The Sea and Cake

The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake at Webster Hall in 2007. From left: Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt and John McEntire.
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genres	Indie rock, jazz, post-rock
Years active	1994–2004 2007–present
Labels	Thrill Jockey, Hefty
Associated acts	The Coctails Shrimp Boat Gastr del Sol Tortoise
Website	www.theseaandcake.com
Members	Sam Prekop Archer Prewitt John McEntire Eric Claridge

The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a jazz influence based in Chicago.

The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails (Archer Prewitt), Shrimp Boat (Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge), and Tortoise (John McEntire); the group's name came from a willful reinterpretation (as the result of an accidental miscomprehension) of "The C in Cake", a song by Gastr del Sol. Starting with 1997's The Fawn, the group has relied on electronic sound sources, such as drum machines and synthesizers, to color its music, but has retained its distinctive post-jazz combo style. The band has shied away from releasing singles, preferring the album format. Contrary to his multi-instrumentalist role in Tortoise, John McEntire almost exclusively plays drums in The Sea and Cake.

Members Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt, and John McEntire each have released solo albums. The cover art of The Sea And Cake's releases are largely paintings by member Eric Claridge and photographs by Prekop. (Postcards of some of the One Bedroom-era photos were sold on the band's 2003 tour.) Prewitt has been involved in publishing his own comic books and doing graphic design.

The band was on hiatus from 2004 to 2007, returning with Everybody. Their eighth studio album, Car Alarm, was released in October 2008. Their most recent studio album, "Runner" was released in 2012.

In 1995, the band contributed the song "The Fontana" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization. In October 2010, the band released "Skies" as a special single to accompany their tour with Broken Social Scene.

All releases on Thrill Jockey Records unless noted.