Cake guitarist Greg Brown: Founding member of 90s rock band dies after 'brief illness' as fans pay tribute to 'masterful' star
Greg Brown, the founding member and guitarist for the popular 90s rock group Cake, has died.
Brown’s bandmates shared the news of his death via a post on social media where they uploaded a black and white image of him.
Sharing a statement on Saturday (February 7), they wrote: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness. 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. Godspeed, Greg.”
Brown founded Cake in 1991 in Sacramento, California, along with singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, drummer Frank French and bass player Shon Meckfessel.
He is credited with playing on Cake’s albums “Motorcade of Generosity” and “Fashion Nugget.” He left the band in 1998 and joined the band Deathray and also played in Homie along with Rivers Cuomo.
Brown played with Cake again on its 2011 album, “Showroom of Compassion.” The band released six albums, the last of which was “Showroom of Compassion.”
Brown also released a solo EP in 2023. The exact details of his brief illness are not known. His date of death and age have also been released, but it is thought he was in his mid-50s.
Many fans have left tributes to him online. One said: “Greg, you will be missed. May your songs be played and loved for generations.” Another wrote: “Greg’s guitar playing is masterful, tasteful and unique. What a loss.” Someone else penned: “Such sad news! Greg was a signature part of their sound. I loved what he did on guitar. Cake is one of the real ‘originals’ in modern bands.”
The band Cake is still active and consists of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum, and drummer Todd Roper. The band has been through many lineup changes in its 35 year history, but in all of them McCrea and DiFiore have been consistently in the band since the start.
Cake was formed in August of 1991 by McCrea, DiFiore, the late Greg Brown and Frank Frenc, who pla drums. Shon Meckfessel was also originally on bass, but he soon left and was replaced by Gabe Nelson.