Artist: Cake
Genre(s):
ROck: Alternative
Rock
Discography:
Comfort Eagle
Year: 2001
Tracks: 11
Fashion Nugget
Year: 1996
Tracks: 14
Motorcade of Generosity
Year: 1994
Tracks: 13
Best-known for their ubiquitous attain "The Distance," Cake epitomized the postmodern, irony-drenched esthetic of ‘90s geek-rock. Their healthy freely miscellaneous and matched pastiches of widely variable genres -- white-boy casimir Funk, rap, country, new wave pop, jazz, college rock candy, and guitar sway -- with a particular please in the clashes that resulted. Their songs were filled with lyrical not sequiturs, pop-culture references, and smirky irony, all delivered with os dry detachment by speak-singing frontman John McCrea. Cake's music most oftentimes earned comparisons to Soul Coughing and King Missile, merely lacked the downtown New York artiness of those two predecessors; or else, Cake cultivated an mental image of fair guys with no illusions or pretensions about their persona as entertainers. At the same time, critics lambasted what they saw as a smugly superior attitude slow the band's habitual irony. Perhaps in that respect was something in Cake's tenaciously spare, low-keyed presentation that amplified their ironical disengagement even when they didn't show it, but most reviewers pegged them as one-hit wonders after the success of "The Distance." Nonetheless, Cake managed a few more than alternative-radio hits in the age that followed, spell retaining largely the same approaching. Cake was formed in Sacramento, California in 1992 by vocalist/songwriter John McCrea, who'd recently returned family later disbursal a few old age in Los Angeles, unsuccessfully trying to break into the music byplay. The original batting order of Cake besides featured guitar role player Greg Brown, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, bassist Sean McFessel, and drummer Frank French; McFessel earlier long left hand to advert college, and was replaced by Gabe Nelson. In 1993, the band released their debut single, "Rock ‘n' Roll Lifestyle," on a local cornerstone, and followed it with a self-generated, self-released, self-distributed album, Motorcade of Generosity. Motorcade set up its path to the revived Capricorn label, which released the record album nationally after Cake signing a contract with them. With the aspect of broad national touring, both Gabe Nelson and Frank French left field the band, and were replaced by bassist Victor Damiani and drummer Todd Roper. Re-released by Capricorn, "Rock ‘n' Roll Lifestyle" caught on at college wireless in 1995, and was followed by 2 more singles, "Ruby Sees All," and "Jolene" (non the Dolly Parton song). Cake's instantaneous record album, Style Nugget, was released in 1996 and spawned a break ruin in the Greg Brown-penned "The Distance," which henpecked alternative receiving congeal that fall, and spirit level turned into an unlikely sporting-event hymn. Mostly on the military capability of "The Distance," Fashion Nugget charted in the Top 40 and sold o'er a 1000000 copies. It besides spun cancelled a somewhat controversial followup individual in a cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive"; although the band professed its sincere wonder for the sung dynasty, some critics and listeners took it as a soapy put down, in portion because of McCrea's dead cooking pan vocals. In 1997, Greg Brown and Victor Damiani both left hand Cake and formed a new radical, the raw wave-influenced Deathray, which finally released its debut record album on Capricorn in 2000. Meanwhile, McCrea briefly considered putting Cake to pillow, only brought original bassist Gabe Nelson plump for to assign back Damiani. For Cake's succeeding record album, McCrea secondhand a tag-team forth motion of guitarists -- five in all -- on different tracks; the final result, Prolonging the Magic, was released in 1998. True to its sardonic title, it defied critical opinion to bring forth some other big alternative-radio hit in "Ne'er There," asset decently successful follow-ups in "Sheep Go to Heaven" and "Permit Go." Prolonging the Magic sold intimately as well as Fashion Nugget, and was as well qualified platinum. For the encouraging hitch, unitary of the album's guitarists, Xan McCurdy, officially united Cake full-time. In the natural springiness of 2000, Cake sign a new conduct with Columbia, and debuted in 2001 with their fourth overall record album, Comforter Eagle, which became their highest-charting quiet (at Number 13). The lead individual "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" was a bump off on alternative wireless, and regular earned some MTV airplay -- no yearner an easy project for any creative person -- with a video that featured reactions to the sung dynasty by every which way selected people on the street. Following the pass completion of the record album, drummer Todd Roper left the mathematical group to spend more than time with his children, and was replaced on the supporting spell by Pete McNeal.
