now +44.