CAKE ***

Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Noted for their idiosyncratic approach to music, Cake became popular in the late 1990s with their album Fashion Nugget, which spawned several singles, with "The Distance" being the highest-charting single. Cake's musical style is characterized by lead singer John McCrea's half-sung, half-spoken vocals and lyrical wordplay. The band has switched out several members in the years since its first album, Motorcade of Generosity, in 1994. Their sixth full-length album, Showroom of Compassion, was released on January 11, 2011, and debuted at the number 1 position on the Billboard 200; a first for the band.

History

Cake was founded in 1991 and composed of vocalist/songwriter John McCrea, guitarist Greg Brown, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, bassist Shon Meckfessel and drummer Frank French. Shon Meckfessel soon left and was replaced by Gabe Nelson. In 1993, the band released its debut single, "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle". Although self-released, the single managed to hit number 31 on the US Modern Rock Tracks. After the moderate radio success of their first single, Cake released their debut album titled Motorcade of Generosity. Eventually, Cake signed a deal with Capricorn Records, who in turn released the album nationally on February 7, 1994. Some time after this deal Gabe Nelson and Frank French left the band.

On September 17, 1996, Cake released their second album, Fashion Nugget. The album produced the single "The Distance", which "dominated alternative radio that fall".The next single released from Fashion Nugget was a cover of Perren and Fekaris's "I Will Survive".

Cake released their third studio album, Prolonging the Magic, on October 6, 1998. This album contained the single "Never There" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks.

On July 24, 2001, Cake released their fourth full-length album titled Comfort Eagle. This was Cake's first release under Columbia records. The lead single "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" was a major hit on alternative radio stations, climbing to number 7 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks, and is now the theme song to the TV series Chuck. It was also used as the background music for an Apple iPod Nano commercial launched in September 2010.

Cake's fifth album, Pressure Chief, was released on October 5, 2004. It contained the singles "No Phone" and a cover of the Bread song "The Guitar Man".

Cake released a compilation, B-Sides and Rarities, on October 2, 2007. It features covers of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs", Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up," Singleton, Snyder & Kaempfert's "Strangers in the Night" and Piero Umiliani's "Mahna Mahna", as well as live versions of Cake songs "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" and "It's Coming Down". Rarities is the band's first album on its own label, Upbeat Records.

In 2008 the band removed their studio (Upbeat Studio) from dependence on Sacramento, California's power grid by installing a system of solar panels. The band subsequently announced that their upcoming studio album will be "recorded using 100% solar energy."

A new studio album titled Showroom of Compassion was released on January 11, 2011, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Album Chart with 44,000 copies sold. John McCrea describes the album's sound as "very different" from previous Cake records, also indicating that he will be playing piano much more than usual. The album was released on Upbeat Records. Cake had previously released a new song from the album in September 2010, called "Sick Of You".

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, and subsequently also joined Deathray, before that group disbanded in 2007. Drummer Paulo Baldi joined Cake in 2003 during the second "Unlimited Sunshine Tour". (See Band lineup for more)

Musical style

Although Cake's music is often classified as alternative rock or indie rock, it combines multiple musical genres, such as ska, funk, rockabilly, pop, jazz, rap, and country. Cake's music features droll, often esoteric lyrics rife with word play and syncopation, catchy distorted guitar riffs (courtesy of guitarist Greg Brown until 1998, and bass player Victor Damiani until 1997), prominent use of a Moog, and a solo trumpet (played by Vince DiFiore).