Cage the Elephant spreads message to be an individual

Cage+the+Elephant

iTunes photo

Cage the Elephant

I love Cage the Elephant!

I never get tired of lead singer Matt Shultz’s voice, which can go from smooth and sweet to energetic and angry. Their band name is pretty bombing too. I know caging an elephant is a mean action, but to think that you just have an elephant in a cage at your house would be pretty fly.

Ninety percent of the people reading have no idea who I’m talking about. The song you probably know is ‘Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked’, you know:

“There ain’t no rest for the wicked

Money don’t grow on trees

I’ve got bills to pay

I’ve got mouths to feed

And there ain’t nothing in this world for free”

 

Cage the Elephant’s biggest goal is ‘not to conform to popular sound or look’.

The band consists of, Matt Shultz (lead vocals), Lincoln Parish (lead guitarist), Brad Shultz (guitarist), Daniel Tichenor (bass guitar), and Jared Champion (drums). They come from Bowling Green, Kentucky and were influenced by funk, classic rock, blues and the Pixies.

When Matt was a sophomore at Greenwood High School, he started his first band Liquid Twilight, which he said was, “Worse than Perfect Confusion.” Perfect Confusion was their second band. Perfect Confusion was formed in 2004 two years before they came to the name Cage the Elephant.

The band played its first gig at Tidballs bar in Bowling Green, Kentucky. For every record they have released they have played a show at Tidballs. Tidballs is an important place to the band because there they learned all they know now.

The group released its first album Cage the Elephant June 28, 2008. The band then signed with Relentless Records after performing at South by Southwest. Following that, they moved to London, England. Their first album was mostly about how they hated the world and it all its problems. Some of the songs featured were ‘In One Ear’, ‘Tiny Little Robots’, and ‘Back Against the Wall’.

“Kill our leaders

Persecute our teachers

Criticize our culture

Crucify free thinkers”

~Tiny Little Robots

Cage the Elephant kicked off 2011 with an uproar of rock when they released their second album Thank you, Happy Birthday. Shultz told one music outlet, “We decided to go away from the fear-based music to music we actually liked.” Their song ‘Around My Head’ made 15 on the U.S. Billboard of Alternative Music. This album captures a lot of common concepts, but in a weird way. For example, some lyrics of the song ‘Indy Kidz’ are:

“I don’t watch TV it’s just a box full of lies

It makes me want to put a tooth pick in my eye.”

Finally their third and latest album is Melophobia. Melophobia is the fear of music. Brian Manfield of USA Today designated the album, Album of the Week, summarizing it saying, “Melophobia may mean ‘the fear of music’ but there is nothing to be afraid of: Its glorious chaos makes for a thrilling listening.”

Spiderhead by Cage the Elephant

“Spiders in my head, spiders in my mind

You may take my eyes but baby I’m not blind

It all works out in time

You know I’m gonna be alright,

You may take my eyes but baby I’m not blind”

~ Spiderhead

Throughout Cage the Elephant’s fame they have grown and made great strides. They have really changed and are kind of doing their own thing. Basically, their music shows how much they have grown as a band. I would really recommend listening to them. It may help you realize you’re going to constantly be changing and its okay to make mistakes. Also, don’t worry about pride and everyone drive what you do. Do what you want to do and go with it no matter how hard.