Cupcakes were a

Power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

band from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

who were signed to the DreamWorks record label and released one self-titled album in 2000. The band's drummer, Matt Walker, had previously played with

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

and

Filter Filtration is a physical process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture. Filter, filtering, filters or filtration may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Fil ...

and would go on to play with

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

and

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

. Guitarist Greg Suran would go on to tour with the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

and

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

History

Prior to forming the Cupcakes, Matt Walker, Solomon Snyder and Preston Graves had previously played together in a band called Tribal Opera. Following the break-up of Tribal Opera, Graves started working with Greg Suran, and by 1996 both Walker and Snyder had joined. They started performing as the Cupcakes. By 1997 they were signed by DreamWorks and they flew to London to record with notable producer,

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...

(

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

, Blur,

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

). However, the label dropped the band shortly after their self-titled album was released in 2000. Following the end of Tribal Opera, Walker had been touring with

when he was recruited by

to replace

Jimmy Chamberlin James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. Described as "one of the most powerful drummers in rock," he is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Following the ...

. He joined the Smashing Pumpkins, but left when Cupcakes got signed by DreamWorks.

After Cupcakes

In December 2012, Graves and Walker formed a new band called Stuttgart, with Scott Tallarida, Thomas Walker and Michael Sinclair rounding out the line-up.

Reception

* "Alternating arena roar with moments of fey, falsetto fragility, and threading android synthesizers through power-chord anthems, the Cupcakes' debut is a big, bombastic dare." (

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

) * "Ably propelled by former Smashing Pumpkins and Filter drummer Matt Walker and produced by Stephen Street (Blur, the Smiths, the Cranberries), these 13 tracks court wretched excess with walls of snarling guitars and chirping keyboards" (

Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'', ''Matter'' and '' Modern Drummer'' ...

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

)

Members

* Preston Graves — vocals *

Greg Suran Greg Suran is an American musician who was the lead guitarist in the B-52s, a role he performed from 2013-2022. He replaced Keith Strickland on the road after Strickland announced in December 2012 that he would no longer be touring with the B-5 ...

— guitar, vocals * Solomon Snyder — bass * Matt Walker — drums

Discography

Albums

* ''Cupcakes'' 2000 DreamWorks

Compilation appearances

* "Vidiots" - ''Back to School Domestic Sampler'' 1999 DreamWorks * "Exaggerator" - ''8 Trax Plus 2'' 1999 DreamWorks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cupcakes, The Alternative rock groups from Chicago Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical quartets from Illinois