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Before members of Cake launched their chart-topping Showroom of Compassion CD last month, they donated clothing for a contrarian project that flies in the face of the digital age. Scraps of the musicians’ T-shirts were used to create special paper for 24-page lyric books that accompany an elaborate package for the band’s single, “Bound Away.”

The limited edition of 1,000 handmade packets was produced by Berkeley, California, printmaker Rigel Stuhmiller and her team in true DIY fashion, using natural and recycled components and throwback printing methods. Volunteers carved Stuhmiller’s bold illustrations into linoleum.

Lead and wood type were used to hand-press the words onto paper crafted from the Cake wardrobe discards and jute coffee sacks. Binding thread was hand-spun and coated in beeswax drawn from book artist Pam DuLuco’s personal beehive.

Why bother to champion hard copy in the digital age? “The Cake book and others like it are important, because they surprise us into thinking more about the construction of something that’s taken for granted,” Stuhmiller told Wired.com in an e-mail interview.

“There’s nothing wrong with a normal paperback book, but you don’t think about the paper mill that made the paper, or the presses that print the pages, or the binding, or the distribution, or anything,” the 33-year-old MIT grad said. “It’s just a book like all the millions of other books out there.”

By contrast, the richly textured Cake books radiate tactile qualities that demand attention.

“It is impossible to hold it in your hands and not think about its construction,” she said. “The cover paper is beautifully multicolored from the different garments used. Maybe you’re seeing part of [Cake singer John McCrea's] T-shirt, maybe you’re seeing part of [guitarist Xan McCurdy's] pants.”

“The words Bound Away are pressed deeply into the cover in this really vibrant blue and red, and you can run your finger along the groove that the words make. The book has [a] different feel in your hand than a regular book — the paper is speckled and smooth…. The ink on the pages sometimes shows the texture of the paper. It’s just really beautiful and unique.”

To see how Stuhmiller and her colleagues assembled the books, check out the behind-the-scenes gallery above.

Published by San Francisco Center for the Book, the Cake Bound Away CD-book sells for $45 and can be ordered (.pdf) beginning Monday.

Win Limited Edition Cake Book

Cake fans and DIY obsessives alike can take a shot at winning one free “Bound Away” book. To enter the giveaway, comment below with your take on Cake or why you dig hand-made art objects. Deadline to enter is 12:01 a.m. Pacific on Feb. 18, 2011. One randomly selected winner will be notified by e-mail or Twitter. Note: If you do not have an e-mail address or Twitter handle associated with your Disqus login, you must include contact information in your comment to be eligible. Any winner who does not respond to Wired.com’s notification within 72 hours will forfeit the prize.

Photos courtesy Rigel Stuhmiller

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