DECEMBER 2010 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM SPOTLIGHT night k c m Paulo Baldi, Gabe nelson, Vince Difiore, obert Xan mcCurdy, John mcCrea r cake Two decades after forming as a “convulsive gesture,” an alt-rock stalwart doesn’t look back Cake frontman John mCCrea isn’t we thought we should have our own label given to retrospective analysis of how he, his and decide on distribution album by album.” music or his band has evolved over the past the approach paid off: the album’s first 20 years. “i feel strongly that the song should single, “sick of You,” is Cake’s biggest be its own universe,” he says. mcCrea sees radio hit since 2001. no need to find the threads that tie together Showroom of Compassion is the most either the band’s career or its new album, collaborative Cake album to date, with all five Showroom of Compassion. fair enough. band members contributing to the writing, But mcCrea does allow that adding piano to recording and producing. “our process is Cake’s trademark sound on Showroom—the very hands-on,” the singer says. “We not DECEMBER 2010 gritty guitars, dry trumpet lines and deadpan only record and engineer our songs but we lyrical delivery of hits like 1996’s “the also produce, and those sorts of production M MUSIC & MUSICIANS Distance”—represents a shift. “in the early decisions require a lot of objectivity. the only MAGAZINE days of the band, i felt strongly about not way to gain objectivity about what makes a wanting certain instruments that symbolized good record is experience.” things culturally that i found repugnant,” that would be the experience mcCrea says. “i thought keyboards were of 20 years as a group, which has really dangerous, and piano was too classy. brought mcrea and his cohorts a long i still won’t use saxophone. But my feelings way from their original vision. “the band have changed about piano.” was started as a reactionary, almost Piano wasn’t the only change: Cake’s convulsive gesture against a lot of the sixth album is the first the band has recorded music that was going on in the ’90s,” in its solar-powered sacramento studio. it’s he says. “We wanted to be stridently also the first time the band has self-released small-sounding, because of how big and an album since its 1993 debut, Motorcade bulbous we felt rock sounded at the of Generosity (later picked up by Capricorn time—rock that was purporting to be really records). “the more control we have over rebellious and was in our minds just another the music, the better,” mcCrea says. “We form of big, dumb american rock.” saw things becoming far less stable, so –Eric R. Danton 21 M mag 8.indd 21 1/3/11 7:53:57 PM.