Tonight, The Black Cadillacs bring their Tennessee swagger to King Avenue 5. The whole band came together at The University of Tennessee of Knoxville where guitarist, John Philips, was a journalism major. Previously supporting bands such as The Alabama Shakes and The Delta Saints, the guys are out on a tour of their own, with dates in Lexington, New York, and Asheville. Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Philips during a break from moving a piano. Seriously.
Briana Henry: I watched an interview you guys did for Red Bull Sound Select and it was said that you wanted your live performance to be as if you were playing a house party. How do you accomplish that?
John Philips: What we like to accomplish is that we want it to have a really intimate feeling and where we can feed off of the energy of the crowd. You want people to feel connected to you.
BH: Can you give me some details about your current project? You’ve been in the studio, when will it be finished?
JP: We just finished up in the studio with a producer in Nashville for the first time. It’s kind of a secret of what we’re doing with the tracks.
BH: I love that Tennessee has its own kind of a rock and roll. Are there any bands you’re listening to from there? Have you heard of Modoc?
JP: I saw Modoc recently and was blown away. For the last week I’ve only been listening to our stuff since we’ve been in the studio. I’ve also recently just got back into The Raconteurs.
Here is one of my favorite tracks off of their latest effort, Run:
While there are a ton of artists coming out of Tennessee lately, this one is legit. Add a little bit of the south to your mouth tonight at 8:00 PM at King Avenue 5 with The Black Cadillacs and Thaddeus Green.