“I think of the guitar as a punctuation to the vocal. It’s about, ‘How can I be an exclamation point?’” Cage The Elephant guitarist Nick Bokrath explains his unique guitar grammar –and the innocence of pedal steel
The latest album from Cage The Elephant was a long time coming. As lead guitarist Nick Bockrath says, “We started recording it three years ago!” But Neon Pill, the band’s first new record since 2019’s Social Cues, was worth waiting for.
Led by the Shultz brothers, singer Matt and rhythm guitarist Brad, Cage The Elephant have perpetrated some seriously radical indie-meets-garage-meets-psych-rock over the years. An expansive sound and boundary-pushing mindset has been evident from their self-titled debut from 2008, featuring the slinky blues-rocker Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked, and continued across albums such as 2013’s Melophobia, with its dreamy acoustic hit Cigarette Daydreams, and 2015’s Tell Me I’m Pretty, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49
Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.
