Less Than Jake w/ Pepper, Red City Radio, and Kash’d Out
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
01.31.17

Punks of all ages came to Seattle’s Showbox SoDo to witness the power of Less Than Jake, Florida’s lovable ska-punk rockers. Celebrating their 25th year in music, and the release of EP, Sound The Alarm, their first new album in almost four years, with a headlining tour, LTJ brought along groove rockers Pepper, Red City Radio, and young reggae/rock crew Kash’d Out.

Opening the night, Orlando’s Kash’d Out brooth smooth grooves and a youthful energy that was immediately endearing. “Is Seattle always this vibin?” asked lead singer, Jackson Hauserman. The quintet, signed to Pepper’s record label (Law Records), brought a vibe that immediately evoked Sublime. Pepper sure found a fun, talented band to add to their stable of artists.

When a band lists their interests as drinking hundreds of beers, melting faces, Indian leg wrestling, and the usual, you know this band can bring the noise and make it interesting. That is exactly what Oklahoma City’s Red City Radio did. In a word, they were – simply – fun. They especially liked Seattle, paying tribute to our town with “I Just Wanna Get High,” for obvious “natural reasons.” With a straightforward rock n’ roll sound, RCR are the kind of band that you would want to play at a summertime backyard barbecue. Sporting a fedora and sleeveless print t-shirt, lead singer Garrett Dale brought passion to his vocals and his bandmates came through with those melting faces.

Next up was Pepper, the high-energy pop-punk-reggae trio hailing from Hawaii, who were also celebrating a milestone as a band, 20 years in music. Kaleo Wassman and Bret Bollinger exploded onto the stage opening with “Stormtrooper,” from their 2002 release, Kona. Bollinger was intense throughout the set, holding his bass nearly straight up and down while bouncing around the stage. “Pepper doesn’t go on tour, we go on vacation,” exclaimed Wassman, and they embodied that philosophy in the joy they had on stage.

Their music is about how to enjoy and appreciate each and every moment of life. You could feel and hear the island influences in their sound and how they carried themselves.  In the middle of their set, they were joined by Hauserman, of Kash’d Out, for their declaration of young optimism in “Wake Up.”  “Ohana” is the Hawaiian word for “family” (blood or non-blood related) and it is fitting that their 2016 release is named as such. The highlight of their set was “The Invite,” a track off of Ohana, which invited the crowd to take action, “Welcome to your life, it’s more than being alive.” It was apparent that Pepper’s mission in music is to expand their own ohana and I can definitively say they accomplished that by gaining about 1,000 more family members in Seattle.

At that point, the floor had filled up and the crowd had pushed forward, in anticipation of being thrown back to the 90’s with some funky horns and classic punk rock from LTJ. Lead singer Chris Demakes came out looking the part with a spiked denim vest littered with patches, while bassist Vinnie Fiorello looked like he was ready for the skate park, rocking high white crew socks, cargo shorts, and violently awesome dread locks.

The band’s energy was infectious from the start, as they opened with the sing-a-long, “Metalheads,” driving the crowd to jump and shake the floor of SoDo without mercy. “Thank you for being progressive, Seattle!” they yelled, as they led into “Dope Man,” their own tribute to our progressive laws regarding cannabis legalization. Trombonist Buddy Schaub was the resident hype man, taking every chance to get the crowd amped. With so much history and an extensive catalogue, it was surprising to find that the highlight of their set was off of their latest EP, the song “Time Bomb,” a hard driving track that induced a small mosh pit and some impressive crowd surfing. The night was an awesome cauldron brew of reggae, rock, punk, and ska; but one thing was for sure, it bred community and positive vibes.

Review and photos by Phillip Johnson

Less Than Jake

Pepper

Red City Radio