BOWLING GREEN, Ky. _ I am writing this blog because I haven't been this excited about a young rock band or their music in years!
I am basically an old guy ("an old fart') to the younger generation of twenty somethings and I'm probably not supposed to like their kind of music or much less be a "raving fan" of a band at this point in my life. Just like our baby-boom generation is not suppose to be "Texting," "Facebooking," "Twittering" or "Social Networking" to our advantage like the younger generation has been doing for a while now. And I am probably not supposed to be "hip" to their kind of music either. Wrong!
I can't help it though when it comes to the Bowling Green based rock group, "Cage The Elephant," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cage_The_Elephant, from our hometown who is riding the tsunami wave of success performing world-wide, conducting interviews on radio, television and also via internet. Backed my Sony-Jive Records, this band is hitting all the points of the multi-media platform using the latest technology and marketing capabilities. They have already performed on the "David Letterman Show" twice in two years. Their latest performance was to announce their recent release of their second album, "Thank You, Happy Birthday." Their first album, "Cage The Elephant," sold an impressive half millions copies. I suppose I am intrigued, enthralled, infatuated and impressed by these young musicians. Brothers Matt and Brad Shultz, and band mates, Jared Champion, Lincoln Parish and Daniel Tichenor, are on the cutting edge of rock and roll in the year 2011 big-time; they are making the citizens of Bowling Green, Warren County and Southcentral Kentucky very proud. How awesome to have such a talented band climbing straight to the top! And realize it didn't happened overnight. This band has worked their tails off. They even lived and toured in Europe for two years prior to to returning to the States to sing. According to Matt's recent interview, the band lived in a poor section of London while performing and a man was murdered outside their apartment building.
I have a small personal connection to the band, having met both Matt and Brad in Bowling Green. I am probably even more fond of them than other bands at this point. Matt and Brad are super nice kids, very talented and sociable. I first met them at Western Kentucky University early last fall when my son's band, "Sleeper Agent" was performing on campus. They were in attendance to watch "the Sleepers" perform. My son Tony and his band have become close friends with the guys in Cage The Elephant, as have many other young musicians. It seems that Bowling Green, has become a quite a breeding ground for new and upcoming rock bands. Many of these bands perform locally at "Tidballs". I also had the chance to see Cage The Elephant perform at the "Starry Nights Music Festival" in October here. http://starrynightsfestival.com/ Luckily I had obtained a backstage media pass and spoke to them. When exiting the stage after their first set, the band greeted me again with friendly smiles and firm handshakes and remembered me as "Tony's Dad" from Sleeper Agent.
The media upbuild prior to their latest album, "Thank You, Happy Birthday," was awesome, with tidbits not only on the internet but also on Facebook. The hit song "Shake Me Down" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFo28_VbQf4appeared on their web-site prior to the album's release. It's an really big hit. Please think about friending the band on their facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/#!/cagetheelephant and the "Cage The Elephant's Hometown (Bowling Green, Ky.) Fan FB Page) http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_126764947389033&ap=1 where you can follow their career on a daily basis. During the first week of the albums release, "Shake Me Down" was number one on iTunes. And I am sure that they will break new records and charts with this album. I bought the CD version at Target on the day it came out on 1/1/11 and I have probably listened to it at least 15 times and I would predict that there are at least nine other potential hit songs on the album. My favorite songs are "Shake Me Down," "Aberdeen," "Always Something," "2024" "Japanese Buffalo" and "Flow".
Don't ask me what the songs mean or what's behind the lyrics or what's in young Matt's head. All I know is that this is a new breed of rock music that's pure art. They are like artists, brushes in hand, painting with oils on an empty canvas. It's simply amazing!
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