Cake

Sacramento's finest purveyors of deadpan cool, Cake emerged in the early 1990s built around the sardonic vision of vocalist and chief songwriter John McCrea. Alongside guitarist Greg Brown, the band carved out a lane entirely their own, blending rock, country, funk, and a hint of mariachi into something that defied easy categorization. Trumpet lines courtesy of Vince Di Fiore became one of their most distinctive sonic signatures, giving the group a sound you could pick out of a lineup in about three seconds flat.

Their 1996 breakthrough Fashion Nugget put them on the map in a big way, with a wry cover of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive becoming an unlikely alt-rock staple. Prolonging the Magic and Comfort Eagle kept the momentum rolling, the latter spawning Short Skirt Long Jacket, which became something of a cultural earworm in the early 2000s. McCrea's dry, almost spoken vocal delivery gave every track a knowing, slightly detached quality that set Cake apart from the earnestness flooding alternative radio at the time.

Cake never chased trends, and that stubborn independence earned them a fiercely loyal fanbase. They've always felt like a band for people who appreciate the joke underneath the groove, rock fans who want their music smart without being pretentious.