Cake has spent more than three decades defying genre, blending alternative rock with country, funk, mariachi, and jazz into one of the most distinctive sounds in American music. Formed in Sacramento, California, in 1991 and led by deadpan frontman John McCrea, the band built its signature sound around McCrea's spoken-sung vocals and Vince DiFiore's instantly recognizable trumpet lines.

After their 1994 debut, Motorcade of Generosity, introduced the band with "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle," Cake broke through with their second album, Fashion Nugget (1996). Certified double platinum, it produced their signature hit "The Distance" along with a deadpan cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," establishing the band as alt-rock radio fixtures of the late 1990s.