The Art of ``Anthem'': Renowned Visual Artists Interpret Less Than Jake's New Album; ``Anthem'' Hits Music Marketplace May 20.

Entertainment Editors/Music Industry Writers

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2003

No question about it: music evokes images. And none more so than the fourteen tracks that comprise "Anthem," Less Than Jake's eagerly awaited new Sire/Warner Bros. Records debut album due May 20.

Less Than Jake have done it their way for a better part of a decade. The band has put out 4 full-length albums, as well as various EPs, singles and compilation tracks (147 in all) through mostly independent channels.

The first single from "Anthem," "She's Gonna Break Soon," features in its video Alexis Bledel. Alexis is best known for her role as Rory Gilmore on WB's hit show "Gilmore Girls." You guessed it! Alexis performs (in the video) as the girl who is "...gonna break soon." If you are wondering how Alexis wound up in the video, it's simple -- Alexis and the band are friends, so they kindly asked her to be in their video opus!

Over the course of their career, Less Than Jake has established creative connections with a number of acclaimed visual artists across the country. In the interest of expanding the expressive horizons of "Anthem" as broadly as possible, the band commissioned a series of original art works to illustrate the album's fourteen tracks. The only catch: the artists were only supplied with the song's title and lyrics. No music, no explanation.

The results tell a story all their own (for album art and hi-res JPEGs of the images that appear on the package from the artists listed below, please visit: http://publicitymaterials.wbr.com/ then go to: Less Than Jake; or contact us directly):

Track 1
"Welcome To The New South" by Jeff Soto

Jeff Soto counts as his formative influences the work of such artists
as Mercer Mayer and Patrick Woodroffe, along with Van Gogh, Paul
Cadmus, Lisa Yuskavage, Twist, Otto Dix, Georganne Deen, Alex Gross,
Manuel Ocampo, Margaret Kilgallen and the Clayton Brothers. At age 15,
he began to dabble in the art of graffiti, another major influence.
His work has been shown in galleries across the U.S. and, most
recently, in Europe. He graduated with Distinction from Art Center
College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Track 2
"The Ghost Of Me And You" by Steve Vance

Steve Vance has written and drawn comic book adventures for "Superman"
and "The Simpsons," won a Grammy for his package design on "Brain In A
Box: The Science Fiction Collection" and authored "The Big Book of
Vice." He designs books, t-shirts, greeting cards and toy packages;
illustrates such clients as IBM, the NFL and the U.S. Postal Service;
and moonlights as a film editor and animator. He and his wife,
designer Cindy Vance, share a studio in Los Angeles.

Track 3
"Look What Happened" by Wendy Ann Gardner

From Toronto, Wendy Ann Gardner studied at the Ontario College of Art
and Design and moved to New York City to work as an illustrator.  She
is the creator of Scary Stories Inc. the Naughty Naughty Pets line of
characters, which have been licensed worldwide for children's
clothing, stationery, t-shirts, etc.  She has written children's books
and is currently developing an animated TV series based on her
characters. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The
Chicago Tribune, Working Mother, Elle Decor and elsewhere.

Track 4
"The Science Of Selling Yourself Short" by Chip Wass

Chip Wass has worked as a professional illustrator in New York for
over a decade and his clients include Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon
and Nick at Nite, Warner Bros. Records, Nike and Adobe. His
illustrations have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company and
The New York Times. He designed the popular dingbat font Chippies by
Wassco and has received awards from American Illustration, The
Broadcast Designers' Association and the Society of Publication
Designers.

Track 5
"Short Fuse Burning" by Florencio Zavala

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Florencio Zavala currently lives and works in
Los Angeles. He attended the University of Florida and has since been
featured in such galleries as One Time Gallery (LA), Vice (LA), Blue
Cube & 1300 Gallery (OH), and solo exhibition at Red Five (SF).
Upcoming shows include a co-curated show with Cody Hudson at Upper
Playground (SF) and a two-part collaboration with Honest at Blk/Mrkt
(LA, 2003) and Sixspace (LA, 2004). His work has appeared in Arkitip,
Anthem, CMYK, Vapors, WARP and XLR8R.

Track 6
"Motown Never Sounded So Good" by Kurt Halsey Frederiksen

Kurt Halsey Frederiksen graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art
and Design and has exhibited his paintings in Baltimore, Cleveland,
Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose and
Toronto.

Track 7
"The Upward War And The Downturned Cycle" by Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey is currently based in Los Angeles, where he has been
co-owner and co-Creative Director of the design firm Black Market
since 1996. A graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design, his work
has been featured on stickers, clothing, skateboards, posters,
stencil-based graffiti and screen prints.

Track 8
"Escape From The A-Bomb House" by David Choe

David Choe was born and raised in Los Angeles and currently lives in
San Francisco. His work has been featured in Giant Robot and Vice
magazines and he has drawn for Marvel comics, as well as working for
Seineger Advertising, Levi's, IBM, Larry Flynt Publications and Warner
Brothers and Sony Pictures.  He has self-published two illustrated
novellas, "Bruised Fruit" and "Slow Jams."

Track 9
"Best Wishes To Your Black Lung" by Alison Zawacki

Alison Zawacki, a freelance illustrator, resides in Sacramento, CA.
She earned a B.F.A. in Illustration from Kendall College of Art &
Design and has received several awards for her illustrations. Her
images have appeared in many publications and on concert posters
throughout North America.

Track 10
"She's Gonna Break Soon" by Mitch O'Connell

Mitch O'Connell's illustrations have appeared in Playboy, Newsweek and
many other publications. A book of his work, "Please Wuv Me," features
over 80 original illustrations. O'Connell also designs cocktail
napkins, bobbleheads, iron-on transfers, temporary tattoos and flash
designs.

Track 11
"That's Why They Call It A Union" by Peter Wonsowski

A graduate of the University of the Arts, Peter Wonsowski studied
illustration, animation and graphic design. Working with Less Than
Jake for over six years, his artwork has appeared on album covers and
t-shirts, as well as on skateboards, as tattoos and as broadcast
images. He currently resides in Philadelphia, where he is learning to
play the singing saw and designs 45 RPM records for fun.

Track 12
"Plastic Cup Politics" by Scott Sinclair

California native Scott Sinclair received a B.F.A. in Illustration
from the Ringling School of Art and Design and his art has appeared in
magazines from Playboy to The Progressive, as well as on numerous
album covers. Currently residing in Boston, Sinclair is a freelance
illustrator, fine artist and multimedia designer. His many side
projects include an indie record label, SincAudio, and regular
appearances on "The Model Sons" (www.modelsons.com), as well as
contributing to an online documentary magazine, Egress.

Track 13
"The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out" by Camille Rose Garcia

Camille Rose Garcia was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Orange
County. Creative influences include Phillip K. Dick, William
Burroughs, Henry Darger, Walt Disney, The Clash and Dead Kennedys. Her
upcoming solo show, "Retreat Syndrome," will open on June 1, 2003, at
the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in
Juxtapoz, Art Issues and Paper Magazine, among others, and can also be
seen in the upcoming issue of BLAB magazine.

Track 13 1/2
"Screw Fall Out" by Speed Scott Hall

Speed Scott Hall attended the University of Florida and currently
lives in L.A., where he has designed posters for over 120 different
bands and such events as the Pop Disaster Tour of 2002, featuring
Blink182/Green Day & Wilco.  Most recently, Hall conceived and drew
the oversized, 3-panel comic strip backdrops for the New Found Glory
Sticks and Stones U.S. Tour.

Two additional artists also supplied their visual representations of
tracks that did not make the final cut of "Anthem." They are:

"ASAOK (All Systems AOK)" by Jason Miracle

Jason Miracle lives and paints in Denver. He is a recent graduate of
the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, where he studied closely
under the chair of the Painting Department, Clark Richert. He was
raised near Miami and he currently shows at the Pirate Gallery in
Denver.

"Last Rights To Sleepless Nights" by Shawn Hall

Shawn Hall lives and works in New Orleans. Primarily a painter, she
also creates performance art, installations and videos. She received
an M.F.A. from MICA in Baltimore and a B.F.A. from SAIC in Chicago.
She has taught painting and drawing at UCSD Extension, San Diego, and
LSU in Baton Rouge. She exhibits widely.