Besides the obvious benefits in fortune and fame, the real reason to become a famous rock n’ roll journalist is to meet rock stars. 

I’m not a famous rock n’ roll journalist (yet), so I did not have the best chance to score an interview with the timeless alternative band Cake before they visit Foellinger Theatre on Monday, Sept. 11. 

However, artists always say that their lyrics speak for themselves, so I will be interviewing Cake’s deep catalog of lyrics.

Q: What are you most looking forward to on this tour?

Cake (from 1998’s “Sheep Go to Heaven”): “I just want to play on my panpipes. I just want to drink me some wine. As soon as you’re born you start dying, so you might as well have a good time.”

Most people first heard of Cake in the mainstream on the strength of their breakout hit “The Distance” from the 1996 album Fashion Nugget. Their goofy cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” solidified their offbeat, insouciant energy. Not many alternative acts in 1996 featured a trumpet, but Cake made it work.

Q: Tell us about those early days of touring when you started playing for big crowds.

Cake (from 1996’s “The Distance”): “Reckless and wild, they pour through the turns. Their prowess is potent and secretly stern. As they speed through the finish, the flags go down, the fans get up and they get out of town. The arena is empty except for one man, still driving and striving as fast as he can.”

The strength of Cake’s music has always been in the text (and the subtext). Singer John McCrea’s weary growl delivers clever and inventive lyrics, positively dripping with sarcasm and derision. Many of their songs require multiple listenings to get the wordplay and references.

Q: You guys had big radio success early in your career. You continued to sell records and sell out arenas, but your music never had the same airplay that came for “The Distance.” What do you think about the impact of radio on your success?”

Cake (from 1998’s “Never There”): “A golden bird that flies away, a candle’s fickle flame. To think I held you yesterday… Your love was just a game.”

In 2001, Cake changed their sound a little for the album Comfort Eagle, which is being re-released Sept. 15. McCrea stretched his voice into a more complete instrument and left the flat monotone behind. The band also expanded musically, adding lo-fi synth and funky new beats. The song “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” became a cult favorite, with an inventive music video. 

The band played a supporting tour that featured crowds as small as 100 and as large as 90,000. That contrast was intentional and let them serve their longstanding Northern California fan base. 

Q: What was it like to balance a fanbase that has followed you for years, along with new fans that seem like they’re just jumping on a bandwagon?

Cake (from 1994’s “Rock n’ Roll Lifestyle”): “Now, tickets to concerts and drinking at clubs, sometimes for music that you haven’t even heard of… How much did you pay for your rock n’ roll T-shirt that proves you were there, that you heard of them first?”

The 2004 album Pressure Chief saw Cake continue to tweak their sound while maintaining their minimalist vibe. It would be their last major-label release. The song “No Phone” was a minor hit, but Columbia Records wanted to go in a different direction.

Q: How did it feel to lose the security of the major label contract?

Cake: (from 2004’s “End of the Movie”): “People you hate will get their hooks into you. They’ll pull you down, you’ll frown. They’ll tar you and drag you through town, but you still don’t like to leave before the end of the movie. No, you still don’t like to leave before the end of the show.”

McCrea and bandmates Vince DiFiore, Xan McCurdy, and Gabe Nelson didn’t bring the show to an end, though. They took a break from recording, formed their own label, and in 2007 released the surprisingly good compilation of odd covers and live performances, the efficiently entitled Cake: B-Sides and Rarities. 

Continuing their trend of doing things their own way, Cake recorded their next album in a solar-powered studio they built to their own design. They produced Showroom of Compassion themselves and on the strength of the single “Sick of You,” it hit No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. It ironically set a record for the lowest sales number for a No. 1 album. That dubious accomplishment didn’t hold up long, as the era of streaming was coming, and album sales were falling.

Cake have continued to tour and have teased new studio work a few times, but other than a charity single for Doctors Without Borders, they haven’t added anything to their canon.

Q: After decades of touring and all the ups and downs of a successful rock band, do you have any hesitation to go up on stage before a new audience?

Cake: (from 2001’s “Love You Madly”): “I don’t want to wonder if this is a blunder. I don’t want to worry whether we’re going to stay together till we die. I don’t want to jump in unless this music’s thumping. All the dishes rattle in the cupboards when the elephants arrive. I want to love you madly.”