photo via http://www.burlaptocashmere.com
Back when I worked for a little indie newspaper in Los Angeles County, I had the incredible opportunity of interviewing the band Burlap to Cashmere. They were one of my favorite bands at the time, making the whole experience of calling them up to chat — I remember I interrupted percussionist Scott Barksdale’s breakfast — and seeing them play live at Hollywood’s Key Club intensely exciting. I was a real journalist, reporting on real stars!
I felt an immediate connection to Burlap to Cashmere. The fast guitar, the earthy drumbeats, the yelps, the ethnic undertones — it was all so reminiscent of the Greek folk music I grew up listening to at family gatherings … and yet it was modern and lyrical too, preceding the whole indie folk rock movement. The two founding members, cousins Steven Delopoulos and John Philippidis, were Greek like me. Not only that, they were from New Jersey like me. Their songs were poetry. Their songs were full of Truth and Beauty and Love.
That was more than a decade ago, and they hadn’t put out an album since their Dove Award-winning Anybody Out There? (1998) until now. Today, they release their new self-titled album. The line up of the band has changed a bit, but Delopoulos, Philippidis, and Theodore Pagano are still in it. The new album, Burlap to Cashmere, features songs like the heavily Greek-influenced “Santorini,” the sixties folk rock-sounding “Love Reclaims the Atmosphere,” and the hopeful and faithful “The Other Country.” Watch videos here.
Hopefully, they’ll be at the Bitter End this summer!
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
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