Hey! Ho! Let’s Bake

The tight ‘bruthahood’ of the Ramones always played a big part in their rock n’ roll identity. Their common surname, leather jackets and fuzzed out guitars enabled the myth of brethren to grow and the rest as they say is history. Funny thing is though, the Ramones weren’t actually brothers. That was just part of the act.

Sudbury’s The Birthday Cakes are three brothers (really and truly) who not unlike the Ramones, decided they were tired of all the long, boring songs that everyone else plays. So they started a band with the mission to create short songs crammed full of as many catchy choruses as possible. No leather jackets and hopping cretins though for this Northern Ontario trio. This is a band much more comfortable in their acrylic sweaters, over-driving a synthesizer (not a six string Mosrite.) The Birthday Cakes are a band more akin to say Polysics or Devo, just without the fashionable headwear.

Listen to the band’s “Birthday Cakes Theme” here and see what I mean.

From the band:

While the brevity and breeziness of their songs may give them an air of effortlessness, make no mistake: the Birthday Cakes are extremely methodical and judicious in their songwriting, with an ear for arrangement well beyond their years. Carter Passion Drake, Cameron Magic Drake and Clayton Science Drake tend to shy away from self-indulgent lyrics, preferring to concentrate on topics like magic, science and mystery.

On their new 7” record, Expansion Pack, the Birthday Cakes have taken their music in a more progressive direction. Just four songs and 8 1/2 minutes long, Expansion Pack concentrates the intensity of a full length prog rock record into a sweet slushie with a handful of sour cherry ­blasters sprinkled in. The album is full of off-kilter time signatures and catchy melodies, shout-alongs and hooks, with a more concerted effort towards layering than on their previous release, Romper Room.

They have been playing together for just over two yrs now. Always performing in stylishly coordinated outfits, with a barreling, slapdash intensity, the Birthday Cakes have earned comparisons to Devo, the Unicorns, They Might Be Giants, Mike Patton and DD/MM/YYYY.

The Birthday Cakes have toured Canada coast-to-coast once and done a tour of Ontario. Their debut album, Romper Room, charted at #31 on the national campus radio charts. They were also the featured track of the day on CBC Radio 3. They are currently preparing for the release of their new record & the accompanying two-month long cross-Canada tour.

TOUR DATES:

6/24 - Sudbury - The Townehouse Tavern
6/30 - Ottawa - Zaphod Beeblebrox
7/2 - Oshawa - The Atria
7/3 - Brampton - Maguires
7/6 - St. Catherines - The Mansion House
7/7 - Hamilton - The Casbah Lounge
7/8 - Cambridge - The 515
7/10 - Barrie - The Five
7/13- Toronto - WrongBar
7/14 - Montreal - Casa Del Popolo
7/15 - Sherbrooke - Bar Le Magog
7/16 - Montreal - Le Cagibi
7/17 - Saint John's NB - The Sunstar Lounge
7/21 - Halifax - Club 1668
7/22 - Charlottetown - Baba's Lounge
7/23 - Truro - TAAC Grounds
7/24 - Fredericton - The Capital Complex
7/27 - Ottawa - The Rainbow Room
7/28 - Peterborough - The Spill
7/29 - Lindsay - Division House
7/30 - Windsor - The Phog Lounge
7/31 - London - The Black Shire Pub
8/3 - St. Catherines - 23 Kent St.
8/4 - Toronto - The Piston
8/5 - Sudbury - Millards' Garage
8/7 - Winnipeg - Crescent Fort Rouge United Church
8/10 - Brandon - Parthenon Pizza
8/11 - Saskatoon - The Roxy
8/12 - Calgary - The Palomino
8/13 - Penticton - Voodoos
8/14 - Kamloops - The Dirty Jersey
8/16 - Vancouver - The Media Club
8/18 - Vancouver - The Railway Club
8/19 - Victoria - Logan's Pub
8/20 - Nanaimo - The Cambie
8/21 - Canmore - The Canmore
8/24 - Edmonton - THe Hydeaway
8/25 - Regina - The Club
8/26 - Bruno - All Citizens'
8/27 - Winnipeg - The Cavern
9/17 - Sudbury - The Townehouse Tavern