Cage the Elephant

If you haven't heard of them, you soon will

Usually if the A&R hordes are packed into a venue looking at their Blackberrys pretending not to be interested in what’s going on on stage, it usually means they are deviously spying their every move with intent. Looking around tonight, all eyes are on the handhelds. Cage The Elephant are making quite an impression.

The five-piece from Kentucky are in London as part of a whirlwind self-financed showcase jaunt. They were coming to grab us by the balls and wouldn’t go home until they’d made the right impression. Having wowed Clash and all gathered in the tiny Camden club tonight, it’s fair to say that you may not have heard of them now, but you soon will.

“Me and Jared almost got stabbed by the hoodies!” he laughs. “That was a cool experience!”

“It started off when our fathers had affairs with each other,” jokes Brad Shultz, guitarist and brother of frontman Matt. As it transpires, the Shultzes and drummer Jared Champion have been together for about seven years since high school, then Lincoln Parish joined on lead guitar, and the line-up was completed by bassist Daniel Tichenor.

Cutting their teeth around their hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and nearby Nashville, they forged their signature sound, which some compare to a Mick Jagger-fronted RATM, and they describe as “frantic volume-laden maximum rock and roll”.

A quick trek across states to Texas saw Cage The Elephant drop in to this year’s South By South West festival, which got the ball rolling with the whisper campaign that led to their bookings across the pond.

The London experience was memorable for a number of reasons. Not only were they the subject of intense label interest (“Right now we’re just doing it for the fuckin’ rock and roll and for the music, and whatever happens happens, you know?” says Matt). But, as Brad says, they also fondly remember the darker side of their vacation. “Me and Jared almost got stabbed by the hoodies!” he laughs. “That was a cool experience!”

The fun-loving band follow an appearance at Bonnaroo with Lollapalooza then their own gigs in New York at the Mercury Lounge. They plan after that to decamp to London for six months from August to capitalise on the buzz they’ve created here. “We’re just gonna pack our shit up, come over there and see what happens,” says Matt coolly. And if the labels come a-knockin’ they know exactly what to stipulate in their contract. “A bunch of weed, some valiums”, laughs Brad, while Matt adds: “Blow jobs for everyone!” But seriously… “We care more about creative control than money,” Brad admits. “That would definitely be a negotiation point, because if you don’t have that then your music dies, because it’s not really you anymore.” His brother agrees. “Yeah, we don’t want any fuckin’ suits telling us what to do, how to look or act or dress or anything like that. That’s not fuckin’ rock and roll.”

Namechecking Hendrix, Led Zep, The Beatles, Talking Heads and The Clash, Cage The Elephant’s energy is more redolent of their rock ‘n’ roll heroes: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. If everything goes to plan you’ll fall under their spell and they’ll go on to survive as long as their idols – as long as the brothers can keep it together! “We get along pretty good,” Brad tries to convince Clash, before Matt counters: “Unless Brad’s being a cocksucker!”

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