The Sea and Cake

The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake at Webster Hall in 2007. From left: Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt and John McEntire .
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genres	Indie rock, jazz, post-rock
Years active	1994–2004 2007–present
Labels	Thrill Jockey, Hefty
Associated acts	Coctails Shrimp Boat Gastr del Sol Tortoise
Website	www.theseaandcake.com
Members
Sam Prekop Archer Prewitt John McEntire Eric Claridge

The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a jazz influence, who formed in the mid-1990s in Chicago from members of The Coctails and Shrimp Boat. The group's name came from a willful reinterpretation (as the result of an accidental miscomprehension) of "The C in Cake", a song by Gastr del Sol. Along with Shrimp Boat and The Coctails, groups related to The Sea and Cake include Tortoise and Gastr del Sol. In 1995, the band contributed the song "The Fontana" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization. Starting with 1997's The Fawn, the group has relied on electronic sound sources, such as drum machines and synthesizers, to color its music, but has retained its distinctive post-jazz combo style. The band has shied away from releasing singles, preferring the album format. Contrary to his multi-instrumentalist role in Tortoise, John McEntire almost exclusively plays drums in The Sea and Cake.

Members Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt each have released solo albums. The cover art of The Sea And Cake's releases are largely paintings by Eric Claridge and photographs by Prekop. (Postcards of some of the One Bedroom-era photos were sold on the band's 2003 tour.) Prewitt has been involved in publishing his own comic books and doing graphic design.

The band was on hiatus from 2004 to 2007, returning with Everybody. Their 8th Studio Album, Car Alarm, was released in October 2008. Their most recent Studio Album,"The Moonlight Butterfly" was released on May 10, 2011.

In October 2010,the band released "Skies" as a special single to accompany their tour with Broken Social Scene.

Line-up

• Sam Prekop (vocals, guitar)
• Archer Prewitt (guitar, piano, vocals)
• John McEntire (percussion, drums, some synthesizer)
• Eric Claridge (bass, synthesizer)

Discography

All releases on Thrill Jockey Records unless noted.

Albums

• The Sea and Cake (1994)
• Nassau (1995)
• The Biz (1995)
• The Fawn (1997)
• Oui (2000)
• One Bedroom (2003)
• Everybody (2007)
• Car Alarm (2008)
• The Moonlight Butterfly (2011) [1]

EPs and singles

• "Glad You're Right" (b/w "Tiger Panther," "Crimson Wing", 7" single, 1995, Lissy's Records [LISS1], limited edition of 500)
• Two Gentlemen (12" EP, mainly remixes, 1997)
• "Window Lights" (b/w "Setup For Bed" (a solo piece by John McEntire), 7" single, 1999, Hefty Records [HEF013], also on Reach the Rock soundtrack, 1999)
• Glass (CD EP, 2003)

Compilations

• A Brief Historical Retrospective (CD, 1997, Japanese-only compilation of first 2 albums, plus 7" song "Glad You're Right")
• Metro: The Official Bootleg Series, Volume 1 2010

External links

• Official website
• The Sea and Cake at Allmusic
• The Sea and Cake - Video Interview: "What is really important to you?"
• Trouser Press entry
• Lazy-i Interview from February 2003
• Interview with Centerstage Chicago (June 2007)
• March 2011 - Métronome / Interview with Sam Prekop (Spanish)