The Cages' Biography

THE CAGES
BIOGRAPHY

The story of The Cages is one in which music and artistic vision came first,
and everything else was such a distant second that it hardly mattered....

The Cages are Clayton Cages and Aven, two singer/songwriters and multi-instrumentalists who first teamed up in Atlanta during the early '90s, when Clayton, who was tinkering with his home-studio set-up, overheard Aven, formerly Peabo Bryson's saxophonist, playing his sax down the hall of their apartment building. After about a year of experimenting with instrumentation and developing a signature two-part harmony sound, the Cages emerged with a slew of songs and more than a little bit of confidence in the music they were creating. A few informal gigs, in a few bars, for a few friends, were met with lots of enthusiasm and lots of advice: "Make a demo tape." "Get a manager." "Get a lawyer."

Instead, Clayton and Aven decided it was time to take their act on the road and drove to New York City, which proved to be the turning point in their career. An impromptu gig at a New York club won the respect and admiration of numerous major label executives and publishers. With guitars strapped and without a demo tape, the Cages were secure in their plan to march into the offices of all the record company presidents and play their songs live. As a result, they were greeted with a flood of recording offers and flown to the west coast. Word of mouth spread as the Cages found themselves in the enviable position of having virtually every major record company clamoring for their collective talents. The Cages eventually signed with Capitol Records, which released Hometown in 1992 to critical acclaim. This was coupled with a successful 80 city tour, four Top 40 AAA singles, and numerous television appearances, including the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, TNN's Crook & Chase, Nashville Now, CMT, MTV, VH-1.

Fast forward....

The Cages currently make their home in Los Angeles, CA. After several years hiatus tending to the demands of parenthood, they reunited in 1998 and began the process of recording Wave of Light. This independent release contains all the Cages' special elements: the melding of acoustic instruments, heartfelt lyrics, signature harmonies wrapped around sensitive melodies and driving, rhythmic songs that transcend into the new millenium. Aven has also recorded numerous solo albums, most recently ANTHOLOGY, a special ten year anniversary collection of works from 1992-present.

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