Seventeen years on from their inception, CAKE is still an outsider – defiantly and proudly cutting their own path. Both their music and their way of operating in the ever-evolving marketplace are fueled by the same core principles of self-reliance, democracy, and integrity that inspired their formation. “We’re using the processes that we have always used,” explains lead singer and guitarist John McCrea, “but we’ve got different tools now. The intellectual and emotional components are consistent, but the scenario and the scale are always changing.” These values, which initially set CAKE apart from the crowded California club scene and thrusted them into the national spotlight, continue to flourish, expanding outward into new directions and roles. “It goes along with maturing as a band,” says multi-instrumentalist Vince DiFiore. “We keep on adding more to the job description.” Setting out from Sacramento, California in 1991, CAKE quickly graduated from packing local venues to becoming a favorite in the thriving San Francisco scene. The combination of McCrea's captivatingly unwitting amalgam of Jonathan Richman, David Byrne, and Woody Guthrie – off-kilter yet strangely relatable – with CAKE's shambolic country funk took Northern California by storm. Key to the band’s sound then and now is DiFiore’s trumpet playing, which makes brilliant use of a timbre rarely heard in post-modern rock. Motorcade of Generosity, CAKE’s debut album, was initially self-released before being picked up and re-released by Capricorn Records in 1994. It featured their first radio hit, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Lifestyle,” a wry deconstruction of rock star clichés and excesses. Their second album, 1996’s Fashion Nugget, included the taut, propulsive hit “The Distance,” still a radio staple and heard regularly in TV and films, along with an unconventional reworking of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” “Never There,” powered by a looped dialtone sample, announced the arrival of their third album, Prolonging the Magic, in 1998. That album also cemented the band’s core lineup of McCrea, DiFiore, bassist Gabe Nelson, and guitarist Xan McCurdy. From there, the band moved to Columbia records for 2001’s Comfort Eagle (featuring the hit “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”) and 2004’s Pressure Chief (which included the popular “No Phone”). Each album built on the one prior, with increasing breadth and musical evolution, encompassing a range of styles including funk, soul, pop, jazz, rap, and country. “There is a CAKE sound,” says DiFiore, “but we are careful not to repeat ourselves. We acknowledge our strengths while finding new ways to express ourselves.” Having toured extensively throughout the world, including North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Japan, CAKE has developed a vital and thriving community of listeners, with which the band interact with regularly on cakemusic.com. “We’re always putting up new material, keeping a road journal, posting news items and links, along with a weekly poll and an advice column,” DiFiore explains. “We try to encourage environmental responsibility: we have a carpool page for listeners who drive to shows, we give away a tree at every show, and we do a lot of linking to items about the environment and public policies that relate to it.”
