Deep in the recesses of underground Indiana, Pennsylvania, there is a place where the creatures of the night gather to feast on the soul of music. The Cage; AKA; The Bomb Shelter, The Dungeon, is a crazy music studio off of Philadelphia Street in downtown Indiana directly across the street from The Coney. Throughout the early 1900's, the space currently known as The Cage was part of a local bowling alley/billiards business. In the 60's and 70's it was converted into a barbershop. It wasn't until the 80's that the first stirrings of The Cage began when it was rented out to some crazy local muthas who started a band called DOA (Dead On Arrival). DOA did some serious remodeling and converted the space into a jam room, welding the now infamous black metal bar door that has come to signify The Cage. DOA jammed The Cage until 1988 when a group of young musically talented maniacs took over and created the local heavy metal band Phantom Crew . More than a decade of pure decadence followed as the Crew unleashed hell upon the world, cutting 9 albums and taking the local music scene by storm. Phantom Crew played the bars and clubs throughout western PA and have opened for bands such as Overkill, Fight, Tortured Soul and many others. They developed quite a local following and created a lasting legacy by throwing down some of the sickest shows around. In 1999, Phantom Crew handed the keys to a few friends in a small band called Blinder. Blinder jammed away for 2 years until 2001 when the sky parted and the keys were given to Growing Ears On Mice (GEOM), a 3 piece band that excelled in partying and creating music.
Since then, GEOM has turned The Cage into a swirling musical scene, opening the steel door to many musicians who come to party and jam. Groups such as The Mourning Sun, Philly St. Junction , Hexen , Exile , Locked Attic , Negative Zero, Kill Floor, Miztreater, Necrotomie, Stomper, Tainted Saint, The Screaming Jimmies, Canyon, Growing Ears On Mice, The Student Painters, Mr. Scary, Otis McGuffy, Tim Ball, Another Abstract Artist, Porno Jesus, Acid Reflux, Gene Mupley, Sum of it's Parts, LaPhone, Back Alley Sally, Dr. Funkenstein, In Sight of June, Soundrive, Jimmy James, 44 MAG, The Scraps, Oliver Squash, Kronos, Sparrow, Catalyst, Popcan Soundsystem, Pennsyltucky Soul Fried Chicken, Jason Greene, Dauntia, Subdue, Dublin Rising and numerous other musical talents have jammed The Cage. Numerous musicians have gone on to join other bands and create their own albums. Phantom Crew guitarist, Randy Weitzel, with help from Cage Rat John Tedeski (drums), went on to produce two albums, Angels in Dementia and Welcome to Delirium. He later moved to sunny California where, in 2003, he helped create and produce one album under the band name Blackfall (self titled). He then joined the heavy metal band FLATLINE and added his lead guitar wizardry to their latest and greatest album release Massive Aggressive (2005). Flatline is currently tearing up the west coast scene throughout LA and the surrounding areas. Mike Barnett, Phantom Crew drummer, moved to Colorado and became a music professor at the University of Colorado. In 2003, along with 2 other friends, he created the band Tainted Saint where he added his unique drumming and percussion talents for their only album Night Everlasting. He has since joined up with Cage Rat Mike Ball and others to create the 2005 debut release of FATED Defectus Eternus a 4-song heavy metal release recorded by Jim Haydon at Complex One Recording Studio in Indiana, PA. Mike also has a few classical tunes he created while at the Univ. of Colorado. Mike is currently the drummer for the awesome band Dofka - check them out!!!
So, what is The Cage? The Cage is not a club or a bar, but rather an underground music scene where people can go to have fun and enjoy music. The atmosphere is a constant party where musicians are welcome to perform and let their music be heard. Genres of music span from, but arent limited to, rock, heavy, alternative, blues, punk, bluegrass, psychedelic, comedic and whatever comes out the pipe. The Cage is usually open on Friday nights at 9PM to whenever the party ends. Sometimes we close to go live life somewhere else. Watch our schedule for open/close dates.The max capacity of The Cage is app. 50 bodies, and that would be tight (40 fit comfortably). Its not a very large place, some nights its packed and others its not, people come in and out all night. There are couches and seats, a fridge for cold drinks, a bathroom, beer pong on demand, a stage area with an elevated drum stage and plenty of room to dance your ass off!!! We are located in a college town (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and often get a college crowd along with our local friends and there are numerous bars/clubs located right outside our door. Anybody interested in visiting or playing at The Cage are encouraged to contact us or just show up and check out the scene. We are all usually broke so we cant pay any bands to play here if you want to play The Cage it must be for the fun of jamming and getting your music heard. We are not a top notch professional facility, we like to cut loose and party and have a good time so expect a wild time if you do come down. Check out all the sites affiliated with The Cage and listen to some tunes and let us know what you think. Support Local Music!!! Giving new meaning to Underground Music!!!
Come check us out on Friday nights!
B.Y.O.B.!
Our friend Jeff has an awesome flash presentation on his page about The Cage. Go and check it out, it's pretty cool, and you'll know how to get there!
You can also check out The Cage's website
In Memory of Timothy Dotts - R.I.P. 8/28/81 - 4/18/05.
Tim enjoying a cold one at The Cage.
In Memory of Michael Rugh (AKA: JJ) R.I.P. 5/15/82 - 12/15/01.
Jammin' with Angels......
