Greg Brown, founding guitarist of Cake, has died. The news was released today through the band's social media channels, which announced that Brown had passed away “after a short illness”. He had played a central role in the group's formative phase and in defining its initial sonic identity.
In the message released online, the group wrote: “It is with great sadness that we share the news of Greg Brown's passing after a brief illness. Greg was an integral part of the sound and early development of Cake. His creative contributions were enormous, and his presence, musical and human, will be deeply missed. Safe travels, Greg.”
Brown co-founded Cake in 1991 with singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, drummer Frank French and bassist Shon Meckfessel. A guitarist and keyboardist, he co-wrote material and played on both of the band's first albums, “Motorcade Of Generosity” (1994) and “Fashion Nugget” (1996). It was precisely on the latter that he wrote “The Distance” entirely, one of the best-known and most recognizable songs in Cake's repertoire.
In 1997 Brown left the group together with bassist Victor Damiani. The two founded Deathray with Dana Gumbiner; a few years later Todd Roper, another former member of Cake, also joined the lineup. During his career Brown also collaborated with Rivers Cuomo and Matt Sharp in some projects outside of Weezer, and in 2023 he released the solo EP “The End Of Something New”.
Despite leaving the band in the nineties, Brown returned to collaborate with Cake on the song “Bound Away”, included in their last studio album, “Showroom Of Compassion” (2011).
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
