Cake founding member comments on the band’s 20th anniversary
Looking back on 2011, it may be remembered as the year for commemorating early-‘90s grunge and the birth of alternative rock as it pertains to the mainstream. While plenty of ballyhoo surrounded the 20th anniversary of benchmark alternative albums such as Nirvana’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic, the guys of Cake celebrated their 20th centenary of making music with the release of their sixth studio album, Showroom of Compassion.
“It’s crazy to think it’s been 20 years,” founding member Vince DiFiore told Audio Ink Radio. “We started in the fall of ‘91. It seems about right, but it does go by fast, no matter what age you are. It makes certain things better. With this album … I feel so much more cognizant of the process. I’m been through it before, so I’m much more aware of what it really means and how not to take it for granted.”
Showroom of Compassion, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in January of last year, was Cake’s first release since 2004’s Pressure Chief and came out on the rockers’ own indie label, Upbeat Records. Produced and engineered by the guys at their own solar-powered studio in Sacramento, Calif., the disc scored the ubiquitous top 10 alternative hit, “Sick of You.”
The success of “Sick of You,” DiFiore said, was a surprise, but it also wasn’t completely out of the band’s consciousness. “I guess we had all hoped for that, and it was something we had seen in the past with songs like ‘Never There,’ ‘The Distance’ and ‘Short Skirt, Long Jacket,’” he said. “We didn’t assume that could happen again; but low and behold, it did. As the reality unfolds, it always seems surreal!” (Photo credit: Robert McKnight.)
Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based reporter and radio host. She is an award-winning writer and has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne regarding Audio Ink Radio at anne@audioinkradio.com.
Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based reporter and radio host. She is an award-winning writer and has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne regarding Audio Ink Radio at anne@audioinkradio.com.
