Cage The Elephant

Cage the Elephant is one of the newest additions to the UK record label Relentless, and have proven themselves to be an up and coming force in the dirty punk rock genre. The band got its start around 2000 when brothers Matt and Brad Shultz decided to break free from their Evangelical parents and their strict music standards. Their parents did not let them listen to anything containing drugs or sex, so basically leaving out all classic rock. There is even a story of how for Matt's birthday his Dad shattered the new Green Day album his girlfriend had bought him. Despite their late start into rock n' roll, they began to develop into their known classic rock/punk rock groove. They added on drummer Jared Champion, bassist Daniel Tichenor, and lead guitarist Lincoln Parish around 2005 to Matt's vocals and Brad's guitar to complete Cage The Elephant. This dirty rock side can be seen best in their single "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked". With drumming almost similar to a John Bonham beat, a steel acoustic guitar played with a slide, and a Jack White singing style, this song really looks at rock with many different angles. "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" ended up reaching number thirty-two on the UK-Singles Chart in 2008. Soon after, Cage the Elephant released their first self titled album with Relentless Records.

Cage the Elephant has been on several tours through out the UK, despite from getting their start in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and has most recently come off a tour with The Pigeon Detectives, a well versed English alt rock band. Cage the Elephant is known for their fiery and raucous performances, they even had to cancel some of the shows on their tour because Matt had hurt his knee so badly on stage, that he couldn't perform. I would recommend Cage the Elephant to anyone who is into classic rock, some nice steel guitar, and anyone who is into punk rock.

John Geraghty