REBECCA CHANCE: You said in 2009 that the soft acoustic songs, “Timber Me Shivers” and “Big Rubber Ball”, were going to be on the next album? So it's got a more chilled out kind of vibe?

MATT SHULTZ: Yeah, “Timber Me Shivers” and “Big Rubber Ball” are going to be on the next album. Those songs are way more laid back, and the folk music inspiration is a big part of where my heart is at. But we have other songs that are really heavy and aggressive, too. You know, we really were influenced by Iggy Pop, Black Flag, Mudhoney, the Butthole Surfers… bands like that, and that's where we want to be, to get that vibe in there. We've been working on the new album for a while, and it's completely finished, completely mastered, and it should be coming out soon, probably early 2011.

RC: Do you think there's a sort of expectation, now, after three hit songs, to do heavy and aggressive music all the time?

MS: No, it comes from us, from the band, and from our influences. I wouldn't say it's about what's expected from us. It just comes down to the music that we like to play. I'm actually eating pita bread right now. I'm sorry if I'm chewing in your ear.

RC: No problem. Since those acoustic songs don’t include the rest of the band, is there ever going to be a solo album? Is that a possibility?

MS: I don’t think, no. I’m too tired, creatively, within this genre. I mean, never say never, but for me, I love making music with this band. There’s something really special and natural about that. I don’t know. My brother [Brad Shultz] and the drummer [Jared Champion] and I have been playing together for a really long time.

RC: Lollapalooza 2007 was really the first time you were impressed upon the public consciousness. At least, it was the first I heard of you, though I’m no measure of social awareness.

MS: Yeah, we did Lollapalooza that year, then we sort of disappeared into the UK for two years, and came back.

RC: I noticed that. You said the British press didn’t work with you back then?

MS: Well, it wasn’t a firestorm of press. But we weren't a band that people were, like, crazy about. We were playing to maybe 100 people a night. It wasn’t until about a year later, we were playing venues around a 2,000 capacity. It was crazy, though. We got a little tired toward the end of our tour before going to the UK, because they had exhausted all of our marketing. So we had no money for tour support, or for marketing our act. We went over there [the UK] strictly on word of mouth, like 2,000 capacity venues sold out. I was so worried before we went over there, like, oh man, there’s going to be no one there. No one knows about it. There was no advertising. But we went, and it was sold out. So, it went from 3 people a night to 2,000 people a night strictly on word of mouth, and we sold out the tour, and it was pretty cool.

RC: How are you? Really? You're on tour now with Stone Temple Pilots. You once mentioned they were an early 90s influence on you.

MS: I'm doing great right now. Yeah, STP, it's a trip. We're really thrilled to be playing with them. But I wouldn't say they were as much as an influence as they were a band that we respected a lot. Sure, our influences did include a lot of early ‘90s stuff, more like The Pixies. And it's going good, really good, and the STP guys are really nice. We've been hanging out with them. I haven't met Scott yet, but STP is a great band.

RC: Wait. You haven't met Scott yet? How long have you been on the road with them?

MS: Two weeks or so. I think he kind of keeps to himself. And that's cool. I know he's, well, he's trying to stay off drugs, and I respect his space. I don't think he wants someone like me coming around being a trigger or whatever you call it, you know, he doesn't need to hear my stupid jokes.

RC: Do you think you're ever going to meet him?

MS: I want to meet him. The rest of the band, they say he's actually a great guy.

RC: You had your own issue with drugs at one point, and you kicked successfully over a year ago, and there is some mystery surrounding what that was about. But if you don't want to talk about it, I understand.

MS: It's not that I want to hide that or anything . . . but I don't really want to talk about it because I don't want to glorify drug use. I never wanted to shove my sobriety down anyone's throat, either. I've never been into the straight edge thing, so I don't mind if you publish the fact that I quit. But yeah, it's not something I'd like to talk to the press about in too much detail.

RC: I heard that you were going to be the back up band for Daniel Johnston. Is that right?

MS: Oh my God, yes! I can't believe it. Seriously . It's like on Christmas when I found out I got a Sega Genesis. It really was that great of a surprise. We just found out we were going to be playing with him, and yeah, I'm really excited about it.

RC: Do you think it will be difficult to bring Daniel's underground music to the surface?

MS: No, I'm not worried about that at all. I think since the DVD came out, The Devil And Daniel Johnston, a lot of people are more aware of him and his music. And honestly, I just hope we don't suck.

RC: Why are you fucking with the press about the name of your band? You told four different magazines different stories about where you got the inspiration for your name. Are you going to stop messing with us and just tell us why you named your band Cage the Elephant?

MS: I don't know what you're talking about.

RC: I hear you laughing your ass off right now, and I know you're messing with me. Are you telling me that you don't recall being interviewed by Spin magazine last month?

MS: I don't know what I said.

RC: You're still fucking with me. You told Spin magazine that the name came from some lunatic who followed you around, and who kept saying, “You've got to cage the elephant.” And you said, well, we have to name our band that. When you spoke to the Albany Student Press in 2009, you said it was from a game on the back of a cereal box. And you told some paper in Boston that a psychic came up with the name. What the hell is going on?

MS: Um, it's the cereal box story. That's the real story, what I said about the back of the cereal box, yeah. There was a game where you filled in the dots and you caged the elephant.

RC: You still maintain you never told Spin magazine that it was otherwise? So you essentially lied to Spin magazine last month in their “Name that Band” series and you're telling me the truth now?

MS: I don't know what you're talking about.

RC: Alright, alright, you're keeping up the joke.

MS: [Uncontrollable peals of laughter as a response.]

RC: You sound happy.

MS: I am very happy right now.

RC: I got in the car today and your big hit song, “In One Ear”, came on the radio. And I would venture to say it's probably the Cage song with the most possible expletives. So it's a bit odd to hear those over-dubs in the censored version on the radio. Are you happy with the way that turned out?

MS: Honestly, I'm not happy at all with the way the radio version turned out. We did some vocals, some clips, and I guess, for the radio, they mixed some stuff up and that's how it came out. I didn't really have a lot of control over that. No, I'm not very happy about it.

RC: There's a part where a dub comes in and you say, “the crowd will only like me if they're all smacked up” instead of “really fucking drunk.” It just doesn't seem to make any sense?

MS: Yeah, I agree. We didn't know what they were going to use, when they mixed that. I don't think it makes any sense either. I don't really like it. But what are you going to do? That's just the way it happened, and that's kind of what you have to give up for radio.

RC: The lyrics in your songs sometimes take on a political tone.

MS: No, I’m not political at all. I don’t like politics. It’s always one side or the other. These songs are about social issues, you know? I don’t have a political identity. And a lot of the time, I think it's rich people who are inundated with politics, and we grew up really poor. Really poor. We never had anything. Never. There was one year, when I remember my father made $1000 for the whole year. So, money, that’s secondary. I try to put things in perspective. Rich people, the problems they have? I feel sorry for them. They have to worry about politics all the time, doing or saying the right thing. I wouldn’t want that.

RC: Your parents must have been really happy with the success you've had.

MS: They are. They are so happy for us. I mean, at first, we only sold 100,000 records. We weren't considered exactly indie, because yeah, we're lucky that we were picked up by television and radio, and we're on this big label and people expect that we don't have that much creative control or something. Actually, we have been given more creative control from Jive Records than we were with the other, smaller label. Sure, we're on the same label that signed Britney Spears. But when I come home, I still sleep on my mother's couch, or a friend's couch.

RC: So are you still living on the tour bus?

MS: There was a while when the whole band wanted to move to New York. But it just didn't work out. But yeah, for now, I'm still living on the bus. I lost the whole concept of “home” a long time ago.