Interview: John McCrea of CAKE

I first heard of CAKE in college, circa 1998. I walked in my dorm room as my roommate was playing some music. It was unlike anything I'd heard before. It was an amalgam of jazz, blues, soul, rock, and pop. The amazing trumpet added a hearty helping of funk. The lyrics didn't make a lot of sense. I was especially attracted to the lead singer's distinct vocal style, who sounded like he was half-singing, half speaking the lyrics, but not quite in a Bob Dylan manner. It was more like the singer was mildly amused by the song and was going along with everyone else. For the rest of that year, that CD was in constant rotation at our dorm room, especially the song "Never There," which became one of CAKE's greatest hits.

Two albums, a few band member changes, several tours, and nine years later, CAKE is still going strong. The band continues to produce their unique style of music and bucking the pop music trend. While the band itself is still indie to the core, their music has reached a large audience over the years. Some of their songs have been featured in a number of popular TV shows and films, such as Friends, The Sopranos, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. In 2002, 2003, and 2006, CAKE established and headlined the Unlimited Sunshine Tour, a music festival featuring bands from a wide variety of music genres. Past festivals have included performers such as Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, De La Soul, Cheap Trick, and country singer Charlie Louvin.

The band is currently on tour promoting their latest album, B-Sides and Rarities, which drops August 14, 2007. I had the opportunity to speak with CAKE frontman John McCrea over the phone last week. He was calling from the band's hometown of Sacramento, California. Naturally we discussed the album and the tour, but also engaged in a little political discussion as I inquired about whether the band's views influenced one of their cover songs. In addition, we talked about the concept of technological advances in music possibly affecting the public's affinity for albums.

Oh and by the way, feel free to laugh at me as I confuse "War Pigs" with "March of the Pigs". Rather embarrassing, that was.

Your upcoming album, B-sides and Rarities, is a compilation album, and in your press release you explain that it’s a collection of songs that didn’t quite fit past albums. Can you elaborate on that?

Article Author: Toni Schwartz

Toni is an Assistant Gaming Editor at Blogcritics Magazine. She's proud to be a gamer chick and a movie buff!

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