Look at this picture in all its glory. What a stark contrast from Ryan Star.
For those of you who may not know, Roger is one of the lead singers for the band Less Than Jake. Every millennial will name a band they claim got him or her through middle school. Mine was Less Than Jake. I couldn't tell you how many endless days and nights I would spend playing Warcraft and Everquest listening to all of their albums.
I wish I could say I discovered Less Than Jake on my own. That I was one of those kids in middle school who had a natural curiosity for music that wasn't played on the top 40 stations. In reality, I was of the worst kind. I was one of those kids who would tell their friends I liked whatever music I thought would gain their approval and then force myself to enjoy it.
It was my older brother, Colin, who introduced me to Less Than Jake. Colin was one of those kids in middle school I mentioned above. Colin had an overwhelming Napster (because Napster still played free music...) library. I would often watch him play Everquest and other video games while he had his library on shuffle. One song would always catch my attention and had me hoping it would play again soon.
Here's the tricky part only people with siblings will understand. I couldn't simply just tell Colin I enjoyed this song when it came on and inquire about the band. Oh no. To do that would be to hint I liked something he liked. The biggest betrayal among pubescent brothers. Ever since I can remember, Colin accused me of copying him. While it was usually true, by the time I hit puberty I began to empathize with his desire for independence. I wanted to give him his space and let him have his own interests. But I really liked that damn song.
So, I did what any little brother would do. One night while Colin slept over at a friend's house, I logged into his Napster library and clicked through God-knows how many songs until I recognized the music.
The song was titled Look What Happened. And from that moment on, I was hooked on Less Than Jake. I listened to all of Anthem that night. I had never heard a ska band before. I was in love. I continued to sneak listens of Less Than Jake on Colin's account when he wasn't around.
At some point, I received a Zune for Christmas. I really thought Zunes were going to beat out iPods. Ha. Although! I do want to give a brief shoutout to Zune's music marketplace. It was the first to successfully implement a flat monthly fee for unlimited downloads onto a device. If the hardware kept up with the software, I do think Zunes would still be around. But I digress. Once I had a Zune I was allowed to really explore Less Than Jake. I downloaded pretty much every one of their songs.
I wish I could say I discovered Less Than Jake on my own. That I was one of those kids in middle school who had a natural curiosity for music that wasn't played on the top 40 stations. In reality, I was of the worst kind. I was one of those kids who would tell their friends I liked whatever music I thought would gain their approval and then force myself to enjoy it.
It was my older brother, Colin, who introduced me to Less Than Jake. Colin was one of those kids in middle school I mentioned above. Colin had an overwhelming Napster (because Napster still played free music...) library. I would often watch him play Everquest and other video games while he had his library on shuffle. One song would always catch my attention and had me hoping it would play again soon.
Here's the tricky part only people with siblings will understand. I couldn't simply just tell Colin I enjoyed this song when it came on and inquire about the band. Oh no. To do that would be to hint I liked something he liked. The biggest betrayal among pubescent brothers. Ever since I can remember, Colin accused me of copying him. While it was usually true, by the time I hit puberty I began to empathize with his desire for independence. I wanted to give him his space and let him have his own interests. But I really liked that damn song.
So, I did what any little brother would do. One night while Colin slept over at a friend's house, I logged into his Napster library and clicked through God-knows how many songs until I recognized the music.
The song was titled Look What Happened. And from that moment on, I was hooked on Less Than Jake. I listened to all of Anthem that night. I had never heard a ska band before. I was in love. I continued to sneak listens of Less Than Jake on Colin's account when he wasn't around.
At some point, I received a Zune for Christmas. I really thought Zunes were going to beat out iPods. Ha. Although! I do want to give a brief shoutout to Zune's music marketplace. It was the first to successfully implement a flat monthly fee for unlimited downloads onto a device. If the hardware kept up with the software, I do think Zunes would still be around. But I digress. Once I had a Zune I was allowed to really explore Less Than Jake. I downloaded pretty much every one of their songs.
One of the songs Roger sings the lead vocals on, Negative Sides of Optimistic Eyes, quickly became a favorite. Around this time in my life, I felt pretty alone. Other than Colin, I didn't feel like I had friends or that people liked me. Quite frankly, I just felt like a loser. I didn't even feel like I was close to Joe -- my best friend since first grade. We barely talked except for obligatory nods on the bus. In the truest form of friendship reciprocity (or, lack thereof in this case), I had Joe listed as my #1 friend on Myspace. I was #9 on his. My top friends list was this glaring reminder I didn't matter to people at school.
So cue Negative Sides of Optimistic Eyes chorus:
So cue Negative Sides of Optimistic Eyes chorus:
Been my own best friend
With clouds over my head
Been on this sinking ship
Decided that it's sink or swim
The waters coming in
Foundations wearing thin
Sometimes I wonder
If I'll ever be missed
If I swim with the ship again
Everything from being my own best friend to being on a sinking ship spoke to me. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say I was suicidal in middle school because that would be a major insult to those who actually were and overcame it. That's not to say I didn't think about what would happen if I died. Who would come to my funeral? Who would be sad? This song made me feel less alone for my thoughts. Someone else felt the way I had. When I listened to this song, I envisioned two versions of myself on a sinking ship. Both looking at each other, pleading a case for sinking or swimming. The sinker had some good arguments, but I always chose to swim.
Too bad I don't know how to swim.
I'm a believer that what type of music you listen to in middle school can have a major impact on your social skills and personality. While LTJ express lyrics of alienation, regret, and mistakes, their upbeat ska and rhythm causes listeners to sing along and jam out with them. It's sort of like, "hey, we know life can suck, but we can all still have a fun time singing about it." This is a far contrast than other bands that have similar messages yet sing with a tone that invites you to sulk in your misery. I hate how cheesy this is about to sound, but Less Than Jake's songs helped me realize the best way to handle the sad parts of life are to laugh and keep smiling.
Too bad I don't know how to swim.
I'm a believer that what type of music you listen to in middle school can have a major impact on your social skills and personality. While LTJ express lyrics of alienation, regret, and mistakes, their upbeat ska and rhythm causes listeners to sing along and jam out with them. It's sort of like, "hey, we know life can suck, but we can all still have a fun time singing about it." This is a far contrast than other bands that have similar messages yet sing with a tone that invites you to sulk in your misery. I hate how cheesy this is about to sound, but Less Than Jake's songs helped me realize the best way to handle the sad parts of life are to laugh and keep smiling.
I can't remember the exact moment Colin figured out I liked Less Than Jake too. There was never a conversation about it. More like a gradual approval that I liked a band that he thought didn't suck. I think if I had continued to share band tastes he'd be annoyed, but I was allowed to have one. He actually gave me the Less Than Jake t-shirt I'm wearing in the picture above. I don't think he knew how much I liked Negative Sides of Optimistic Eyes, but the design on the t-shirt is the same as the artwork on the album the song is featured in.
I also feel the need here to defend myself a little bit! TECHNICALLY, one could argue I actually discovered Less Than Jake. Here's how:
All My Best Friends Are Metalheads is one my favorite LTJ songs, as well as one of Colin's favorites. That song is played in the Digimon movie. I loved the Digimon movie and watched it numerous times. I distinctly remember commenting on the great soundtrack the movie had too. I know I also made Colin watch the movie (probably more than once). This all would have been before Colin was even in middle school and had access to programs like Napster that let him discover music. Ergo, I exposed him to Less Than Jake and the seed was planted from the Digimon movie. So I guess I can really thanks myself for finding the band.
I thought it would be fun to see Less Than Jake for my 16th birthday. They were going to be in town only 2 weeks after my birthday. Now here's where things come full circle. I attended the concert with Joe, Susie (Joe's girlfriend of the time), and Alex (an acquaintance who also enjoyed Less Than Jake).
Yup, you read that right -- Joe and I were back to being best friends. I've tried to figure out how exactly it happened, but essentially once high school started it was like we both silently agreed to never mention how things were in middle school. I was fine by that. I had my best friend back. I was #2 on his top friends on Myspace. #1 was always his girlfriend of the time. I was content.
The concert was a blast. LTJ was amazing live. I could make up some bullshit moment about how mid-concert I looked around at the friends I brought with to the concert and say I had some epiphany of mind that I was grateful to have friends again or that I wasn't alone. But I didn't. I was too busy watching and singing along. I do remember Joe saying afterwards I probably should have toned it down with my singing...
'I'd be pissed if you were by me and I heard your awful singing.'
After the concert I made my way to the line for merchandise to buy a shirt and poster. I think I was concentrating on not being overwhelmed by the amount of people in the very tiny room when I saw Roger working the booth. I couldn't believe it. I was feet away from him, dreads and all. When it was my turn in line I froze. I wanted to ask him for a picture and autograph, but I didn't want to disrupt the flow.
I can't remember how exactly the interaction went, but I can guarantee you I was an awkward mess. I know I took a minute picking out a shirt and expressed concern it might be the wrong size. My friends were clearly annoyed since I was holding up the line. Then I asked for a picture. I remember Roger making some funny comments to Susie but the exact wording escapes me. Then I asked him to sign my poster and autograph book. I think Susie called me a diva and everyone including Roger laughed, just like a moment out of a sitcom.
I tried to briefly explain my notebook to Roger but I didn't have a sound description of it down yet. He just picked it up and said it was cool. Then he looked at Ryan Star's autograph and asked who he was. I tried to quickly explain he was an opener for David Cook who was an American Idol who came to a university that my parents worked and were........
I think he stopped listening to me and just looked at the autograph. He seemed genuinely curious and noted he'd never heard of him. For a moment my inner Ryan Star obsession came out and I thought about the possibility of them doing a show together. And then they would both love me for bringing them together. This is how crazy my brain actually is.
Roger signed the book and that was that. The moment was over and I had an autograph from one of my favorite singers. I didn't really suffer from the post-meeting anxiety and blues like I did with Ryan Star. I didn't have regrets about things I should have said or done differently. I just felt lucky to have had the chance to meet Roger.
I tried to briefly explain my notebook to Roger but I didn't have a sound description of it down yet. He just picked it up and said it was cool. Then he looked at Ryan Star's autograph and asked who he was. I tried to quickly explain he was an opener for David Cook who was an American Idol who came to a university that my parents worked and were........
I think he stopped listening to me and just looked at the autograph. He seemed genuinely curious and noted he'd never heard of him. For a moment my inner Ryan Star obsession came out and I thought about the possibility of them doing a show together. And then they would both love me for bringing them together. This is how crazy my brain actually is.
Roger signed the book and that was that. The moment was over and I had an autograph from one of my favorite singers. I didn't really suffer from the post-meeting anxiety and blues like I did with Ryan Star. I didn't have regrets about things I should have said or done differently. I just felt lucky to have had the chance to meet Roger.
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| Autograph #2, oh yeah! |
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