Losing Streak

Losing Streak
Studio album by Less Than Jake
Released	November 12, 1996
Recorded	Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida Mirror Image Studios in Gainesville, Florida
Genre	Ska punk
Length	37:13
Label	Capitol
Producer	Michael Rosen
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Less Than Jake chronology
Losers, Kings, and Things We Don't Understand (1995) Losing Streak (1996) Greased (1998)

This article is about the ska punk album. For the sports usage, see losing streak (sport).

Losing Streak is the third album by ska punk band Less Than Jake and the band's first album with Capitol Records. The album was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida and Mirror Image Studios in Gainesville, Florida, both with producer Howard Benson. Drums and bass were recorded at the former, while everything else was recorded at the latter. The album includes re-recordings of "Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore" and "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts", both of which appeared on Pezcore. Losing Streak was re-released with Hello Rockview as a double album in 2000^[1].

The album represents a slight departure from the raw sound characteristic of Pezcore and a turn toward the refined sound of a major record label release. This is likely more the result of being afforded a better production for this album than an artistic choice of lower fidelity for the previous album, however. Losing Streak maintains the band's punk element and social commentary on songs such as "9th at Pine", "Dopeman" and "Lockdown".

The album reached #18 on the Heatseekers chart.^[2]

Losing Streak's music videos

The album's first track, "Automatic" was featured in a music video on MTV alternative music showcase 120 Minutes and Dr. 90210 . The video consisted of fan video footage from shows in Gainesville, Florida and Chicago.

A controversial video was also made for "Dopeman". MTV has refused to air the video allegedly due to drug references. Band supporters maintain that the song has less references to drugs than many videos played on MTV and is actually commenting on the negative aspects of a "Dopeman" lifestyle. In addition claims have been made that the band Sugar Ray copied the video's concept in one of their own music videos.

Hidden track

Losing Streak features a hidden track accessible only by rewinding the CD about a minute and a half before the beginning of track 1. The track features banter spoken by former band mascot "Howie J. Reynolds", an elderly Gainesville local, similar in concept to Sublime's recorded rantings of certified lunatic Raleigh Theodore Sakers on Robbin' the Hood. This leads into track 1, which begins with him stating, "This is the old dude, Howie J. Reynolds, and you're listening to "Less Than Jake".

Track listing

1. "Automatic" – 2:06
2. "Happyman" – 1:59
3. "9th at Pine" – 1:56
4. "Sugar in Your Gas Tank" – 2:06
5. "Shindo" – 2:17
6. "107" – 1:59
7. "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" – 2:49
8. "Krazy Glue" – 1:58
9. "Never Going Back to New Jersey" – 3:18
10. "How's My Driving, Doug Hastings?" – 1:24
11. "Just Like Frank" – 1:50
12. "Ask the Magic 8 Ball" – 2:15
13. "Dopeman" – 2:06
14. "Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore" – 2:50
15. "Rock-n-Roll Pizzeria" – 2:00
16. "Lockdown" – 2:33
17. "Losing Streak" (Japan release only) – 1:57
18. "Mixology of Tom Collins" (Japan release only) – 2:07

Personnel

• Chris Demakes - guitar, vocals
• Roger Manganelli - bass guitar, guitar, vocals
• Vinnie Fiorello - drums, lyrics
• Buddy Schaub - trombone
• Jessica Mills - alto saxophone
• Derron Nuhfer - bari saxophone

Miscellanea

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (May 2008)

• Though there's an original Less Than Jake demo titled "Happyman" (before the band had horns), the recording has never surfaced
• "9th at Pine" is based on a true story; "During one of our old tours with Skankin' Pickle we played at this really cool old club in Portland, OR called La Luna. Me and Mike Park from Skankin' Pickle were out in the parking lot between bands just to kinda shoot the shit and watch Mike do his pre-show worried pace back and forth. In the middle of our conversation, a fight broke out on the corner of 9th and Pine streets. As I watched it kinda struck me as odd that as soon as someone yelled "there's a fight!" a group of people ran over to stand there and watch. It made me really question, should I stand there, should I help and stop the fight. Human nature is really an odd thing to try to figure out. By the way, Mike and I wound up stopping the fight" - Vinnie
• The song "Sugar In Your Gas Tank" is featured in the videogame Street Sk8er.
• "107" is the number of an apartment Chris used to live in
• The band claims to never practice "Johnny Quest" whenever they rehearse.
• Doug Hastings is based on a real person: "At 16 I moved from NJ to FL. In Fl I met a bunch of insane local surfers whose hobbies included throwing rocks through windows, pissing over overpasses onto cars, drinking beer, and all around raising hell. Again its a true story about one night, and my thoughts about not following the crowd." -Vinnie
• "Rock-n-Roll Pizzeria" originally appeared as a 7" release
• Though it didn't make the cut, the album's name comes from one of the session's b-sides. "Losing Streak" would later appear on the Dopeman (Remix) CD, a 5" mailorder, and Goodbye Blue and White.

References