Have your Cake and eat it, too

Cake is a relatively well-known yet not-so-mainstream band from California. The members keep an average-Joe image and in no way consider themselves rock stars.

These average Joes have been in the music industry since 1992. They released their first album, Motorcade of Generosity, in 1994, but it wasn’t until the release of Fashion Nugget two years later that Cake found its way into the radio waves and onto MTV airtime.

Now, over a decade later, Cake is releasing its fifth album Pressure Chief,with its latest single “No Phones.”

Man behind the mic John McCrea is quoted on MTV.com as saying, “Culturally, we’re totally not right for the time, and I’m sure next week we’ll have, like, zero more records sold.”

The MTV Web site said McCrea just “loves writing and recording music.”

But for a band that’s “not right for the time,” Cake has had some luck in putting out five records and releasing hit singles such as “The Distance,” “Never There” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket.” In fact, Fashion Nugget sold over one million records.

Cake’s music cannot be pinned down to one genre. McCrea’s spoken-word pieces and a variety of instruments from drums and guitars to trumpets and violins sets Cake’s music apart. The lyrics are marked with sarcasm, addressing everything from environmental issues to romantic failure. The melancholy messages matched with the upbeat music make for some unique tunes. That’s why Cake fans can’t get enough.

“They don’t go along with everyone else. The music isn’t traditional, and they do a lot of different stuff with it,” junior Sara Johnson said.

The band Gomez opens for Cake on Sunday at 8 p.m., with gates opening at 7 p.m.

Tickets to see Cake are general admission, costing $31, and can be purchased different ways. Check out Jannuslanding.net or Ticketmaster.com or visit a Ticketmaster location.

For music lovers excited about the release of Pressure Chief and “No Phones,” this concert will be icing on the cake.