{"id":10060,"date":"2026-02-08T19:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T19:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/?p=1236175849"},"modified":"2026-02-08T19:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T19:33:40","slug":"greg-brown-founding-guitarist-of-cake-the-distance-songwriter-dies-after-brief-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sarmiento24h.com\/?p=10060","title":{"rendered":"Greg Brown, Founding Guitarist of Cake & \u2018The Distance\u2019 Songwriter, Dies After \u2018Brief\u00a0Illness\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg Brown, founding guitarist of Cake<\/a> and writer of the band\u2019s hit song \u201cThe Distance,\u201d has died.<\/p>\n

Cake announced Brown\u2019s passing in a social media post on Saturday (Feb. 7). His age was not provided in the announcement, but a 2021 Billboard<\/em> feature<\/a> listed him as 51 at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown\u2019s passing after a brief illness,\u201d Cake wrote on Instagram<\/a> alongside a black-and-white photo of their late bandmate.<\/p>\n

The Sacramento, California\u2013based rock act \u2014 whose current members include vocalist John McCrea, trumpeter\/keyboardist Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum and drummer Todd Roper \u2014 did not specify an exact cause of death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg was an integral part of CAKE\u2019s early sound and development,\u201d the group added. \u201cHis creative contributions were immense, and his presence \u2014 both musical and personal \u2014 will be deeply missed. Godspeed, Greg.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cake was founded in Sacramento in 1991, with Brown on guitar alongside McCrea, DiFiore, and others. He played on the band\u2019s first two albums: its 1994 debut, Motorcade of Generosity<\/em>, and the 1996 follow-up, Fashion Nugget<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Brown was the sole songwriter of Cake\u2019s 1996 single \u201cThe Distance,\u201d which reached No. 4 on Billboard<\/em>\u2018s Alternative Airplay chart.<\/p>\n

\u201c[McCrea] took to it right away, and I didn\u2019t really understand what he saw in it so much,\u201d Brown told Billboard<\/em><\/a> of \u201cThe Distance\u201d in 2021. \u201cI liked the way it sounded and everything, but I thought \u2018Frank Sinatra\u2019 was a much stronger choice for the single. But the record label chose it and it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown left Cake in 1997 following a tour in support of Fashion Nugget<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might have told you one thing back when I was 27 years old, and I left hot headed and mad about what I considered to be irreconcilable personality problems or whatever,\u201d he said in 2021. \u201cAs 51-year-old me, I see a much larger context of what was going on in my life. Rather than get into all of it, I would just say there was a lot of turmoil at the time, and I felt like leaving Cake would be a decision that would be good for my health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guitarist went on to start his own band, Deathray, with fellow former Cake member Victor Damiani on bass. He also joined a brief side project of Weezer\u2019s Rivers Cuomo called Homie, playing on the group\u2019s only release, \u201cAmerican Girls,\u201d from the soundtrack for 1998\u2019s Meet the Deedles<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After releasing two Deathray albums in the early 2000s, Brown reunited with Cake to play guitar on \u201cBound Away,\u201d which appeared on the group\u2019s 2011 album, Showroom of Compassion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

See Cake\u2019s post about Brown\u2019s death on Instagram here<\/a>. <\/p>\n


\"Billboard
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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