CAKE have made their careers by fusing elements of disparate genres to create an eminently listenable end result. They are often funky, sometimes rappy, occasionally poppy or rocky with the odd touch of trumpets, and their lyrics can be heavy with sarcasm and gentle humour. Their music has been used extensively in film and television, and the band has regularly and uniquely covered songs by other artists, most recently Black Sabbath's "War Pigs".
CAKE formed in 1992 by vocalist John McCrea, who enlisted the help of Greg Brown (guitar), Vince DiFiore (trumpet), Sean McFessel (bass) and Frank French (drums). By the release of their first album in 1993 Motorcade of Generosity and their signing to the Capricorn label, French had gone, McFessel had been replaced by Gabe Nelson, and then Nelson left as well. They were replaced by Victor Damiani (bass) and Todd Roper (drums).
The second album Fashion Nugget (1996) resulted in a radio-hogging single "The Distance" and marked the release of their ironic take on Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive".
In 1997 Damiani and Brown left to form Deathray, which almost resulted in the end of CAKE. But McCrea brought back Nelson and several different guitarists in order to produce the third album, appropriately titled Prolonging the Magic (1998). It was worth the effort: the album went platinum. One of the many guitarists, Xan McCurdy, elected to stay with them permanently.
Their fourth album Comfort Eagle was released in 2001 and hit No.33 in the US charts, their highest yet, though Roper left after this album. Their fifth album was Pressure Chief, released in 2004, and their most recent release was B-sides and Rarities (2007).
The band's sixth studio album is currently scheduled for release in January 2011 via their Upbeat Records label.
