Greg Brown, the founding guitarist of the alternative rock group Cake who penned the band’s hit “The Distance,” has died. Cake announced Brown’s death on social media, writing, “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness. Godspeed, Greg.” Brown’s age and date of death were not provided. The Sacramento, California band formed in 1991, with Brown on guitar alongside singer John McCrea, multi-instrumentalist Vince DiFiore, and others. Following a pair of Deathray albums in the early 2000s, Brown reunited with Cake to play guitar on “Bound Away,” a song on the band’s 2011 album Showroom of Compassion.