John McCrea, singer of Sacramento-based alternative rock band Cake has now, apparently, gone the distance and is considering quitting music for farming.
"As you can see, it looks pretty bleak," McCrea told Revue magazine, "I really don't believe in touring, and yet it's becoming the only thing that I've got. So, um... I'll probably quit and become a farmer pretty soon."I love growing trees, and I'm a pretty good gardener. I'm thinking, pretty seriously, about buying a chunk of land and growing thing."
"I really don't see music as a career in ten years, for anybody really. Except for the huge stars."
Despite this bleak outlook, McCrea will still be around for a while yet. After all, "I don't have a family. I have brothers and sisters and parents and stuff, but I don't have a family. I'm so committed to the music, and I've had to travel so much in the last 10 or 12 years that I just feel like it would be irresponsible to be that kind of father. Just as I thought I was getting to the point where I could have a family, the one thing that I do that's at home started to become devalued."
It's been a while since Cake were on the top. After forming in 1992, the band had a run of hit singles in the second half of the 90s, including 'I Will Survive', 'Short Skirt / Long Jacket' and 'The Distance'.
Their last album was 'Pressure Chief' in 2004, which featured the single 'No Phone'.
If he chose to, he wouldn't be the first musician to throw it in for the quiet life, however. Former R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry now tends to his land in Georgia and former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin grows pumpkins in California.
