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By Matt Cannon and Amanda Greenwood
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Greg Brown, the founding guitarist and co-founder of the 90s rock band Cake, has died, according to a statement posted by the band on social media on February 7, 2026. His age was not given.
Greg Brown’s Death—What We Know
According to the social media post, the band said it was with “heavy hearts” that they “share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness.” The band paid tribute to his “immense” creativity and musical and personal presence, saying he would be “deeply missed.”
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The full statement that was posted on February 7, 2026, read:
"It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness. Greg was an integral part of Cake’s early sound and development. His creative contributions were immense, and his presence—both musical and personal—will be deeply missed. Godspeed, Greg."
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Who Was Greg Brown
According to major publications including Stereogum and Parade, Brown co‑founded Cake in Sacramento, California, in 1991 with singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, drummer Frank French, and bassist Shon Meckfessel.
He played guitar on Cake’s first two albums—1994’s Motorcade of Generosity and 1996’s Fashion Nugget, which featured “The Distance,” the band’s breakthrough hit that Brown wrote. The song reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and No. 38 on Mainstream Rock, and was later certified double‑platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2022, according to reporting by Parade.
Sterogum and others say that Brown left Cake in 1997 and later formed Deathray with former bandmate Victor Damiani, continuing to collaborate with musicians including Dana Gumbiner and, in separate projects, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and Matt Sharp.
He reunited with Cake to play guitar on the track “Bound Away” on the band’s most recent LP, 2011’s Showroom of Compassion, and released a solo EP, “The End of Something New,” in 2023.
Tributes To Brown
Tributes to the guitarist have been flooding in, including one from his daughter—Adri Brown—who posted “The best dad I could’ve asked for,” on Instagram, responding to the band’s social media statement.
Fans on Instagram have also been posting their condolences, such as “He was an amazing guitar player, and his sound will be remembered,” and “He invented a guitar sound and style like no other. His riffs still blow my mind.”
The band has not released any information about funeral or memorial arrangements and has not disclosed what illness Brown suffered from. No additional details have been shared publicly.
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