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Cage the Elephant is an American rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky, that formed in mid-2006. Since their formation, the band has gained a large following in the US as well as the UK and Canada for their sound and their high-energy live performances. The band released their self-titled debut album on May 19, 2008 (June 23, 2008 in the UK). The album made them very popular in both Europe and America.^[1] On January 11, 2011, the group released their second effort, Thank You, Happy Birthday (March 21, 2011 in the UK). The second album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200,^[2] and earned the band much positive reception.^[3] Both albums were produced by Jay Joyce of Jive Records.^[4]

History[link]

Early years and self-titled album (2007–10)[link]

Members of Cage the Elephant had previously been involved in the band Perfect Confusion. The band signed with Relentless Records after showcasing at the 2007 South by Southwest music festival, and then moved to London, England.^[5] They released their eponymous debut album, Cage the Elephant, on 23 June 2008 in the UK and April 21, 2009 in the US/Japan/Australia/Canada. The album obtained mostly favorable reviews. Their single "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart and was featured in the Gearbox Software video game Borderlands.^[6]

Cage the Elephant appeared as a support act on tour with The Pigeon Detectives in early 2008 and with Silversun Pickups and Manchester Orchestra in 2009. The single "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" was the free single of the week on iTunes for the week of April 12, 2009. The group made a national TV appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, performing "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked", in July 2009. In August 2007, Cage the Elephant played for the first time at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and returned to the festival in August 2009, as well as San Francisco's Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on August 30, 2009.^[7] Prior to their return to Lollapalooza the band also played at the music festival Bonnaroo twice, in June 2007 and 2009. "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" was played in the 2010 movie The Bounty Hunter, as well as the 2009 game "Borderlands". They released the single "Back Against the Wall" on November 10, 2009.^[8] They supported many bands like Silversun Pickups, Manchester Orchestra, and Stone Temple Pilots on tour.

[edit] Thank You, Happy Birthday (2011–present)

The band's sophomore album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, was released in January 2011. Thank You, Happy Birthday was released to high critical acclaim. The album sold 39,000 copies during its first week in the U.S., debuting at Number 2 on the Billboard 200, losing to the band Cake's Showroom of Compassion.^[9] The album received much praise from critics.

Throughout the year, Cage the Elephant supported the album by playing live. The group landed multiple late night shows, such as The Late Show with David Letterman^[10] and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[11] Cage the Elephant also landed the bill for the music festivals such as Coachella and the Glastonbury Festival. On August 6, 2011, Cage the Elephant performed at the Kansas Speedway for the first annual Kanrocksas music festival. In the latter half of the year, the band supported the Foo Fighters, who were on tour supporting their new album Wasting Light. In October, drummer Jared Champion's appendix suddenly burst, requiring immediate medical attention. Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters' frontman and former drummer of Nirvana, temporarily filled in for Champion while he was recuperating.^[12]

The band was also nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video in September 2011,^[13] but would lose to "Walk" by the Foo Fighters ^[14]

The group's audience was expanded exponentially throughout 2011. Although they were formed in the late 2000s, the band earned the top spot in Rolling Stone's "Reader's Poll: The Best New Artist of 2011". The band Sleeper Agent, another Bowling Green music group and close friends with Cage the Elephant, came in second place. The magazine also named Thank You, Happy Birthday as the 15th best album of the year. In 2011, Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra embarked on a co-headlining tour with Sleeper Agent as the opening band.

In January 2012, the band released a live album titled Live from The Vic in Chicago, recorded during their 2011 tour and also toured with the Big Day Out music festival.

On March 22, 2012 via twitter they announced they were "working on album #3".^[15]

Band members[link]

Cage the Elephant is made up of five members, including brothers Matt and Brad Shultz.

• Matthew Shultz – Lead vocals
• Lincoln Parish – Lead Guitar
• Brad Shultz – Rhythm Guitar
• Daniel Tichenor – Bass guitar and Backing Vocals
• Jared Champion – Drums and percussion

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Photos[link]

• Cagetheelephant in 2008 1.jpg

  At London Barfly on 18 March 2008

• Cagetheelephant in 2008 2.jpg

  At London Barfly on 18 March 2008

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Cage the Elephant artist page on VH1.com
• Interview in the Virgin Red Room

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

The Elephant 6 Recording Company (or simply Elephant 6) is a collective of American musicians who spawned many notable independent bands of the 1990s, including The Apples in Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beulah, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System.^[1]

History[link]

Foundation[link]

The collective was officially founded in Denver, Colorado by childhood friends Robert Schneider, Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, and Jeff Mangum.^[2] The four grew up making music and sharing cassette tapes in Ruston, Louisiana while attending high school together.^[2] They started several bands and pet projects; Doss and Hart with The Olivia Tremor Control (then called Synthetic Flying Machine), Mangum with Neutral Milk Hotel, and Schneider with The Apples in Stereo.

It was Schneider who created the Elephant 6 record label when he moved to Denver, Colorado in late 1991 to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. According to Schneider, Hart coined the name "Elephant 6" and Schneider added "Recording Company." ^[2] In Denver, Schneider and new friends founded The Apples (which eventually became The Apples in Stereo). Recorded by April 1993, The Apples' Tidal Wave 7" EP was the first E6 release. Hart designed the Art Nouveau-inspired Elephant 6 logo for the label of The Apples EP. That logo was destined to be featured on a number of classic psychedelic albums from the 1990s to the present.

Doss had moved to Athens where he joined Hart and Mangum in Synthetic Flying Machine, which became The Olivia Tremor Control. They released California Demise as their first recording, and E6's second.^[2]

Success, disbandment and continuation[link]

Several Elephant 6 projects began to find commercial success in the late 1990s, including Beulah, Dressy Bessy, Elf Power, The Music Tapes, and Of Montreal, as well as the founding bands. Most of the bands subsequently signed with major record labels; E6 as an entity slowly deteriorated until the collective called it quits — due to recording difficulties and lack of organization — in 2002. The collective's bands all moved on to various labels and projects of their own.

However, many band members are still friends and even tour together under various guises. Though most of the collective's members span the country, many live together on the Orange Twin Conservation Community in Athens. The term "Elephant 6" has since come to refer to a broad range of bands and spin-off projects that the record label has spawned. The Elephant 6 logo has become a symbol for the circle of friends sharing similar ideas and goals.

In 2007 The Apples in Stereo featured the Elephant 6 logo on their album New Magnetic Wonder, announcing "The Elephant 6 Recording Company re-opens our doors and windows, and invites the world: join together with your friends and make something special, something meaningful, something to remember when you are old."^{[citation needed]} This marked the first major release in five years to bear the Elephant 6 logo.

In 2008, the Elephant 6 logo was also used when Julian Koster released his long awaited Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes under the name The Music Tapes. He also assembled The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour which featured contributions from Will Cullen Hart and Bill Doss of Olivia Tremor Control, Scott Spillane of the Gerbils, Andrew Reiger and Laura Carter of Elf Power, Theo Hilton of Nana Grizol, John Fernandes and Eric Harris of OTC, The Music Tapes and Circulatory System, Robbie Cucchiaro of The Music Tapes, Charlie Johnston and Suzanne Allison of The 63 Crayons, Nesey Gallons, Jeff Mangum, and Peter Erchick. This ensemble tour was widely seen as a resurgence of Elephant 6 as a productive, cohesive entity. The show will soon take place in the UK chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he will curate in March 2012 in Minehead, England.^[3]

On March 4, 2010 Robert Schneider along with The Apples in Stereo launched stepthroughtheportal.com, an interactive website where the user can explore the past, present and future of The Apples in Stereo. The site includes a short film featuring Elijah Wood, free song, time machine streaming songs from their past albums and more.

In recent years, Schneider has explored a number of experimental music projects, such as the Teletron mind-controlled synthesizer and Non-Pythagorean scale of his own invention. Since the inception of Elephant 6, members of the collective showed a strong interest and participation in experimental music, particularly The Olivia Tremor Control and Von Hemmling.

See also[link]

• Indie rock
• Psych folk
• List of record labels

References[link]

• Cooper, Kim "Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33¹⁄₃)", 2005

External links[link]

• Elephant6.com – The official site about the collective.
• Optical Atlas – An unofficial site with almost daily blog postings of current E6 happenings.
• E6 Townhall – An official Elephant Six message board.
• E6 Wiki – An unofficial Elephant Six wiki.
• E6 2008 Concert on NPR Music

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Matthew Ray Shultz (born October 23, 1983) is the lead singer for the American Alternative rock band, Cage The Elephant.^[1] Matt also plays guitar on the bonus track "Cover Me Again" off of their self-titled album.

Matt Shultz was raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, along with high school friends and other band members, his brother Brad Shultz (guitar), Daniel Tichenor (bass, backing vocals), Lincoln Parish (lead guitar), and Jared Champion (drums, percussion).

References[link]

External links[link]

Cage The Elephant (2009). Cage The Elephant. http://www.cagetheelephant.com/?pagename=Bio