Finding the 1947 California Cupcake Company proved to be just slightly difficult, but only because Starbucks are multiplying like bunnies across Fort Wayne. Once whatzup and the increasingly popular Cupcakes agreed upon the "correct" Lima Road Starbucks to find each other, the burning question of where the band came up with their name emerged. Sure, it's not the most original question presented to bands, but c'mon, The 1947 California Cupcake Company?

      Josh Spall, comic book fanatic and lead vocalist for the two-piece acoustic rock act, says that an obscure 1960s bubblegum pop band called The 1910 Fruit Gum Company inspired the band's particularly unusual name. "We drew the year 1947 out of a hat [literally] and chose California because it was a little exotic considering we've lived in Indiana all our lives," said Spall.

      The band almost called itself the 1947 Fruit Cup Company, but "Really with just two guys [in our band], 'fruit' just gives a bad connotation, you know?" laughed Spall.

    The other half of the Cupcakes is Ramon Volz, guitarist and backup singer, who also leads a few alternate lives as a second-grade teacher, kids' soccer coach and guitar instructor.

      Despite embracing acoustic rock today, Volz and Spall were in a metal band in high school called Destiny by Choice. "We thought we were awesome," said Spall. "The metal band was great, but I can only play so many Iron Maiden covers in one day."

      After Spall and Volz' metal-laced dreams dissolved, the two continued to hang out and make music anyway. "We just started hanging out in the back of Volz' truck, just driving around playing music," Spall said. "We'd stop in a parking lot and do cover songs for hours."

      The close friends, who went to high school together in Marion (and are big "Jeopardy" fans), say their music is a cross between "Simon and Garfunkel and Tenacious D" with a live show that involves plenty of stage antics and audience participation. The two lay claim to a "huge" following in Marion and began hitting the Fort Wayne music scene at the now-defunct coffee house Seekers, where they eventually began hosting open mic nights.

      The Fort Wayne music community has proven to be an integral part of the band's growth beyond open mics, as members of other bands have lent the Cupcakes a helping hand in landing gigs. "I notice that the Fort Wayne music scene is really close-knit now," said Volz "The Fort Wayne music scene is becoming more of a community. That's what I like about it.

      "The bands that gave us our first few shows were Pleasing Melani and Left Lane Cruiser. Our first couple of shows were at Legends playing with those guys. Everyone seems to be closing in as a group, and it's really kind of cool. Everybody I meet digs us," he said, explaining how a number of fellow Fort Wayne musicians set the Cupcakes up with shows.

      "It's a lot easier to just have everyone else do the bookings for us," added Volz.

      "The truth is we're both kind of lazy," joked Spall.

      Spall also says that he's "really big" into fortwaynemusic.com, where the band has 14 songs posted on the site's music section. The online destination has proven to be an effective hub for local musicians and music lovers to swap gigs or just talk music.

      The Cupcakes' repertoire is made up primarily of covers, including pop rock selections such as Extreme's "More Than Words," a reggae version of A-ha's "Take On Me" and Beck's "Where It's At."

      But Volz says that the band puts its own twist on familiar tunes.

      "We do covers, but we Cupcake 'em up. People love that because they're still able to hear something that they know," said Volz.

      The two also throw into their set a few originals, some of which are chock-full of sexual innuendo or otherwise comedic material.

      "It's hilarious. People just crack up," said Volz of the Cupcakes' shows. "We do songs like a rap about bacon-flavored gumballs. To watch a two-man acoustic group do rap and somewhat pull it off, people love that."

      The band plays a variety of venues around Fort Wayne, including Firefly Coffee House, Mad Anthony Brewing Co., 469 Sports and Spirits, among other locations.

      Volz and Spall come off as pretty content with the overall scene, as the two have trouble finding anything to complain about. The only frustration the Cupcakes sometimes encounter is when venues ask them to tone down their shows.

      "I like to jump off stages," Spall admits. While listeners enjoy the enthusiasm, Volz and Spall say that some venues don't appreciate the raucousness.

      Venue owners in the past also haven't appreciated some of the Cupcakes' racier content. "I hate being censored, especially in a bar," explained Spall. "We did a song called 'Juicy Juice,'" he recounted of one gig (get your mind in the gutter to explore what the song might be about). "We played it, the crowd was going crazy and diggin' it, and the manager in the bar said, 'We need to keep it PG13-family friendly.'"

      "'PG13' in a 21-and-over bar," Volz interjects.

      Spall continued, "Our songs are pure innuendo. There's no cursing in them. So we revolted and played 20 solid minutes of Disney tunes. We played "Hakuna Matata" for a solid seven minutes, and the crowd dug it."

      Some of the biggest Cupcakes milestones include opening for Herman's Hermits and 1964 – The Tribute at the Three Rivers Festival, as well as coming in seventh out of around 100 bands in 2005's Indianapolis iteration of the Emergenza Festival music contest.

      But what's in the Cupcakes' future? "Four or five years ago, we were like, 'We're gonna make it someday, we're gonna be huge, we're gonna blow up,'" explained Spall. "But we talked about revising the goals about a year ago or so. If we were going to make it huge, we probably would have made it by now. So we're just going to have fun and earn a little money on the side."

      The band has also thrown around the idea of traveling to Europe, or, on a smaller scale, doing a college tour in order to spread the Cupcake love. Spall says that the pair plans to do an album once time allows, possibly in the summer.

      The 1947 California Cupcake Company's next show is at The Unitarian Universalist Church on February 16 at 7 p.m. For more info on the Cupcakes, check out their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/the1947californiacupcakecompany.

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