Cake’s O.G guitarist Greg Brown has died
Greg Brown, the founding guitarist of alty-rocker band Cake and solo penman of their breakout hit ‘The Distance’ died over the weekend.
Cake is one of those kind of strange, deadpan 90s bands your Dad and all his mates love.
The band was born out of Sacramento way back when and has been showered with inter-generational love ever since.
Greg Brown played both guitar and keys on the first two albums of the band’s life before leaving in 1998 right before the third’s release. After that, he formed his own group Deathray, who he played with until ‘07. He then released some solo stuff in 2023, which you can track down on bandcamp, and is definitely worth the listen.
Cake announced the death on their socials, writing “Greg was an integral part of CAKE’s early sound and development. His creative contributions were immense, and his presence—both musical and personal—will be deeply missed.” Brown’s age is unknown, and the band didn’t name an actual cause of death other than a “brief illness”.
Even though there’s not much available info about Brown, who’s managed to fly under the radar for most of his career, tributes are pouring in from around the world, with some going so far as to call him one of the best guitarists of all time.
Brown teamed back up with Cake in 2011 for a quick little feature on their track ‘Bound Away’ from their sixth studio album Showroom of Compassion.
Cake is currently on tour over in the states, with shows coming up next month and continuing through til August.
