I recently had the chance to interview Cadillac Three member, Kelby Ray. He gave us some great insight from his childhood inspirations, international travel, touring with Jake Owen and seeing the success that Jake has had with Days of Gold.
Let’s talk about The Cadillac Three as a whole to start. The Cadillac Three is composed of three best friends from high school: Jaren Johnson, Neil Mason, and Kelby Ray. They have been playing music together since high school when they would jam in theirs and their friend’s garages and at their high school parties. Starting from high school jam sessions to currently touring with Jake Owen on the Days of Gold tour, the group has experienced so much in their musical career. In between, they have gone through a major name change, a change in their music style, and doing the long road trips in a van all of which brought them to today where they are seeing their dreams become realities.
Speaking with Kelby and getting to know him a little bit, I quickly realized that he is an awesome, laid back guy that genuinely loves what he does. He loves being outside and will do anything that allows him to do so. From fishing and hunting to riding motorcycles, there is no doubt that Kelby is a man’s man. And honestly, he was hilarious. I started the interview by telling him he didn’t have to respond to any question that he didn’t feel comfortable answering- he quickly responded saying he wasn’t going to respond to any which brought laughter from both of us.
So let’s get to know Kelby Ray a bit more. Although he can’t speak for Jaren and Neil, I have a feeling based on how close these guys are, that those two would have similar answers to Kelby.
Kelby Ray grew up listening to 80’s country and that was what really inspired him. His biggest inspiration was Hank Williams Jr., but also included and still includes The Oakridge Boys, Alabama, Wayland and Tom Petty. Kelby surprised me when he told me he also really enjoys the music of pop-sensation Katy Perry and bluegrass singer Alison Krauss. I can almost guarantee the variety of music on his iPhone is extensive and probably surprising.
Kelby explained to me that the favorite venue that he has gotten to play so far in his career is the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado- which is known for being one of the most beautiful and spectacular concert venues in the country. Admittedly, he did say that he enjoys being in the northeast with specific mentions of the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion on Lake Winnepausakee in Gilford, NH. Staying with that outdoor amphitheater theme, Kelby said that the venue he is most excited to play at is The Gorge in Washington in August.
Kelby has been lucky enough to play with Neil and Jaren for the last 14 to 15 years, going back to high school. The three of them plus a fourth friend named, Ben Brown, were in a band called American Bang that was more of a pop-rock type of band compared to their country-rock music now. American Bang was signed out of Los Angeles and after trying to do the pop-rock thing, they just decided it wasn’t who they were- there were too many people telling them what they needed to sound like rather than letting them do what they do- like Big Machine lets them do. They learned from their mistakes and moved on and now get to play the music they really want to play. Ben and the guys still keep in touch, as Ben also lives in Nashville, and see each other but Kelby acknowledged it is tough to see each other and such when friends start having children and families of their own. After the American Bang disbanded, Kelby, Jaren, and Neil went on to become a band called The Cadillac Black. Little did they know, however, there was already a band with a similar name. Some legal issues arose from this and that is when Kelby, Jaren, and Neil became what we know today as The Cadillac Three.
Being The Cadillac Black before becoming The Cadillac Three, I asked Kelby where the ‘cadillac’ theme came from and he told me that they thought the cadillac theme sounded cool and that to them, growing up, Cadillacs were a sign of success like Johnny Cash and Elvis.
Kelby describes The Cadillac Three’s music as, “Hank Williams Jr., Metallica, Tom Petty, and Dierks Bentley (who was the first country artist that took the guys on the road) and a dash of spicy pepper sauce in a shot glass and then shoot it- that’s probably what you’re going to get.” They were once even described by someone as the house band at a country monster truck rally. He later said, “come check us out, you will not be disappointed in our live concert, we like to have a good time, and we will probably drink a beer with your afterwards.”
Dierks isn’t the only country artist to take The Cadillac Three on the road with him. Eric Church took them to the United Kingdom with him earlier this spring in which they performed several shows around the UK as well as some shows in places like Ireland and Sweden. The guys recently returned to the UK and completed a couple of shows in London, including taking part in a rock festival on the same night as Metallica and a headlining show the next night as well. Kelby said that the crowds across the pond are great and they really appreciate music. “They don’t get a lot of southern rock country, so they get really excited.”
Later this year, The Cadillac Three will join Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Colt Ford, Cole Swindell, Tyler Farr, Chris Lane and other artists on the This Is How We Cruise cruise that travels from Miami to the Bahamas on the Norwegian Pearl from November 8th to the 12th.
Of all things on the cruise, Kelby is hoping to play some craps with Nelly. (The ship may have to put a maximum bet on their craps table if these two get on a roll!) This won’t be the first time that The Cadillac Three has played some shows with Florida Georgia Line- they actually played some shows with Tyler and Brian when there were as few as 50 people in the room. This also isn’t The Cadillac Three’s first cruise with fans- they were previously on the Lynrd Skynrd cruise which was Kelby described as, “a couple of thousand rednecks having a great time.”
Right now, Kelby and The Cadillac Three are on the road with Jake Owen on his Days of Gold tour. Many people probably don’t know that Jaren and Neil actually wrote the song Days of Gold and it was originally recorded by The Cadillac Three on their self-titled debut album. So I had to ask how it is to not only see Jake perform their song but also name his newest album and tour after their song. Kelby described it as really flattering to see and that it is pretty awesome to see Jake perform Days of Gold and actually name the tour after the song. Jaren actually wrote many songs on Jake’s new album including one of the biggest hits, Beachin’, which is currently number one on the Mediabase country single chart and also on the Billboard Hot Country Airplay chart. It’s safe to say that The Cadillac Three has made it’s mark on the country music industry so far this year.
Cadillac Three Member, Jaren Johnston, with Jake Owen.
When asked about how it is to be on tour with Jake, Kelby said, “one word: party. There’s always cold beer everywhere, and he makes the stage look like a tiki bar/hut on the beach and there’s everything but sand there. So it’s great. Everyone in his band is really cool; he’s awesome, he’s laid back and loves to have a good time, and puts on a great show. His crowd is really great, and we get to get out there first and warm the crowd up so it’s fun every night.” But it wasn’t always like this for The Cadillac Three. Like most artists, Kelby and the guys paid their dues and toured in a van for almost nine years before getting in a tour bus. And this is what Kelby describes as one of the most difficult times in his music career. “Late night drives from Texas to Nashville (in a van) on a Saturday night when you have to work on Monday morning. Paid a lot of dues. If you can get to the point where you’re on a tour bus, you must be doing something right.”
It is very apparent that despite his and his bandmates’ success, Kelby remains very down to earth and is very appreciative of all they have been through and all of the great people they have encountered in country music. His advice to aspiring young musicians? “Play shows, play shows, play shows, and write songs, write songs, write songs. You’re only going to get better by writing more songs and playing more gigs.”
So if you want to see one hell of a show by three best friends from high school who absolutely loves what they are doing, go see The Cadillac Three.
After a show last night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT with Jake Owen and Frankie Ballard, the guys will return to New England a few times over the next month including on July 16th in Portsmouth, NH at the Thirsty Moose Tap House and also on July 27th at the sold-out Country 102.5 Street Party!
Also, check out The Cadillac Three’s new single, Party Like You. You can purchase this song on iTunes now here.
Tickets to see The Cadillac Three:
- July 16th: Thirsty Moose Tap House with Ryan Brooks Kelly (Portsmouth, NH)
- July 27th: Country 102.5 Street Party (Boston, MA)
Make sure you follow The Cadillac Three on Twitter here, as well as the guys’ personal pages- Kelby, Jaren, and Neil.