AP Innovators: The complete Vinnie Fiorello

In AP 250, we profiled 16 INNOVATORS from our scene including Bamboozle head honcho John D’Esposito, Atlantic Records marketing guru Livia Tortella and Music Saves Lives founder Russel Hornbeek. We also shined a spotlight on LESS THAN JAKE drummer VINNIE FIORELLO who, in addition to his duties in the influential ska-punk outfit, co-founded Fueled By Ramen Records, created the vinyl and digital download label Paper + Plastick and helped start LTJ’s own label, Sleep It Off Records. We didn’t have nearly enough room in print for our entire conversation with Fiorello, so here it is in its entirety.



When did you first realize you wanted to release your own music on Sleep It Off?

There was a certain point as an artist that has you at an end pass: What do you do for your future? I know that everyone has that feeling. It’s a sinking feeling sometimes, a confusing moment that can have some people making decisions out of fear. I always think that at those minutes and moments that you push through and you move on and forward. I had been on each side of the playing field when we decided to leave the traditional label scenario. So for me it seemed like a natural progression for the band to self release. I am a believer in that bands should be involved in every process of being in a band. Who knows the band as much as the band knows themselves? Sleep It Off provided Less Than Jake to do what we wanted– to write, record, market and ultimately be the spearhead in every facet of the band. I think that just beyond the horizon, more bands will look at themselves like a cottage industry, having all facets of the band under there roof or closely partnering with someone whether it be a distributor or management.



What was the motivation behind Paper + Plastick? How did it come together?

When we decided to start Sleep It Off, I decided that I wanted to release records again and it really gave me the bug to release other records. But in the music world of slumping sales and pirating, I decided one night combining my love for vinyl records and modern art will give it a forward-thinking twist by adding digital releases. I decided not to go with the CD format at all; instead I embraced what I think a potential new model would be. Paper + Plastick really came together quickly, almost overnight, with the idea of pairing me with like-minded art and technology-forward bands. It’s one of those "oh shit" scenarios when I realized that things started to move forward so rapidly and that there were young bands willing to embrace what I was trying to do. It was an exciting time honestly, and I won’t equate it to the early days of Fueled By Ramen. I think of it more like finding long lost friends, brothers and sisters in a new model, willing to take the plunge with me in crazy ideas about vinyl and visual arts.



How did you make the decision to walk away from something like Fueled By Ramen in order to pursue your own projects?

Simply, I was at odds in the musical direction of the label with my partner. I always thought the label shouldn’t be pigeonholed with a certain sound or aesthetic. I wanted Fueled By Ramen to progress into a label that showcased new sounds, be ahead of the curve and not be in the wake like most labels who feed off what’s safe and popular in modern music. I think the point where I decided to walk away from something I helped grow happened when I felt like things were being done primarily for sales reasons and not for the love of the actual music. I thought to myself, "Do I love this band that we are about to sign? Can I really sign off on this personally?" Both answers were no, so it had left me in between a rock and a hard place. After all is said and done, I want to be involved in things I have passion for, and with FBR, it was bands like Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Punchline, Kane Hodder, The Impossibles, The Stereo–those were the bands I loved, bands that I listened to in my car and became engrained in my day to day musical life. As the label started to sign new bands, I decided that instead of a musical power struggle inside the label, I told my partner that I wanted to sell my half. I did and I feel like it was at the perfect time, not only in the height and hype of the label but also in the bands the label worked with.




What’s your definition of an innovator?

I think an innovator is someone that can see a bit over the horizon line, someone who can use the resources around him or her to create something new or that improves on an original idea. Peanut butter was a great idea. Grape jelly is as well, but the person who put both of those on white bread to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was one innovating motherfucker. Mind you, I don’t mean to put all this in the tangible side of things because I think that ideas themselves are worth more than gold. My grandfather told me once that every success has a hundred failures. I took that to heart. I throw the line out there on scraps of paper and sketches, and sometimes they work out and sometimes they blow up in my face. But regardless, I constantly put myself out there. I try new things, take advice, learn from my mistakes but I’m constantly at work scheming or dreaming or scratching out notes to myself at all hours of the day and night.



What do you see as your biggest accomplishment?

I would have to say that it’s being involved in music for almost twenty years. When I first found punk rock, I never thought it would ever turn out like it has. Punk rock music was like someone turning a switch on for me. I don’t want to sound cliché but punk rock music saved my life. It gave me rules to live by, became the soundtrack to every important moment, was there when I celebrated, and was there when I needed a life raft to keep me floating on the surface. For music to have provided me with so much and to still be very active in it makes me sit back and want to high five every stranger I see walking down the street.



What’s your biggest disappointment, professionally?

This may seem somewhat a crazy thing to say but I’ve been extremely happy about how things have played out with Less Than Jake, with putting out music with FBR, and now with Paper + Plastick. The biggest disappointment for me was not being able to work with the Matches and Motion City Soundtrack, Way back when we started to work with Fall Out Boy, we also were trying to sign both bands and while it didn’t work out in the end for us to sign them, it is good too see both succeed like they did. I remember going to Spaceland in Silver Lake [in Los Angeles] to go see Motion City Soundtrack play, and every single label had someone in the audience. I watched the band play and was blown away. After the show on the sidewalk in front of the club, I remember saying to the band that night that we wanted to sign them but that there was no way we could have kept up with all the other label deals. I remember just being gutted about that.



What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do, but doesn’t know where to start?

There’s no handbook to be in the music industry. It’s all learn by failure. I can’t count the amount of times I tried something new and it didn’t work out. But that’s the thing you learn from your mistakes, your progress when you know a little better. Also a nice addition to the previous sentence would be that honesty is and will always be the best policy when dealing in your own band or dealing with other bands. Once someone’s trust in you is blown, it’s really hard to gain that back. The widest and most blanketed advice I have is to always do it yourself first.



What would you consider your biggest contribution to today’s music scene?

I would like to think that there’s a legacy in Less Than Jake–the shows we’ve played, the songs that we’ve written, those points in history were never bought or sold, from basements to huge festivals. They were five guys (sometimes six) playing music that they love–best friends collectively making music for 16 years. As a band member, you are wrapped up in the moment most of the time so you never get to see the bigger picture as it happens. There have been times from fans and friends that have put thing in perspective for me. One email that came in a few years ago explained how one of our songs played on repeat. It helped a daughter cope with her mother’s cancer. And then there was another email about a song helping someone through depression and thoughts of suicide. When you speak of contributions to today’s music scene, I think being able to connect with people through our music has to be the first and foremost biggest thing to mention. It’s the thing I’m most proud of.




Where do you see yourself, Less Than Jake and your labels in five years?

I see Less Than Jake making music on our own terms, whenever and however we want, touring the places we love, in the cities and countries that we have traveled through and to for almost the last two decades. The freedom of not being chained into one contract or company really lets us explore any new possibility that comes our way.



With Paper + Plastick, I see myself releasing vinyl records by bands that I love, from unknown bands to more established ones. If there is one thing I want, it is to be able to put out the most insanely packaged vinyl records, visually stunning and musically moving. It’s exciting to work with bands whose music I truly love, whether it be Cheap Girls, Gatorface, Failures Union, Frank Turner, Foundation or The Shook Ones. These are the bands I listen to on a day-to-day basis… bands that I consider to be friends and I think that’s the way a label should be. –Rachel Lux

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