Jared Lloyd Champion (born February 27, 1983) is the drummer for American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Cage the Elephant Cage the Elephant is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their Cage the Elephant (album), self-titled first album was released. The ban ...

Early life and career

Champion was born and raised in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. In high school, Champion, with current bandmate

Matt Shultz Matthew Ray Shultz (born October 23, 1983) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band Cage the Elephant. Early life Matthew Ray Shultz was born on October 23, 1983, and raised in Bowling Gr ...

, were in a cover band called Liquid Twilight. Champion needed a singer for the cover band, so Shultz agreed to do it. It is unknown when they broke up. However, Champion and Shultz left Liquid Twilight because they wanted to write original music. After Liquid Twilight came to an end, Champion—along with Matt and Brad Shultz—were in a band that formed in 2001 called Perfect Confusion, which also included members Thomas Bullen (lead guitar)–who later joined Bowling Green band

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–and David Kem (bass). Although the band broke up in 2005, the members occasionally have reunions and perform at Tidball's, a Bowling Green bar and local music venue.

Career

After Cage the Elephant formed in 2006, Champion, along with the rest of the band, moved to the United Kingdom to gain moderate success with their self-titled debut LP, releasing in Europe on June 23, 2008, and in the United States on March 24, 2009. Following the release of the band's second studio LP, ''

Thank You, Happy Birthday ''Thank You, Happy Birthday'' is the second studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. It was released on January 11, 2011 to positive critical reception. The album was produced by Jay Joyce, who worked in the same capacity on the band' ...

'', Champion's appendix burst during a concert while touring with

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

. Former

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drummer and Foo Fighters' frontman,

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

, took Champion's place as the drummer for 3 shows during the tour while Champion was being hospitalized. In 2014, while touring to promote Cage the Elephant's third studio LP, Melophobia, Champion took family leave. Kyle Davis, drummer for Nashville band Chrome Pony, took his place during the shows Champion missed. In March, 2014, Champion played drums on Juliette Lewis' EP, '' Future Deep'', that was produced by bandmate Brad Shultz. From June 5 to 8, 2017, Champion played with The 8G Band on the late-night show ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...

''. Champion is an endorser of Masters of Maple drums, using a custom made kit and

Zildjian The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the com ...

cymbals plus Promark sticks and Evans heads.

Personal life

Champion holds eighteen swim team records at Greenwood High School in Bowling Green; 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Outside of Cage the Elephant, Champion composes instrumental and hip-hop pieces as a hobby. In late 2015 to early 2016, he scored a short film featured in the

Nashville Film Festival The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...

. In November 2014, Champion's first daughter was born. In June 2016, he proposed to his now wife, Alicia. In July 2017, Champion and Alicia got married. In January 2019, the couple welcomed their second daughter. Champion is a keen

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

fan and an avid supporter of

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

Champion also has a musical act with his daughter called Castle Champ. It has an experimental feel with several genres mixed in.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Jared 1983 births 21st-century American drummers American male drummers American rock drummers Cage the Elephant members Drummers from Kentucky Living people Musicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky