Matthew Ray Shultz (born October 23, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the lead singer and occasional guitarist for the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Cage the Elephant Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England, U.K. and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt S ...

Early life

Matthew Ray Shultz was born on 23 October 1983 and raised in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

, alongside high school friends and future bandmates including his older brother Brad Shultz (guitar), Daniel Tichenor (bass, backing vocals), Lincoln Parish (lead guitar), and

Jared Champion Jared Lloyd Champion (born February 27, 1983) is the drummer for American rock band Cage the Elephant. Early life and career Champion was born and raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In high school, Champion, with current bandmate Matt Shultz, ...

(drums). Shultz and his brother came from a poor background and were sometimes teased for this, with his brother being called "Poor Boy" by children at their school. Their father is also a musician and also named Brad. Their parents separated when the brothers were young. After the divorce, their mother dated Shultz's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach, prompting him to quit the team and play music as an act of rebellion. Before starting

, Shultz worked in construction as a plumber. He said in an interview that he felt if he didn't quit that job, he would be stuck there for the rest of his life. He therefore quit and worked at a sandwich bar with Brad, who had previously worked in telemarketing.

Personal life

Matt Shultz married Eva Ross in early February 2020. Eva Ross is an actress, dancer and musician. They met in Kentucky where they are both from. "Love's The Only Way" was a song written by Matt for Eva while they were dating. Eva announced on December 1, 2021 that the couple had separated and were filing for divorce. Previously, Shultz was married to Juliette Buchs from 2014-2018.

Musical influences

Shultz cites bands such as the

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

as influential on his vocal style, explaining that he discovered them alongside other punk bands while living in England during the recording of ''

Thank You, Happy Birthday ''Thank You Happy Birthday'' is the second studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. It was released on January 11, 2011 to positive critical reception. The album was produced by Jay Joyce, who worked in the same capacity on the band' ...

''. His stage persona is inspired by punk pioneers such as

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Art

Matt Shultz began his art career as the lead singer and a founding member of

Cage The Elephant Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England, U.K. and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt S ...

. While continuing his musical career, Shultz has gone on to explore a vast array of artistic mediums, including dance, fashion design, visual art, and performance art. In March 2019, Shultz released a Boot Collection with

The Frye Company The Frye Company is an American manufacturer of shoes, boots and leather accessories. Founded in 1863, it claims to be the oldest continuously operated American shoe company. History In 1863, John A. Frye opened the first Frye shop on Elm Street ...

. In August 2019, Shultz threw his debut art show in

Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn� ...

with New York artist

Danny Cole Danny Cole is an American painter and interdisciplinary artist based in New York City. Early life Originally from New Jersey, Cole has been creating art since he was young. He filled journals with drawings before moving to painting. Cole m ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

, and other friends. The event was captured by

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

in a photo journal.

Accomplishments

Cage the Elephant's first nomination came in 2011, when the music video for "

Shake Me Down "Shake Me Down" is the first single and fourth track on Cage the Elephant's second album ''Thank You, Happy Birthday''. A music video for the single was released on January 11, 2011. Both the song and the video gained much critical acclaim, and ...

" was nominated for the Best Rock Video at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2014, Cage the Elephant was nominated for the Best Alternative Music Album for ''

Melophobia ''Melophobia'' is the third studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Recorded at St. Charles in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by Jay Joyce, the album was released on October 8, 2013, through RCA Records. It is also the final albu ...

'', at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2016, Cage the Elephant won the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...

for ''

Tell Me I'm Pretty ''Tell Me I'm Pretty'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. It was released on December 18, 2015, and was announced online on October 5, 2015. The album was recorded in the spring of 2015 at Easy Eye Sound in Nas ...

'', winning again in 2019 for ''

Social Cues ''Social Cues'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Announced on January 31, 2019, the album was released on April 19, 2019. The album is the first by the band to feature a title track. Social Cues won the award for ...

''.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3068908/awards , retrieved 2018

References

External links

* http://www.cagetheelephant.com/biox/?pagename=Bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Shultz, Matthew 1983 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American expatriates in the United Kingdom American rock singers Cage the Elephant members Grammy Award winners Living people Musicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky Rock musicians from Kentucky Singers from Kentucky