Rig Rundown: Cage the Elephant’s Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, and Nick Bockrath [2024]

Rig Rundowns

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Cage the Elephant was formed nearly 20 years ago in Bowling Green by vocalist Matt Shultz, guitarists Brad Shultz and Lincoln Parish, drummer Jared Champion, and bassist Daniel Tichenor. That core lineup has only changed once, with Nick Bockrath replacing Parish onstage in 2013 and officially in 2017. CTE’s earliest albums—2008’s Cage the Elephant and 2011’s Thank You, Happy Birthday—captured their punk-rock pandemonium that turned venues into hurricanes. Cage’s mayhem cloaked melodies, like a Trojan horse creating early-career earworms and sing-alongs out of hits “In One Ear,” “Ain't No Rest for the Wicked,” “Shake Me Down,” and “Aberdeen.”

2013’s Melophobia brandished a trio of mellower, melodious singles: “Come A Little Closer,” “Take It or Leave It,” and “Cigarette Daydreams.” Then, 2015’s Tell Me I’m Pretty saw the band enter Easy Eye Sound to work with Dan Auerbach, sending the band’s sonics back to the ’60s with an emphasis on direct, pointed performances and console-driven fuzz. Their last two albums, 2019’s Social Cues and 2024’s Neon Pill, partnered them with producer John Hill, who helped wrap their memorable hooks in a smokier, after-hours backdrop that incorporated ’80s sheen with drum machines, shifting synth textures, and sleek production that pulses with flow and emotion.

The constant glue that holds these albums together (aside from the members' cohesive creativity) is the constant application—in varied amounts—of garage rock, psychedelia, and a little bit of danger. Even their softest, smoothest work portrays these gripping vibes. And while the velvet packaging of their songs have them sounding more Abbey Road than Albini—earning the group back-to-back Grammys for Best Rock Album for Tell Me I’m Pretty and Social Cues—the Shultz brothers still bring their signature piss-and-vinegar performances to the stage, where the front row will likely play host to both throughout any given setlist.

Before the band’s Bonnaroo set on Saturday June 15, Cage the Elephant invited PG’s video team to their rehearsals inside East Nashville’s Steel Mill space to cover the gear they’d be touring with in support of their sixth album, Neon Pill. On guitar, lap steel, and pedal steel, Nick Bockrath starts off the Rundown going through his sizzling setup that includes custom guitars, a bountiful pedalboard, and a special instrument from a deceased friend and Nashville legend. Then, tech Mason Osman details how Brad Shultz transformed his rig to mimic his preferred recording setup that relies on studio tube preamps and compressors for a direct, broiling sound. Lastly, tech Bailey Griffith shows a simplified-but-tsunami-sounding bass setup that includes two Fender 4-strings and 300W tube heads that kick like a mule.

(Thumbnail photos by Neil Krug.)

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[Brought to you by D’Addario: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr]

0:00 - D'Addario Strings

0:15 - Nick Bockrath Intro

1:58 - Chris Kies Intro

2:17 - Neon Pill & Working with John Hill Again

6:00 - Nick Bockrath's Harper Guitars Marilyn

11:20 - Nick Bockrath's 1990s Gibson Les Paul Deluxe

15:23 - Nick Bockrath's 1970s Gibson SG Custom

18:08 - Nick Bockrath on Performing with a Broken Knee

19:59 - Nick Bockrath's Russ Pahl Partscaster Tele

24:10 - Nick Bockrath's Vintage Gibson BR-6 lap steel

25:45 - D'Addario & the Rig Rundown

26:17 - Nick Bockrath's GFI Ultra pedal-steel

29:56 - Nick Bockrath's Pedalboard

43:24 - Brad Shultz's Guitars

47:17 - Brad Shultz's Rack Gear (Preamps & Compressors)

48:41 - Brad Shultz's Pedalboard

51:31 - Daniel Tichenor's Bass Rig

57:18 - D'Addario Strings & Joe Glaser

© Copyright Gearhead Communications LLC, 2024

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