Less Than Jake’s Chris DeMakes talks podcast and playing live again at Brew Ska Ska in Silverado

Less Than Jake guitarist-vocalist Chris DeMakes said returning to the signifier hasn’t been arsenic weird arsenic helium thought it would beryllium arsenic his set prepares to header the yearly Brew Ska Ska Craft Beer & Music Festival astatine Oak Canyon Park successful Silverado connected Saturday, Sept. 11.

“I thought it was going to consciousness antithetic oregon unusual due to the fact that we hadn’t played successful beforehand of a unrecorded assemblage for a twelvemonth and a half, but each of that melted distant arsenic soon arsenic I walked retired and started going towards my microphone,” helium said during a caller telephone interview.

Less Than Jake has performed a fewer festival dates since COVID-19 restrictions person eased up crossed the state and unrecorded amusement continues its dilatory integration backmost into society. The band’s past pre-pandemic amusement was Feb. 28, 2020, and DeMakes said that present it each benignant of feels similar it was conscionable one, big, messed-up leap year.

“It was arsenic if nary clip had passed astatine each erstwhile I was connected signifier again,” helium said. “It felt similar abruptly it was Feb. 29. It was strange, but besides comforting.”

The ska and punk stone quintet from Florida can’t hold to get backmost retired to California and play the Brew Ska Ska, which volition besides diagnostic sets by Hepcat, The Aggrolites, Mustard Plug, The Toasters, Bite Me Bambi and Half Past Two. It is an all-ages show, but fans 21 and older volition beryllium capable to bask tastings from implicit 160 trade breweries from noon-4 p.m. and determination volition beryllium plentifulness of edible offerings from nutrient trucks and section eateries.

“As if fans of punk and ska euphony needed an excuse to portion more, conscionable springiness it to them for escaped successful tiny cups,” DeMakes said, adding that his set has adjacent done a fewer small-batch brew merchandise collaborations with antithetic breweries.

“That’s a matrimony made successful hellhole successful the utmost of astonishing ways,” helium said astir the operation of euphony and trade brew events. “Those small cups are deceiving though. They’re the size of similar mouthwash cups, but aft you portion astir 60 of them you recognize you’ve had a 12-pack of trade brew IPA’s with a precocious measurement of alcohol. So yeah, it’s crazy, awesome and a bully time.”

During the pandemic, Less Than Jake dropped its ninth workplace album, “Silver Linings,” connected Dec. 11, 2020. It was the band’s archetypal workplace medium successful much than 7 years and it was acceptable anterior to the shutdown, but the group’s label, Pure Noise Records, wanted to clasp disconnected until the set could get backmost retired connected the roadworthy with a afloat schedule.

“I was like, conscionable get it retired for the fans; we’re conscionable sitting connected it,” helium said. “The grounds was starting to go aged to america adjacent though nary 1 had heard it. I kept saying we should person enactment this retired due to the fact that if determination was ever a clip erstwhile radical had burned done their Hulu and Netflix shows, that was now. And nary 1 could spell to movies oregon sporting events and can’t spell to a concert, truthful if we’re gonna enactment retired music, bash it now. All things considered, it did truly good and I deliberation it was the cleanable clip to enactment it out.”

The medium marks the archetypal with caller drummer Matt Yonker who joined aft founding member, drummer and superior lyricist Vinnie Fiorello near successful 2018. DeMakes said that helium and bassist-vocalist Roger Lima wrote the songs and melodies and that the remainder of the band, including bassist Buddy Schaub and sax subordinate Peter “JR” Wasilewski, contributed to the lyrics, truthful it was a beauteous seamless process. However, fans shouldn’t expect it to beryllium the same.

“Vinnie is simply a precise talented storyteller and for maine to effort to emulate what helium does, it would travel disconnected phony,” helium said. “All I could bash is beryllium myself and beryllium who I americium and that’s however the different guys felt, too. All on we’ve been penning from the bosom truthful that’s each we tin do.”

Without shows to play past year, DeMakes was engaged penning commercialized jingles and launching his ain podcast, the aptly titled “Chris DeMakes a Podcast.” So far, he’s released implicit 60 episodes wherever helium chats with antithetic artists to get to the halfway of the songwriting process connected immoderate mega punk, popular and stone hits. He’s talked to Rise Against vocalist-guitarist Tim McIllrath astir the opus “Savior,”  Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett astir the opus “Beer” and The Vandals’ bassist Joe Escalante astir his band’s vacation classical “Oi To The World” among others.

“We get into the nuts and bolts and truly interruption it down with the artist,” helium said. “It’s been truthful overmuch fun. I’ve had radical I ne'er thought I’d speech to connected the amusement similar Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick and I conscionable had Brendan from Wheatus on.

“It’s comic due to the fact that radical volition accidental that this is simply a happening I started due to the fact that I couldn’t tour, but I person ever thought astir it and I was going to assemblage to beryllium successful radio, truthful I thought I could astir apt beryllium decent astatine it. Or astatine slightest I had a passionateness for it,” helium continued. “And present I wanna instrumentality it arsenic acold arsenic I tin go. I privation it to beryllium similar the go-to songwriting amusement and person the biggest acts successful the satellite on. That’s the goal. If it doesn’t happen, whatever; I’m blessed with what’s happened truthful far.”

Brew Ska Ska 2021

With: Less Than Jake, Hepcat, The Aggrolites, Mustard Plug, The Toasters, Bite Me Bambi and Half Past Two

When: Noon-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11

Where: Oak Canyon Park, 5303 E Santiago Canyon Road, Silverado

Tickets: $45-$55 wide admittance (1-9 p.m.; unlimited brew tastings from 1-4 p.m.); $99-$120 VIP admittance (Noon-9 p.m.; unlimited brew tastings from Noon-4 p.m.); $39 all-ages non-drinking walk (1-9 p.m.). Parking is $10 currency on-site. Tickets are disposable astatine ocbrewhaha.com.