The Sacramento-based Cake is a band that plays music, all kinds of music.
"There isn't really a single type of music we wouldn't like to play," said guitarist/organist Greg Brown during a phone call from Chicago. "The covers we choose to play just come with our tastes."Cake - featuring Brown, bassist Victor Damiani, trumpeter Vince Di Fiore, vocalist/guitarist John McCrea and drummer Todd Roper - will play the Zephyr Club Tuesday, Oct. 15. Doors open at 7 p.m.
"There's a musical spontaneity that the band has," said Brown about the remakes of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," Willie Nelson's "Sad Songs and Waltzes" and the timeless standard, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps." "It's hard to plan things. The best thing we do is make everything our best effort. We don't have a set list, either. But we don't stand around on stage trying to guess what we're going to play."
Cake recently released a new album, "Fashion Nugget." And in line with the band's debut, "Motorcade of Generosity," the music is catchy, fun and very down to earth.
"Actually, we thought we were stepping up with production on `Fashion Nugget,' " laughed Brown about the album's raw punch. "While there aren't a lot of overdubs, we did split the production half and half."
Brown's influence include the '50s-era rock 'n' roll, as well as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
"I began to broaden my spectrum in high school and listened to big bands and country and blues," said Brown.
"There's a musical spirituality the band is all a part of," Brown continued. "And it's where our direction lies. We try to put our all into it and try to branch out as much as possible. That's what keeps it fresh."