Bowling Green's Cage The Elephant and Sleeper Agent Are Ready To Blast Off Again

   Since both of the big name indie rock bands from Southcentral Kentucky have now completed recording their new albums, it will be a double hitter or a double headliner if you will, hopefully bringing more national and world-wide attention to the Bowling Green, Ky., music scene this Fall.
     When Cage The Elephant's and Sleeper Agent's latest albums come out on the RCA record label soon, both bands already have a lot in common.  Both bands are from Bowling Green, they are all friends, they both got their start at the famous local music venue, "Tidballs" and they both have the same Nashville producer, Jay Joyce.
     This will be Cage The Elephant's third album and Sleeper Agent's second.  Both bands toured together during 2010 and 2011 all over the country.  Even Cage The Elephant lead singer, Matt Schultz directed Sleeper Agent's "Get Burned" video which was filmed in an old brothel in downtown Bowling Green.
     However, since Sleeper Agent has a new manager, Missy Worth, the veteran from LA, she hooked them up with producer Eric Bass of Shinedown.  Sleeper Agent recorded three songs with Bass in Charleston, S.C., back in June.  Sleeper Agent also produced one of the songs and Joyce produced and recorded the rest.  Both both bands will be touring extensively all over to promote their new albums according to sources.

 

Milo's Tea From The Deep South Hits The Spot

    Growing up down South in Memphis in the 1960's and early 1970's, we used to be big Kool-Aid drinkers in our family or us kids I should say.  Kool-Aid was the thing back in those days.  You could choose from different flavors such as Cherry, Grape, Strawberry or even Tropical Punch among many others.  It seemed we only drank Coca-Cola on special occasions like Christmas or the holidays.  But as time went on, we started drinking more cola products throughout the year as the years progressed especially when they started selling them in the big 32 oz. glass bottles.  I also remember the "tea days" or I should say the "instant tea" days when they came along.  I remember when "Lipton's Instant Tea" became popular.  My dad was a big fan of that.  I can remember drinking tons of that stuff as a youngster.  No wonder I had a lot of cavities as a kid. Later in life during my teens, we got into the boiled water and tea bags making big half gallon jugs of it.  Remember "Sun Tea?"  You could buy those big glass gallon or half gallon containers and make tea outside in the sun.  And during the last 20 years in my little we have been buying that "already made tea" in the gallon jug at Kroger which is really good especially with fresh slices of lemon.
   But lately I have noticed here in Kentucky that there is a great new product from the Deep South that can be found at several different retail and grocery stores in Bowling Green called, "Milo's Tea"  made in Bessemer, Ala., just out of Birmingham. This stuff is really awesome and I have bought several gallons of it already which we have extremely enjoyed.  What I have found to be really interesting about this particular tea is the pride and marketing that this family owed business puts into their product.  Check out the history of their tea taken from their web-site:


HISTORY
Early Years (1946-1989)

The Milo’s brand has roots that stretch back to the Great Depression. In 1939, Milo Carlton could be found behind the scenes in his brother’s North Birmingham restaurant, the Dipsey Doodle. One of five Carlton boys bitten by the restaurant bug, Milo did everything from mopping the floors to locking up after everyone else had gone home for the night. He spent the next two years learning as much as he could about the restaurant business, including the most important – listening to the voice of the customer.

Already a member of the National Guard, Milo’s unit was mobilized in February 1941, just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. It didn’t take the Army long to realize that Milo was gifted in the kitchen, and he found himself assigned to the Food Service Division while on active duty. Uncle Sam sent Milo through three different cooking schools and for the next four years, he cooked hamburgers in jeeps, on planes, on ships, in the back of trucks, in mess tents and on beaches in four different countries. He even found time to open a hamburger shop in Australia where he taught the locals Down Under just how an American burger should taste.

Milo was discharged in 1945 and wasted no time putting his Army experiences to good use. On April 16, 1946, Milo opened the first Milo’s Hamburger Shop on 31st Street and 12th Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama. From day one, Milo set out to give customers a unique experience – whether it was the extra slice of beef on their burger or the special sauce they’d never tasted anywhere else, the piping hot hand made pies or ice-cold tea with a big bowl of sugar on the side – the customer always got more than what they expected. And that’s where Milo met his first greatest hurdle.

The war might be over but the rationing of staple items – such as sugar – was to remain for some years to come. Milo found himself faced with the dilemma of choosing to use his sugar ration to make pies or provide table sugar to sweeten the tea. How could he ask them to choose one over the other? And then it dawned on Milo to try something no one else had considered – he eliminated the sugar bowls from his tables and began to pre-sweeten the tea himself. This ensured enough from his sugar ration for pies and sweet tea!

Although this seems perfectly ordinary today, in the 1940s, customers initially balked at the idea. But then they tasted Milo’s Famous tea and realized this was something different… something better than they could make themselves. Soon the tea was as in demand as the burgers, fries and pies. Milo’s became the place to go for great food – all washed down with the finest tea anyone had ever tasted.
Modern Era (1989-2009)

In April of 1989, Milo’s began manufacturing and distributing its Famous Sweet Tea in gallon jugs to grocery stores in the Birmingham, Alabama area. The first grocery store to carry the product didn’t think people would buy the tea when they could make it themselves. But like his dad, Milo’s son Ronnie knew his customers and Milo’s Famous Tea was an instant success. Customers wanted a delicious fresh brewed tea like the kind that grandma made, and Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea did not disappoint. Due to strong demand, Milo’s introduced the convenient single serving size in 1997 and an unsweetened tea in 1999.

In 2002, Milo’s Tea Company sold the Milo’s hamburger chain in order to focus the business on one thing – making the best ready to drink available in the world. Milo’s used the capital from the restaurant sale to build a state of the art tea plant like no other in the world - because no one else in the world does what we do!

In addition to its own delivery trucks and traditional wholesale distributors, Milo’s began expanding its distribution territory by teaming up with dairy distributors in 2003. These companies are experienced in handling all-natural products and their larger refrigerated route systems proved beneficial for both parties in growing the Milo’s brand. Since 2003, several more distributors across the Southeast have teamed up with Milo’s to increase availability in stores throughout the Southeast region.

Another milestone occurred in 2006 when we introduced an often-requested and much anticipated item to the Milo’s family. In March, 2006 we began brewing Milo’s No-Calorie Tea sweetened with Splenda. This item has grown exponentially since its introduction and offers an alternative for folks who do not want sugar but still enjoy sweet tea! Today, you can enjoy Milo’s Sweet Tea (sweetened with Sugar) and No Calorie Sweet Tea (sweetened with Splenda) in 12 ounce, 20 ounce, and Gallon sizes, as well as Milo’s Unsweetened Tea in gallons.

In 2009, Milo’s Tea expanded into several new markets – Memphis, Little Rock, Paducah, KY, Middle Georgia and South Carolina. Milo’s Tea can now be found in retailers across 16 states: Currently, our teas are available in Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Florida (the panhandle), Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Please visit our store locator to find a Milo’s retailer near you.
Tomorrow

We are continually working toward national availability of Milo’s Tea. We will be available in some additional markets where people have been seeking out management at retailers and adamantly requesting Milo’s Tea. We are always careful to move just as deliberately as we do quickly so that we can maintain the quality and stability of our products and company. We are ever conscious of the responsibility to deliver a high quality product to the market every time. It’s because of you that we have become “famous,” and we know that. We are motivated to serve you, our customer, just like we’ve been doing for over 60 years.

Milo Carlton’s words of yesterday still echo in our halls keeping us mindful of our heritage as we move into tomorrow: “Listen to your customers, and give them what they want. Give them quality, and they will come back.”

For more information about Milo's Tea go to their web-site at www.milostea.com

I Remember North Mississippi's Wall Doxey State Park Quite Fondly

     I remember growing up in Memphis, Tenn., in the 1960's and 1970's and how my father used to take my brothers and me camping at Wall Doxey State Park just outside of Holly Springs, Miss., on Highway 7 heading towards Oxford, Miss.  Usually, it would be a short weekend trip and he would pull our camping trailer to the park and we would always have the best time that I remember.  We would fish, swim and even rent the paddle boats they used to offer. I have very fond memories of my weekend there as a kid.

   The park is named after Wall Doxey, a former U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Mississippi. With camping areas, rental cabins, walking trails, a large playground, and camp pavilions, the area offers a welcome opportunity to the weekend camper. A narrow levee surrounds a third of the spring-fed lake which, in its shallows, has cypresses and dense vegetation.  I have been meaning to stop by there for years on my home from Oxford after visiting some friends during our ever so often trips down South from Bowling Green.  Finally, this past weekend we did we did stop and I'm glad I did.  I probably haven't been there since my days as a college student at Ole Miss in the early 80's.  I remember we even had one of our Spring fraternity formals there.  Or at least, I remember some of it. I also remember that I once drove out to Wall Doxey to get away from campus on a beautiful Spring day. I was inspired to write a poem about the park while sitting at a picnic table. I still have a copy of it.

  The park is beautiful as ever.  However, I was a little sad to see that they do not allow swimming anymore and the snack bar/concessions areas are closed.  The man at the guard shack claims that they quit allowing swimming because of insurance purposes.  I asked him if some people had drown recently or something like that.  But he just said "No, it because of insurance purposes."   It was nice to pay Wall Doxey a visit again.  But again, I was left with a little uneasy, haunting feeling about the place that perhaps some people have drowned in the lake recently is the reason that quit allowing swimming.  I suppose it's just my gut, intuition feeling.  I can't help it. Maybe I'm wrong.

Bowling Green, Ky.'s National Indie Rock Acts And RCA Records Recording Artists, "Cage The Elephant" and "Sleeper Agent" Featured In Tourism Brochure

     There's a new tourism brochure out that can be picked up at just about any hotel or attraction in Bowling Green and throughout Southcentral Kentucky called "Get Rolling To Bowling Green, Ky."  It's a 26 page leaflet that features all of the popular local and regional attractions as well as restaurants and retail stores and shopping centers in the area.  It also contains a map of Bowling Green and offers some coupons and discounts in the back of the pamphlet.

     Under a section called, "Entertainment Venues," Bowling Green's ground zero for the indie rock scene is listed.  It's called "Tidballs" and just about everybody and anybody who knows anything around the indie rock music scene in Bowling Green has been there to see their favorite band perform.  Here's what it says about the local favorite music venue: "Tidball's, 522 Morris Alley, (270) 793-9958) Open Mon-Sat. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. For over a decade, Tiball's has been Bowling Green's premiere live music venue showcasing bands five nights a week from rock and hip hop to blues and country. Home to national acts Cage The Elephant and Sleeper Agent. Feel like a regular in this fair-priced, neighborhood bar located off Chestnut St. adjacent to the downtown square."

    Also, Tony Smith of the indie rock band, Sleeper Agent, is mentioned in the 2013 edition of the Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky Chamber of Commerce magazine.  In a feature on page 15 called, "Serving in Southcentral Kentucky for a Better Quality of Life," the article mentions Tony's name when he wore the "I Love BG" button during Sleeper Agent's debut national television performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in March of 2012.  You can pick up a free copy of the magazine at the Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in downtown BG and you can visit the Bowling Green Area Convention Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 352 Three Springs Road in Bowling Green to pick up a copy of the brochure or to find out where to obtain a copy.  You can also visit their web-site at www.visitBGKY.com or call (800) 326-7465.

    

Bowling Green, Ky.'s Sleeper Agent Heads Back To Studio Today To Continue Work On Second Album

Bowling Green, Ky.'s Sleeper Agent goes back into the studio today to start recording again on their second album with Nashville producer, Jay Joyce http://www.uaudio.com/blog/artist-interview-jay-joyce/in his "church" studio. They will be there for a week this time according to band member, Tony Smith.

An Open Letter To Their Fans From Sleeper Agent

(Note: This letter was published on Sleeper Agent's Facebook's page, April 29th)

It's nearly May and it's been a year since we've been off the road. From SXSW to Facebook, we've been "missing in action". Over the past year, we've moved into new apartments, spent a lot of time with friends and family, watched a ton of movies, seen a handful of great bands and written over 30+ songs of new material for our second album. 

We started working on our follow-up to Celabrasion as early as July 2012. In August, we rented a cabin for a week in the secluded mountains of Kentucky to put a year's worth of song ideas together. It was one of the best week's I've ever experienced. There was nothing and nobody around us for miles. No internet, no cell reception and nothing to do except eat, drink and play music. Heaven? Close enough. We came back with a slew of demos and our batteries fully recharged.

Throughout the fall we kept ourselves busy with a couple of shows (including Bowling Green's very own Starry Nights Festival) and a few little projects here and there. We had the privilege to write and record a song for Tim Burton's Frankenweenie soundtrack (they chose a B-Side from Celabrasion), we made a no-budget video for "That's My Baby" and Justin started a very entertaining beer-soaked side project called Pizza Riot.

Over the holidays, we tested new material out on local audiences to much fanfare and saw Celabrasion receive a critically lauded release in Japan. As we prepare to return to the studio next week (!!!) I can say, without a doubt, this album will be worth the wait. It cuts a little a deeper, hits a little harder and is one of the most exciting things I've ever been a part of. 

I can say in good faith, that you'll be hearing an announcement about the new music in the upcoming months. We miss the road, we're sick of being home and incredibly anxious with itchy feet. Like a dirty secret we can't wait to share with all of you, new music is coming. Thanks for sticking with us. We'll see all of you in person, very, very soon. 

Lastly, we were given the opportunity to record a cover for a certain super hero movie soundtrack. We were asked to give the Sleeper Agent treatment to Blondie's "One Way or Another" back in February. Excited, we learned and recorded the song very quickly, giving it the "punky and gritty" vibe that was asked for. The powers-that-be loved it AND THEN... we never heard from them again. So, now it's yours! A gift to hold you over until the real thing comes. Download it for free at the link below.

http://soundcloud.com/sleeperagent/one-way-or-another-blondie

_LOVE
Tony and SLEEPER AGENT

Bowling Green, Ky.'s Buffalo Rodeo's Latest EP, "Home Videos" Takes You For A Wild Ride

     Being a 51 year-old married man with a grown son who is in his mid-twenties and who is now engaged, I find myself struggling at times to try to keep up with the latest trends in the Bowling Green, Ky., indie rock
music scene.
     However, this latest indie rock band from Bowling Green landed right in my lap via Bryan Graves, my friend who is one of the co-founders of the Bowling Green Starry Nights Music + Arts Festival along with brothers Matt and Brad Shultz from Cage The Elephant.  Bryan had instant messaged me on Facebook last week and wanted to know if I would review the latest EP from the young indie rock band called, "Buffalo Rodeo" from our fair city of 60,000 people.  I told him that I would be glad to write a review.  I have been hearing a lot about Buffalo Rodeo for a while now every since they won a spot to play at the Starry Nights Music Festival last September.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrqtUCvAAzI  I didn't get a chance to see them perform then but I did hear that they did an awesome job.  However, I did get a chance to see them perform live at this year's annual "Jambodians Holiday Bash" at the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green this past December. I sincerely liked what I saw and heard. My son, Tony Smith and his fiancee', Alex Kandel from Sleeper Agent had told me that were friends with some of the members of the band and that they hang out together every now and then at Tony and Alex's apartment.  Tony and Alex said that they are some pretty cool and talented kids.
      So I took it upon myself to listen to their latest EP called "Home Videos" several times in the truck while working especially driving to and from the smaller towns located around Bowling Green.  Again, I really liked what I heard.  When I listen to something new, I like to hear it several times so that it will soak in.  I always try to get a fresh feel for the music in that regard. When the first track, "Tree Houses" started playing, I thought to myself, "Wow, what a big sound for a such a young band!"  Then I started thinking who they sounded like.  Being a older classic rock guy, who listens to our two local rock stations quite often-D93 and The Point-I am not real knowledgeable in the younger, college age music genre to tell the truth.  Of course, I feel like I know a lot about two of the most successful local indie rock bands to date, "Sleeper Agent" and "Cage The Elephant" especially being a big fan of theirs and all. Not to mention, being a "Rock Dad" to Tony Smith of Sleeper Agent.
    The only band that came to mind immediately while listening to the EP for the first time and that I could compare them with was the Grammy winning Nashville rock band, "Kings Of Leon."  After talking to Tony over dinner at O'Charley's the other night on my birthday and 27th wedding anniversary and I asked his opinion about Buffalo Rodeo since he knows the young musicians personally. He said he thought they sounded more like "Band Of Horses," "My Morning Jacket," "Manchester Orchestral" or a young "Wilco."  But to be completely honest, I think Buffalo Rodeo definitely has their own unique sound too. 
    In a Western Kentucky University College Heights Herald newspaper article that was published Jan. 27, 2012, another Bowling Green rock band member from "Canago," Robbie Neighbors is quoted in the article as saying that he is a pretty big fan of the band, "They have an amazing sounding, self-produced demo that hearkens to the Arcade Fire Sound. Their single has hooks that I'm surprised aren't already in car commercials. They have a sound that is suited for arenas."
    You know, that's what I was kind of thinking.  Their sound seems suited for arenas from listening to their latest EP.  Everyone should check this EP out! The five other songs on the EP are pretty awesome also.  All of the songs run anywhere to four to five minutes long or more.  The other titles of the songs on the EP are called, "Compass," "Remington," "Holly," "The Child In Me," and "My Window."
    In their artist bio page on Reverbnation.com the band described themselves in this fashion,
"Buffalo Rodeo is an indie progressive rock band hailing from the hills of Bowling Green, Ky. We play progressive indie rock with punchy drums, melodic bass riffs, ethereal synth textures, elaborate guitar tones, and addicting vocals. We're influenced by bands like Manchester Orchestra, Portugal. the Man, and our friends from BG Cage the Elephant. We like to play volleyball, hit grounders, ride minibikes, and play music. We don't take ourselves too seriously."
     It also appears that the band just finished up a small "Home Videos" tour with nine dates according to their Facebook page playing Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, Chicago and venues in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. That's definitely a step in the right direction for new and upcoming band. All they need now is a record deal. If they stay on the track that they are on now, I'm sure it will happen soon for them. Talent, hard work and conviction is what it takes to make it in the record business this day and age.  And it looks like Buffalo Rodeo has all the elements from what I am seeing and hearing.
    If you want to want to see Buffalo Rodeo perform live, it looks like you will have a chance in the near future. They will be playing at the first annual Stucky Music Festival May 17th and 18th at Park Mammoth Resort on Highway Ky. 31-W right off I-65 at the Park City exit.
   Band members include, Nathaniel Davis - Guitar, Zach Prestion - Vocals, Ryan Gilbert - Drums, Patrick Duncan - Bass, Jordan Reynolds - Keys/Vocals. Apparently, this not their first EP or digital EP either. They have several others called, "Wanderers," July 2011, then "Common Cults," May 2012 and "Cargo," September 2012.
   You can check out Buffalo Rodeo on Facebook, Twitter, reverbnation.com/buffalorodeo and buffalrodeo.bandcamp.com