Greg Brown, the unique guitarist and co-founding member of ’90s alt-rock eccentrics Cake, has died. In a assertion on the band’s social media, Cake shared that Brown died “after a quick sickness.” He was 55.
“Greg was an integral a part of CAKE’s early sound and improvement,” the band’s assertion continues. “His inventive contributions have been immense, and his presence—each musical and private—will probably be deeply missed. Godspeed, Greg.”
Brown co-founded Cake in 1991 with singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, drummer Frank French, and bassist Shon Meckfessel. Throughout these early years, Brown co-wrote the band’s first two albums—1994’s Motorcade of Generosity and 1996’s Vogue Nugget—and performed guitar and organ with a pointy, jagged strategy steeped in blues-rock instinct and nation swagger.
Cake’s largest hit, “The Distance,” was written solely by Brown and options his most pronounced guitar work; the only rocketed up quite a few Billboard charts, reaching No. 4 on Different Airplay and No. 35 for Radio Songs general. His bandmates, particularly McCrea, instantly acknowledged the monitor for the standout single it was destined to be. “He took to it instantly, and I didn’t actually perceive what he noticed in it a lot,” Brown stated of McCrea’s response in a 2021 Billboard interview. “I appreciated the way in which it sounded and all the pieces, however I assumed ‘Frank Sinatra’ was a a lot stronger alternative for the only. However the report label selected it and it labored out.”
Brown and bassist Victor Damiani each give up Cake earlier than recording started on the band’s 1998 album Prolonging the Magic. “I might simply say there was lots of turmoil on the time,” he advised Billboard in 2021. With Damiani, Brown fashioned the band Deathray. He additionally labored on tasks with two completely different members of Weezer: Rivers Cuomo’s short-lived Homie and Matt Sharp’s Puckett’s Versus the Nation Boy EP. Brown reunited with Cake on 2011’s Showroom of Compassion, contributing guitar to the monitor “Certain Away.” In 2023, he put out the EP The Finish of One thing New—his first and solely launch beneath his personal title.
Correction: A earlier model of this story confirmed an incorrect member from Cake. It has since been up to date with the right photograph.
