Cage the Elephant, Vision, 9/27

Aside from being known as another middle of nowhere town, Bowling Green, KY has few claims to fame.  Several of these claims include Fruit of the Loom, Corvettes, and the alternative rock band Cage the Elephant.  Cage the Elephant has accomplished the feat of a debut album featuring three number one singles, the upcoming release of a second album, and has played various shows and festivals across the states and the United Kingdom.  They will also be one of the headlining acts at the music festival ‘Starry Nights,’ which is taking place in their hometown Sept 30-Oct 2.

Cage the Elephant received their first big break in 2007 after their performance at South by Southwest.  They were signed to a label in the United Kingdom and moved to London, where they toured for two years almost nonstop. The question is, how did a group of guys from Bowling Green set out to establish their band in order to get to where they are today.  Fortunately, Cage the Elephant guitarist Brad Schultz was able to sit down and answer this question, along with many others.

“Starting in Bowling Green, KY you really don’t have a ‘scene’ to cater to.  Bowling Green has a music scene, but not like New York or Nashville.  There’s so many different pockets and groups of people,” Schultz said, “It’s not like any musicians try to cater to any certain sound [in Bowling Green].  Musicians group together and support each other.”  This support made them curious as to how their music would handle outside of Bowling Green and on a much larger scale.

 “It was pretty weird and unexpected the way things happened,” Schultz said, when thinking of then and now.  “Everything happens for a reason… We definitely feel very blessed to be where we are now.  Coming from Bowling Green, it’s a little cliché, our eyes weren’t opened as far as we thought they were,” Schultz said.

Since they have been touring almost nonstop over the past four years, upon the release of their debut CD, Cage the Elephant is eager to release their new album, which is “all over the place,” Schultz said.  “We just didn’t really cater to any certain thing.  We just wrote songs, we put everything on the table in the studio.  If it turned out and we loved it then we put it on the album.  If we all were really honest with ourselves and we didn’t like it then it didn’t go on the album.  It’s all about that honesty.”  The new album is set to release January 2011.

In the mean time, Cage the Elephant could not be more excited about the Starry Nights Music Festival on their home turf.  Not only will they be one of the headliners, along with Ghostland Observatory, Daniel Johnston, and Keller Williams, but they have also worked very closely in coordinating the festival as a whole.

 “It’s really strange that something like that is going on in a city the size of BG.  We wanted to help that along in any way that we can,” Schultz said. Upon being asked, they immediately began brainstorming about ways to make the festival the best it could possibly be.

One way they aided in the production of the festival was adding their friend’s bands, which helped book the national touring acts.  “We got involved in that way and we just really have been trying to support this thing, and it’s going to be an incredible festival.  It already has those great vibes there, and just needed that little push.  I think it’s going to be a festival that is really going to grow,” Schultz said.

What sets the Starry Nights Music festival apart from other festivals is that it has its own “very pure, honest vibe,” Schultz said,  “We’re just trying to be a supporter of the community of musicians than thinking of money. It’s more about community and bringing people together and trying to incubate that.   If people think that will cater them then come out and hang out with us.”

For more opportunities to see Cage the Elephant, they anticipate to have more Nashville shows in the next coming months, though nothing is confirmed.  The Nashville show “will be when we debut our new stuff give people a sneak peak of new album… We’re excited to play Nashville next time we do,” Schultz said.  From Bowling Green, to the UK, and across the charts, Cage the Elephant promises to be a name you will not forget.