Cage The Elephant have been making music for over 20 years now. Despite their name, PETA has overlooked their name for years. However, now, with the band slated to perform the halftime show for New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions in Munich on November 15th, the organization wants them to change their moniker for only 1 week.
In a report from WBKO News, PETA asked the band to change their name to ‘Free the Elephant’ ahead of their performance. All of it would be in honor of 56-year-old elephant Okha. They shared that the elephant has been forced to perform in the circus under the potential threat of being punished.
With such a platform like the NFL stage, they argued that Cage The Elephant would be doing a great thing in temporarily changing their name beforehand on social media.
“There ain’t no rest for Okha,” PETA wrote in a letter to the band. “We think you’d agree that she deserves the chance to spend her remaining years in peace with care, dignity and respect. Lending a rendition of your iconic name for a short while could… help us come a little closer to ending animal cruelty in circuses.”
Currently, the band hasn’t responded to the organization’s request.
Will Cage The Elephant change Their Name for PETA Ahead of Their Halftime Show?
How did the “Ain’t No Rest for The Wicked” band come to that name in the first place? In an interview with SPIN, frontman Matt Shultz admitted they used to go by Perfect Confusion. Eventually, they thought the name stunk and started soul searching for a better moniker.
After a chance encounter in Knoxville, Tennessee, they talked with a man who said the phrase ‘cage the elephant.’ Immediately, they thought it was a significantly better name than what they were trotting out before.
“We saw this guy with a shaved head and a long goatee yelling and screaming and talking to himself. I’m pretty sure he had some mental issues going on. He all of a sudden beelined towards us. Everyone jumped into our car and shut the doors. But I didn’t make it into the car. I was stuck outside,” Shultz recalled.
“I thought for sure the guy was gonna stab me or something, but then he came up to me and gave me a hug. The whole time he was saying, ‘You have to cage the elephant, you have to cage the elephant.’ Afterward, I was like, ‘We gotta name the band that.’”
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