Cake is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum, and drummer Todd Roper. The band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan vocals, and their wide-ranging musical influences, including norteño, country music, mariachi, disco, rock, funk, folk music, and hip hop.
Shellac was an American noise rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1992 by Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer. Their lineup remained consistent until Albini's death in May 2024.
At Action Park is the debut studio album by American rock band Shellac, released in 1994.
1000 Hurts is the third studio album by American rock band Shellac, released on August 8, 2000. In its official promotional materials Shellac jokingly described this album as follows: "There are no 12-minute songs on this one. This record is more mean-spirited. Todd sings."
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous noise rock by the likes of Big Black, the Butthole Surfers, and The Jesus Lizard. Touch & Go helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the pre-Nirvana indie rock scene, and helped preside over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock emerging at the time.
Terraform is the second full-length record by American band Shellac, released in 1998.
NYC Ghosts & Flowers is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on May 16, 2000 by DGC Records. The highly experimental album is considered to be a reaction to the theft of the band's instruments in July 1999, when several irreplaceable guitars and effects pedals were stolen. NYC Ghosts & Flowers was the first album since Bad Moon Rising in which the band used prepared guitar.
Bob Weston is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason Ankeny declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over the American underground rock of the post-punk era, producing and engineering dates for a seemingly endless number of bands." As a performer, Weston is best known as the bass guitarist in the groups Volcano Suns and Shellac.
The Rude Gesture: A Pictorial History is the first release by American noise rock band Shellac, a three-song 7" on Touch and Go Records. It was released in 1993 on vinyl format only. The brown smear on the cover was originally rumored to be real shellac, but is actually root beer concentrate.
Steven Frank Albini was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (1992–2024), and engineered acclaimed albums like the Pixies' Surfer Rosa (1988), PJ Harvey's Rid of Me and Nirvana's In Utero.
Breaking Circus was a post-punk band from the 1980s, based in Chicago and later Minneapolis, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steve Björklund.
Peter Yanowitz, also known as Pedro Yanowitz, is an American musician, songwriter, and visual artist. Yanowitz was the original drummer of The Wallflowers, and for Natalie Merchant on her first three solo records Tigerlily, Ophelia, and Live in Concert. He also played drums for Money Mark, the Black Sabbath tribute band Hand of Doom with Melissa Auf der Maur, and with Nina Nastasia, on her album Dogs. Other artists Yanowitz has played drums with include: Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, and Wilco. Yanowitz was also the bass player, songwriter, and producer for the band Morningwood. Currently, Yanowitz is the drummer of Exclamation Pony with Ryan Jarman. Peter also performed as 'Schlatko', the drummer of The Angry Inch in the Tony award-winning Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall, John Cameron Mitchell, Darren Criss, and Taye Diggs.
Flour is the musical project and nickname of Minneapolis musician Pete Conway, who wrote songs and played bass guitar in the bands Rifle Sport and Breaking Circus until the mid-1980s. He released four solo albums on Touch and Go Records from 1988 to 1994 on which he plays most of the instruments himself. Flour toured as a live band twice with a lineup that featured ex-Big Black guitarist Steve Albini on bass and former Breaking Circus percussionist Todd Trainer on drums before they went on to form the band Shellac. Flour's solo recordings feature the drum machine sound characteristic of Big Black, which was also toyed with by many other independent rock bands in the Midwest during that time period. Flour's third solo album Machinery Hill was described by Allmusic's Richard Foss as "an oddball masterpiece of grinding guitar, fluid bass, hammering drums, and very creative ideas".
Excellent Italian Greyhound is Shellac's fourth album, released on June 5, 2007. The album's title is a reference to drummer Todd Trainer's Italian Greyhound, Uffizi, who appears on the album's cover. The album was recorded at Electrical Audio and mastered at Abbey Road by Steve Rooke. The drawings for Excellent Italian Greyhound were created by Jay Ryan from the band Dianogah. As well as a hand screened obi sleeve surrounding the jacket, there are several pictures taken by Joel Larson. As with 1000 Hurts, the vinyl pressing of the album includes an unmarked CD version at no extra charge. The band encourages listeners to purchase the vinyl to hear the record as it was intended.
Uranus is the second release by American noise rock band Shellac, a two-song 7" on Touch and Go Records. It was released in 1993 on vinyl format only. It is believed that it was recorded at the same time as their first release, The Rude Gesture: A Pictorial History. As their first release had printed liner notes listing the microphones used during the recording, this release listed details about the recording tape, tape machines, and mastering equipment used.
The Bird Is the Most Popular Finger is the third release by American noise rock band Shellac, a two-song 7" on Drag City. The title is a parodic reference to the album The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird by Six Finger Satellite, and was originally the title of an article on Shellac that appeared in the magazine Alternative Press after the release of the band's earlier releases. It was Shellac's first non-Touch and Go release.
Wolf Songs for Lambs is the second and final studio album by American band Jonathan Fire*Eater. The album was the band's major-label debut, released on DreamWorks Records after a bidding war following the hype surrounding the band, in particular their EP from the previous year, Tremble Under Boom Lights. Shortly after the album's release the band split, with Paul Maroon, Matt Barrick, and Walter Martin going on to form The Walkmen with members of the Recoys.
Dude Incredible is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Shellac, released on September 16, 2014 on Touch and Go Records. This is the final studio album released during Steve Albini's lifetime.
The End of Radio is a 2019 album by Shellac. The album contains two previously unreleased recordings made for the BBC Radio One's John Peel Show in 1994 and 2004. Steve Albini has spoken about his admiration for John Peel, stating that "he listened religiously to every single record he received in the mail, devoting hours of every day to the task".
To All Trains is the sixth and final studio album by American rock band Shellac, released by Touch and Go Records on May 17, 2024. It is the first original studio effort by the band in a decade and is the final recording made before band member Steve Albini's death days prior to the album's release. The recording was made around the band's touring over the course of several years and was not promoted with advance copies, specific tour dates, or singles. The release coincided with Shellac's music being available on several streaming services for the first time in years.
