I heard the unmistakable voice of John McCrea as I walked into TPR’s back entrance last week on Thursday, September 12–recording day for TPR’s “Live from the Freight Elevator.” As I rounded the corner, he was sitting on an equipment case, strumming his acoustic guitar and singing a song that I hadn’t heard before.
McCrea sported a silver beard and glasses, which threw me off. I’d never seen John with a beard, but it was definitely him and his distinctive voice.
There was a buzz of activity, as the TPR crew set up instruments inside the freight elevator, including a small, rented drum kit called a cocktail kit, made for tight spaces. And a tight space it is. I started to wonder how a five-piece band was actually going to fit inside the freight elevator.
McCrea continued strumming and singing the same quirky three-quarter-time song, obviously working through the arrangement. After a time, he put his guitar away and strolled into the theater area, nursing a Topo Chico. I resisted the temptation to follow after him and confront him with an awkward fan-boy moment. I’ve been a huge fan of Cake since the first time I heard The Distance back in the mid ‘90s.
The setup was tedious, like any setup and sound check, with lots of cables, adjusting drums, moving in amps and a keyboard into the tiny space. Once the keyboard was plugged in, McCrea returned and continued working on the arrangement of the song with keyboardist and trumpet player Vince DiFiore. It seemed like a song about 95% percent complete.
I walked outside and found the band’s guitar player Xan McCurdy smoking a cigarette. I joined him and attempted to make small talk. He politely responded and started talking about the tune they were going to do. “Yeah, we’ve never played it in front of an audience before,” he said. “We like to keep our fans confused,” he added with a grin.
Back inside, the freight elevator had become the world’s tiniest rock and roll stage. Members moved in and were jostled into position where the cameras would be able to see them all. As soon as everyone got into the respective spots, McCrea started running down the tune again. They continued to nuance the arrangement until it became cohesive and tight. It didn’t take long.
Finally, it was time to run the tune down all the way through. It was a stop-and-start affair for the first few run-throughs without the cameras and recorders running. When John and the band felt comfortable, they did three takes of the song, “Billionaire in Space.” McCrea used his full singing voice, instead of the deadpan spoken-word style. The song though, was classic Cake, with biting wit and sarcasm. “There’s a billionaire in space in an air-conditioned capsule,” he sang. All the while the SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew sailed silently overhead, with its billionaire commander onboard. It was too perfect.
After everyone decided on a good take, it was time to shoot the intro. That’s the part when the elevator door opens, and the band introduces themselves with, “Live from the freight elevator!” A person just out of view holds a microphone up into the face of the person from the band who is doing the introduction.
The honor of holding the microphone was given to TPR’s Marcella Garcia-Espindola. Marcella’s brother, Javier Alejandro Garcia, died earlier this year, and by all accounts was a huge fan of Cake.
McCrea recently told NPR affiliate KMUW that he hopes the band will have a studio album completed by the end of the year. “Billionaire in Space” will hopefully be included. He also said a live album recorded a few years back in Folsom, California, could see a release in 2024 as well.
On behalf of the staff at Texas Public Radio, I’d like to thank Cake for taking the time and making something special with us.
Enjoy the latest edition of “Live from the Freight Elevator” with one of my favorite bands.
