Cake Hell Is Federal Funding (01)

Federal Funding is the first song on Cake’s 2011 album Showroom of Compassion. The song features a slow, moderately-funky beat, a low single-string guitar riff, whining analog synthesizers, group vocals, and trumpets. Lyrically, it discusses both the positives and negatives of government. Lead singer John McCrea is quoted as saying “There are certain things only government can do, and I think it would be selfish and shortsighted to indiscriminately shut everything down, privatize it all, etc. Although it might be emotionally satisfying for many people, it is probably not the adult thing to do.”

Cake’s website also featured “The Federal Funding March” in which high school and college marching bands could submit videos with the winner being featured in a future Cake music video.

Unknown to most of their fans, the band Cake is named after the verb, not the noun. Rather than referring to desert, the band says the name refers to the point "when something insidiously becomes part of your life. We mean it more as something that cakes onto your shoe and is just sort of there until you get rid of it."

Cake's 2001 album Comfort Eagle was a huge success but the band was forced to cancel a number of live dates in light of the September 11 attacks. The band was planning on doing a second tour of Europe at the time but instead decided that it might not be a good idea to travel overseas. They played their planned US gigs and also streamed a show from the Yahoo! office in California online.

Cake singer John McCrea is a big fan of the forgotten '70s band Bread. McCrea expresses his love for the band by saying "I think Bread was one of those bands that got overlooked at the time by people that were into music. But the songs are beautiful and you can't argue the geometry of the music."

Cake says the key to their unique sound is, ironically, cheap guitars. Guitarist Xan McCurdy elaborates: "McCrea's guitar is a s--tty old starter guitar from the '60s. They probably made a million of them off an assembly line. We never get the exact same tone twice."

Pete McNeal, who drummed for Cake from 2001 to 2004, was sentenced to 15 years to life in California state prison for child molestation on December 2, 2014. The incident occurred during a Thanksgiving party McNeal attended, where he allegedly molested a 3-year-old girl.

1991-
John McCrea Lead vocals, guitar, piano, vibraslap
Vince DiFiore Trumpet, keyboards, melodica, guiro, vocals
Greg Brown Guitar 1991-1997
Gabe Nelson Bass guitar, vocals 1991, 1997-
Paulo Baldi Drums, cowbell, tambourine, vocals 2004-
Xan McCurdy Guitar, vocals 1997-
Pete McNeal Drums 2001-2004

Federal Funding
Cake
Written by: Mc Crea John M, Mccurdy Xan Dieudonne, Nelson Christopher Gabriel
Album: Showroom Of Compassion
Released: 2011

You'll receive the federal funding, you can add another wing
You'll receive the federal funding, you can add another wing
Take your colleagues out to dinner, pay your brother to come and sing
Take your colleagues out to dinner, pay your brother to come and sing
Sing, sing, sing

You'll receive the federal funding, you can have a hefty grant
You'll receive the federal funding, you can have a hefty grant
Strategize for the presentation, make them see that you're the man
Strategize this presentation, make them see that you're the man-a-a-an
Man, man, man-a-a-an-a-a-an, ma-ma-ma-a-an

You'll receive the federal funding, you can pass the simple test
You'll receive the federal funding, you can pass the simple test
You can access information, make them see that you're the best
You can access information, make them see that you're the be-e-est
Best, best, be-e-est, be-e-e-e-est

Yow

One, two, one, two, three, four
Man, man, man-a-a-an-a-a-an, ma-ma-ma-a-an
Man, man, man-a-a-an-a-a-an, ma-ma-ma-a-an