Cake (stylized CAKE) is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California, consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum and drummer Todd Roper. The band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and monotone vocals, and their wide-ranging musical influences, including country music, Mariachi, rock, funk, Iranian folk music and hip hop. Cake was formed in 1991 by McCrea, DiFiore, Greg Brown (guitar), Frank French (drums) and Shon Meckfessel (bass), who soon left and was replaced by Gabe Nelson. Following the self-release of its debut album, Motorcade of Generosity, the band was signed to Capricorn Records in 1995 and released its first single, "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle", which hit number 35 on the Modern Rock Tracks music chart and was featured on MTV's 120 Minutes; French and Nelson then left the band, and were replaced by Todd Roper and Victor Damiani.
Pressure Chief / B-Sides and Rarities (2004-2011)
Cake's fifth album, Pressure Chief, was recorded in June 2004 in a converted house in Sacramento; the album was again released on Columbia Records. Before its official release date on October 5, the band played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and KBCO's World Class Rockfest. The album was also preceded by its first single, "No Phone", which hit number 13 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart; the song covered the ubiquitous and privacy-invading use of cell phones, and was described by Jeremy Mahadevan of the New Straits Times as "a traditionally minimalist Cake anthem, with a killer melody and, unique to this album, fairly extensive use of synths". A second single, "Wheels", was also released but failed to chart. Pressure Chief itself hit number 17 on the Billboard top 200, spending 7 weeks in the charts, and received mixed reviews from critics. Although it was acknowledged as a continuation of their old work, albeit with an increased use of synthesisers, Sam Spies of the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted that "the experiments in style that made Cake fun to listen to have all but disappeared from 'Pressure Chief' ... What's left is mostly uninspired, so-called alternative rock", and Graeme Hammond of the Sunday Herald Sun wrote that "the melodies are listless, the album bereft of anything with the verve of Short Skirt/Long Jacket or Comfort Eagle".  Other critics were more generous; Doug Elfman of the Las Vegas Review-Journal called it "another great and bizarre, twangy album of alternative-singer-songwriting stories about cars and horrible relationships", while a reviewer in the New Straits Times noted its "smart, subtly dissident, and always catchy pop". Following Pressure Chief's release, the band toured North America, playing in cities including Albany, New York, and Montreal. A second tour, in 2005, saw the band headline the 20-city Virgin College Mega Tour, playing alongside Gomez; while the Tour was in California, the band announced that it had been dropped from Columbia Records. This was followed by a tour of Europe, as well as concerts in Australia and Jakarta, along with a 2006 repeat of the Unlimited Sunshine Tour, featuring Cake, Tegan and Sara and Gogol Bordello.  Cake later formed its own label, Upbeat Records, which allowed the band to release the compilation album B-Sides and Rarities on August 14, 2007. This was followed by a series of concerts, including at the IndigO2 in London, and a performance in Anchorage, Alaska. Reviews of B-Sides and Rarities were generally good; Devin Grant of The Post and Courier wrote that "For an album full of odds and ends, this Cake release is every bit as good, and every bit as fun, as the band's previous studio releases", while Catherine P. Lewis of The Washington Post noted that, although several live tracks reduced the album's strength, "there are still enough charming nuggets to make this album less disposable than the typical rarities compilation".
What happened in 2004?
Cake's fifth album, Pressure Chief, was recorded in June 2004
Cake's fifth album, Pressure Chief, was recorded in June 2004