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Cake (band)

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Cake

Cake (often written CAKE) is a band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1991. It has had several hits throughout the 1990s and 2000s from its five recorded albums.

Musical Style

Although Cake's music is often classified as alternative or indie rock, it combines multiple musical genres, such as funk, ska, pop, jazz, rap, and country. Cake's music features droll lyrics rife with word play and syncopation (laconically-voiced in a rap-like style by lead vocalist/guitarist John McCrea), catchy distorted guitar riffs (courtesy of guitarist Greg Brown until 1998, and bass player Victor Damiani until 1997), and a solo trumpet (played by Vince DiFiore). Cake's unique approach to arrangement, composition, and instrumentation has been compared to Soul Coughing, They Might Be Giants, Talking Heads, The Cars, and Camper Van Beethoven.

Member Changes

Damiani left the band in 1997, replaced by Gabe Nelson. Greg Brown left in 1998, replaced by Xan McCurdy. Brown and Damiani continued to work together when they formed the band Deathray. Todd Roper left the band to focus on parenthood after recording Comfort Eagle.

Hit songs

Peak Position[1] Song Title Album
1 Never There Prolonging the Magic
4 The Distance Fashion Nugget
7 Short Skirt / Long Jacket Comfort Eagle
13 No Phone Pressure Chief
16 Sheep go to Heaven Prolonging the Magic
28 Let Me Go Prolonging the Magic
28 I Will Survive (cover) Fashion Nugget
31 Rock 'N' Roll Lifestyle Motorcade of Genorosity

Appearances in other media

An instrumental version of Cake's "Italian Leather Sofa" is featured as the theme song to the cartoon Mission Hill. The song "Shadow Stabbing" from Comfort Eagle appears in the opening credits of the movies Orange County and Wordplay. The songs "Daria", "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle", and "Friend Is a Four-Letter Word" are featured as closing credit themes for episodes of Daria. The song "Frank Sinatra" was also featured at the close of The Sopranos episode "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti."

  • Cake's song "Comfort Eagle" was featured in the 2001 movie Shallow Hal.
  • "When You Sleep," "Sheep Go to Heaven," "You Turn the Screws," "Open Book" and "Never There" were featured on the soundtrack to the 2001 film Sidewalks of New York.
  • Cake's song "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" was featured in the movie Anchorman.
  • The beginning of "You Turn The Screws" is featured occasionally as a buffer segment on National Public Radio.
  • Cake's cover of "Mahna Mahna" appears on the charity CD For the Kids whose proceeds benefit the "VH1 SAVE THE MUSIC" organization.
  • The video of Cake's song "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle" aired on an episode of Weird TV.

Touring

Cake headlined the Unlimited Sunshine Tour festival in the summer of 2002 among an eclectic ensemble of bands including Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, De La Soul, Latin techno fusion band Kinky and bluegrass group The Hackensaw Boys. Cake brought back the tour in 2003 with Cheap Trick, country singer Charlie Louvin, garage rockers The Detroit Cobras, and a return performance from The Hackensaw Boys.

Cake's fifth album, Pressure Chief, was released on October 5, 2004. John McCrea discussed this album with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air in February 2005.

The band has announced that two new albums are in the works: a live album, Live at the Crystal Palace; and B-Sides and Rarities, which will feature covers of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up."

Band lineup

  • John McCrea - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, organ, vibraslap
  • Vince DiFiore - trumpet, keyboards, percussion
  • Xan McCurdy - electric guitar (joined after Prolonging the Magic)
    • originally Greg Brown (left before Prolonging the Magic, replaced by McCurdy)
  • Gabe Nelson - bass guitar (left after Motorcade of Generosity, replaced by Damiani; rejoined before Prolonging the Magic)
    • formerly Victor Damiani (left before Prolonging the Magic, replaced by Nelson)
    • originally Shon Meckfessel (left before Motorcade of Generosity, replaced by Nelson)
  • Paulo Baldi - drums, percussion (joined for Pressure Chief tour)
    • formerly Pete McNeal (left during the recording of Pressure Chief)
    • formerly Todd Roper (left after Comfort Eagle)
    • originally Frank French (left after Motorcade of Generosity, replaced by Roper)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation album

Live album

Association with other artists

"Weird Al" Yankovic's song "Close But No Cigar" from his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood, parodies Cake's style. McCrea contributed backup vocals to the track "Fred Jones Part 2" on Ben Folds' album Rockin the Suburbs, and made a surprise appearance to do the same during the recording of Folds' Ben Folds Live album.

Cake has recorded a number of covers, which are songs written and recorded by other artists. The song "Sad Songs & Waltzes," on the 1996 album Fashion Nugget, is a cover and was originally written and recorded by Willie Nelson in 1973 on his album Shotgun Willie. The song "I Will Survive" is an alternative remake of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" published in 1978. The song "War Pigs" is a cover of a Black Sabbath song from their album "Paranoid", and is announced to be on the upcoming Cake album.

See also

  • Deathray, a band featuring former Cake members Greg Brown, Victor Damiani, and Todd Roper.

References

  1. ^ On Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, Cake Artist History
  2. ^ Cake News. 2007-04-30.
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