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Destroy These Cakes

EP – a return to Original Studios. Remastered and reissued on the 2008 China Cabinet Oracle / Destroy These Cakes compact disc.

Release Info
Cover Art
Band Memoirs

Release Info

Tracks

Message to Destroy
Destroy These Cakes
Marta's Rules
Destroy This Space

Kar – vocals and synthesizer
Mr. Ed – guitars and backing vocals
Ran – bass guitar
Spike – drums and accordion

Written, performed, and produced by The Blanks. Recorded by Gabriel Shepard at Original Studios, Houston, TX. Mixed by Gabriel Shepard at Creole Studios, Houston, TX. Mastered by Kar at Creole Studios, Houston, TX. Remastered by Kar at Hudson Oaks, Houston, TX (2002 re-issue).
Cover art by Ran. Package design by Kar.
©2001 The Blanks.

2001: First issue, compact disc, Blanks Enterprises.
2002: Special edition re-issue, mini compact disc, Blanks Enterprises.
2002: Promotional in-store music sampler CD with China Cabinet Oracle, compact disc, Blanks Enterprises.
2008: Remastered and reissued on the China Cabinet Oracle / Destroy These Cakes compact disc, Blanks Enterprise.

Cover Art

Click for larger image:

2002 CCO/DTC promo sampler

Japanese Single

Band Memoirs

Initially, I thought this EP would follow the tradition of Where's the Phone? and See It Through and achieve low-key success and distribution. In early 2002, though, it had gained nice momentum and become a hit. Several tracks were being played throughout 2002. “Marta's Rules” harkens back to old Blanks' themes and style. And the title track is a nice modern anthem. The last track, “Destroy This Space,” creeps up on you and has become a favorite of its own.

We issued a remastered, limited edition Destroy These Cakes mini-CD in 2002. The EP also continued in popularity as it was coupled with China Cabinet Oracle on one compact disc for "in-store" promotional play. These in-store promo CD's have become collectors items. In 2008, we remastered and reissued both Destroy These Cakes and China Cabinet Oracle on an official combined CD release.

– Kar

This EP was basically the result of The Blanks not performing live. For months we'd been talking about performing live. There were teleconferences to try and narrow down the set list, find the right venues, figure out live arrangements for the songs, etc.

We had a block of time together in which we planned to rehearse and modify the tentative set list, orchestrate the stage show, etc. I think Kar became extremely busy with business matters, and then Mr. Ed ended up having to cut his time short to attend some family business elsewhere. It eventually became apparent that we weren't going to have enough time to properly prepare for a live event. We were going into Original Studios to run through some of the set list anyway, in the hopes that something would possibly work out in the future. It turned out that even our time at Original Studios was cut short, and rather than spend it on getting through only a few songs on our set list, we decided to create new music.

This was a very strange recording session. It was done in one day. None of us were that sure what we wanted though. I was kind of excited to get back into Original Studios. While I'd been there for rehearsal before, I think this was the first time The Blanks were going to record with Mr. Ed in the spot where it all began.

The album is quite basic. I think we wanted to try something new after all the big production we'd used on Warrior Ethos. Ran, Mr. Ed and I put down most of the music, and then Kar later added the vocals and Moog, and that's it. It doesn't get too much simpler than that.

Coming up with the songs was kind of a strange thing. Usually we all had a lot of ideas going in. This time I don't think any of us really had anything. Kar wasn't there when we came up with the music, and none of us really knew what, if any ideas, he had for the project. We wanted to expand or branch out in someway. We were short on time for massive experimentation, and so the accordion was about as experimental as we were able to get. Ran had brought a beginner's accordion with him and I was really interested in trying to play it. The thumb strap on it was for a hand much smaller than mine, and I swear my thumb hurt for a couple months afterwards.

The whole session was really easy going, and we came up with the music fairly effortlessly. By the end of the recording I remember being happy with the stuff we came up with. Being familiar with Kar's style and abilities, I was fairly sure what we came up with would be a good blend with anything Kar would add later. I knew he'd come up with some great vocal parts, but I wasn't ready for the powerhouse parts we came up with instrumentally. It was great to hear that stuff. However, I knew that whatever we'd do next wouldn't be in the same vain as Destroy These Cakes. As happy as I was about the project I couldn't help but feel a little saddened that the recording and song writing period was so short. It left me yearning for more.

– Spike