Face Full Of Cake Spin Doctors

• 1 Boombox 03:44
• 2 Rock ’N’ Roll Heaven 02:45
• 3 Still A Gorilla 03:46
• 4 The Heart Of The Highway 04:20
• 5 Double Parked 04:35
• 6 I Liked You Better When Your Butt Was Big 03:06
• 7 The Buddha On The Lawn 03:52
• 8 She Don’t Love Me Anymore (Anymore) 03:51
• 9 I’m The Man (You Got) 02:30
• 10 While You’re Holding The Moon (Over Me) 04:51
• 11 She Stands Alone 02:44
• 12 When You Got Turmoil In Your Mind 04:22
• Total Runtime 44:26

Info for Face Full Of Cake

'90s alt-rock icons the Spin Doctors are releasing their first studio LP in 12 years: Face Full of Cake, out April 11 via Capitol Records. They also released the album’s first single “Still A Gorilla” and its accompanying music video. “Still A Gorilla” finds the band showcasing a noisier, heavier sound but with the same sense of humor they’ve come to be known for. Inspired by the hard-hitting energy of Robyn’s “Konichiwa Bitches,” the track finds the long-running group exploring new territory after 35+ years.

The followup to 2013’s If the River Was Whiskey, the upcoming LP marks their debut on Capitol Records and the first Spin Doctors record with new bassist Jack Daley who joined the band full-time in 2021. Face Full of Cake can trace its origins back to the early days of the pandemic, but after several writing sessions – including time spent at the Vermont studio space of Phish’s Mike Gordon – and intimate hangs between guitarist Eric Schenkman and Barron, the album began to fully take shape. Recorded at Daley’s Asbury Park, NJ studio, the project has an exploratory and easy energy that came from a laidback and low-pressure recording process.

“We weren't really thinking of it as a record,” shares Comess. “We've gone through a lot of phases in our 35 years, and sometimes things really gel and sometimes they're just extremely difficult. When we made this record, we captured a moment where it felt effortless. There's a really fresh energy in the tracks — a sense of us discovering the songs as we played them.”

That energy is evident on the new album, which features a combination of the easy-going hook-forward songs that made them so popular and the freewheeling jam sensibilities they’ve always exhibited with bluesy funk flavor and straightforward rock’n’roll. It’s not so much a reinvention of the wheel but a fusion of everything they’ve done up to this point with an added fearlessness that comes from knowledge and practice.

“Spin Doctors fans are going to be knocked out by this new record,” shares Barron. “It’s got that vintage Spin Doctors sound of ear candy and denser material that harkens back to Pocket Full Of Kryptonite but with years of experience under our belts.”

Formed in 1988 in New York City, Spin Doctors’ full-length 1991 debut Pocket Full of Kryptonite sold over ten million copies across the world and spawned two massive singles: “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” which reached number two on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, and the now ubiquitous Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten hit “Two Princes,” which was the No. 1 Rock radio hit of 1993 and was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group at the GRAMMYs. They’ve appeared on SNL, played major festivals like Glastonbury and opened for The Rolling Stones. And after three decades and nearly two thousand shows, Spin Doctors remain as committed as ever.

Spin Doctors

Spin Doctors
The band's Epic debut EP Up For Grabs was recorded live at Wetlands in Lower Manhattan and released in January 1991. (In 1992, these EP tracks were remixed and supplemented by additional live recordings to form the album Homebelly Groove.)

In August 1991, the Spin Doctors released their full-length debut album Pocket Full Of Kryptonite, co-produced by Peter Denenberg and Frankie LaRocka. Relentless touring and a wave of positive press kept the album alive into the next year, when sales began to increase dramatically. Kryptonite was certified gold in September 1992 and received an additional boost from the band's October appearance on "Saturday Night Live." Reaching the one million mark in January 1993, Kryptonite entered the Billboard Top Ten one month later.

By June 1993, the album was triple platinum and had breached the Top Five among Billboard Pop Albums while spinning off two major hit singles: "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and the No. 1 Rock radio song of 1993, "Two Princes." Ultimately, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite sold over five million copies in the US and another five million overseas.

"[Their] popularity is based on universal rock & roll virtues," said Rolling Stone, which put the band on the cover of its January 7, 1993 issue. "The Doctors aren't trying to blaze new trails-they know we've been down this way with the Stones, Curtis Mayfield, and a few of their other touchstones. But the proof-plenty of it-is in the party."

In June 1994, the Spin Doctors released their second Epic album, Turn It Upside Down. Once again co-produced by Peter Denenberg and Frankie LaRocka, the album featured new originals like "Biscuit Head," "Bags Of Dirt," and "You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast." The band set out on a three-month headlining tour, and played to immense crowds at the Woodstock and Glastonbury festivals. Their cover of the Creedence Clearwater classic "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" was a highlight of the multi-platinum Philadelphia soundtrack.

Deeply weary of the road, guitarist Eric Schenkman left the group in September '94-just as Turn It Upside Down was certified gold-and was replaced by Anthony Krizan for their fall tour of Europe. In November-December 1994, the Spins opened for the Rolling Stones on a series of eleven North American stadium shows. In March 1995, their album hit the one million (platinum) mark in the US, moving an additional million copies overseas.

The Spin Doctors' next Epic album, You've Got to Believe In Something, was produced by Danny Kortchmar and released in May 1996; more touring followed. After Anthony Krizan's departure, the band soldiered on with a new guitarist and a new label (Uptown/Universal) for the 1999 album Here Comes the Bride. But during these sessions, Mark White left the band. Later, Chris Barron lost his voice to an attack of vocal cord paralysis-and soon the Spin Doctors called it quits. (In October 2000, Sony Legacy released the 17-track retrospective Just Go Ahead Now.)

Mark White moved to Houston, Texas to practice and teach bass. Eric Schenkman earned two degrees from the New School University in New York before moving to eastern Canada. He has played and/or recorded with Natalie Merchant, Carly Simon, jazz composer Kip Hanrahan, Canadian songwriter Jimmy Rankin, and his own groups Cork (with drummer Corky Laing) and High Plains Drifter (with the late Blues Traveler bassist Bobby Sheehan).

Chris Barron undertook what he calls "a journeyman songwriting experience," composing tunes with Blues Traveler's Jon Popper and with former BMI executive Jeff Cohen. Aaron Comess produced and/or recorded with Joan Osborne, Chris Whitley, Mark Cohn, Rachel Yamagata, and Bilal, among others. He is one-third of the New York Electric Piano Trio, and appears on the albums New York Electric Piano Trio, War Oracle and Citizen Zen.

This album contains no booklet.