22. Less Than Jake - Part 2 (w/ Reese Roper)

All Our Best Friends Are Checkerheads! Checkered Past welcomes the Ska Daddy himself, Five Iron Frenzy vocalist Reese Roper on to the pod to continue their discussion of Less Than Jake! Before that, they talk about the early days Five Iron, Reese's journey as a vocalist and the Christian music scene. Then, Celine, Rob and Reese dig in on Hello Rockview, Less Than Jake's separation from the majors and their sole effort on Fat Wreck Chords.

Reese Roper

It was 1996 when Five Iron Frenzy first unveiled their somewhat non-secular take on Third Wave ska with their debut outing, Upbeats and Beatdowns, which was re-released a year later after they signed to SaraBellum Records, a sub-label of 5 Minute Walk Recordings. Twenty-six years later, lead singer and lyricist Reese Roper has relocated to Virginia where he’s a Registered Nurse, but most of the band still lives in Colorado. After a break-up in 2003, a reunion in 2011, and six studio albums in between, FIF continues to straddle the line between secular and non-secular ska, which, to be honest, might be an unfair description. Fact is, FIF may lean Christian, but their message is progressive, positive, and definitely nothing like what we’ve come to expect after the last 2,000 years of evangelism.