Favorite Album of the Month. Perhaps of the Year: "Burlap to Cashmere"

Last month I finally got to attend the concert I missed twelve years ago. And this month I finally got to hear the album I've been waiting twelve years to hear.

Back in 1999, Burlap to Cashmere released its first full-length album, Anybody Out There? I was captivated on the first listen by the band's distinctive mix of driving ethnic rhythms, virtuoso acoustic guitar, tight harmonies, beautiful melodies, and rich lyrics that alternated between being overtly confessional ("Basic Intructions") and mysteriously mystical ("Skin is Burning"). Here is a live version of the first song, performed in the late '90s:

The group was promoted as the latest and greatest CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) group, but despite their often obvious Christian lyrics, there was something more at work. I soon discovered that the group's lead singer and main songwriter, Steven Delopoulos, is a practicing Greek Orthodox whose lyrics are born from a deep and serious faith. In this 2009 interview on The Ladder, Delopoulos said that if he hadn't become a musician, he likely would have pursued the priesthood. He also said:

How did you feel about the Orthodox Church as a teen, and how do you feel about it now?

There was mystery back then, the Orthodox Church made God mysterious, made me want to know God. There’s so much mystery and beauty and even as an adult, no matter where my mind is, I can still walk into the Greek Orthodox Church for service and be caught up in that mystery. Who is God, why am I here? Imagine just being infused with that notion of mystery. We’d be changed forever; we’d go to places we’ve never imagined. I still feel same way. There’s a mystery, a connection, a social connection, it’s where I’ve experienced weddings, baptisms and funerals, it’s the center for my art, my life and hopefully my future and who I am as an older person. ...

I gather that you love story telling- what’s your favorite story from the Bible?

Obviously the death and resurrection, there’s just so many layers to that, it’s overwhelming. As an artist there’s so many layers, every moment we die and resurrect. Christ died and rose from the dead and became alive again. So Christ’s death and resurrection is an ongoing story. Losing family members, a baby being born, getting a job, calling an old friend, all of those moments of change are a death and resurrection. Whether it’s in the form or a molecule or the form of a huge, huge impactful event. To me, the resurrection travels in every entity of God’s creation-it’s a very powerful visual in my mind. Of course you have the historical and then the spiritual aspects. The Bible says when we get baptized, we die with Christ, when we come out of the water we’re alive in Christ. The process of salvation, of dying and being reborn, every time we take communion, every time we get on our knees, and even the layers of every moment, my mind travels to the death and resurrection.

The themes of redemption, death, resurrection, discipleship, and divine life permeate Delopoulos' writing. His two solo albums, Me Died Blue (2003) and Straightjacket (2007) bear the musical influences of his musical heroes—Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison—but the lyrics are distinctively—here's the word again—mystical, sacramental, incarnational. Rather than protest social ills, Delopoulos more often grapples with spiritual ills and glimpses of divine glory, using poetry that draws often (if not always obviously) from Scripture, the ascetic heritage of the Faith, and the sacamental life of the Church. In the song, "Jungle Trail", he writes of the divine life in this way:

There’s a fire burning inside me
Makes the lame walk and the blind to see
Here I am wandering on what I should be
The old earth, the moon, the sun
Some wings to rise the dawn

In the (mostly) accapella-rendered, gospel-flavored song, "May I Always Keep My Feet Upon the Ground", Delopoulos captures the simple but essential struggle faced by every disciple of Christ:

March through the desert
Pray for the rain
Crucify, no more pain
May I always keep my feet upon the ground

Crucify
May I always keep my feet upon the ground

And in "As If Love Was a Sword", he deftly mixes obviously biblical imagery and more contemporary motifs:

All the wandering sheep will be found
And the mountains will tumble away
The dreamers that fly, they’ll return to the ground
As the sorrow returns the colors will stray
And the sheep that were found
They go sailing away

She opened her eyes to the One
He shined her with all of his glory
And the music above was a children’s choir
As the old man was snoring
The orchestra roared
And they bowed to the throne as if love was a sword

But I digress, yet only because I think Delopoulos is a criminally-underrated song writer and lyricist who deserves far, far more listeners. Check out some of his solo work here and here and here. While I had (and have) a very high opinon of his solo work, I wondered, "What about Burlap to Cashmere?" Turns out they had been waylaid by at least two significant problems: one rather ordinary (at least for bands), and one horrifying and nearly deadly. First, the ordinary, as reported in this June 22, 2011, SoundSpike.com article:

"It was very typical band story," drummer Teddy Pagano told SoundSpike. "When we broke up we were probably mid-20s. We'd been at it for a good seven years, six or seven years. We just toured and toured and toured and ran ourselves into the ground, and started to fight. We just had enough at some point, you know? We decided to call it quits. ... "But when we broke up, we all did different things. Johnny did some session work. I moved to England and did interior design and worked for Apple and National Geographic and IKEA and all these different companies to completely get away from music for a bit."

Then, in 2005, just as Delopoulos and his cousin, John Philippidis, the band's brilliant guitarist, were working on reforming the band, the not-so-ordinary happened. Philippidis was driving home in Brooklyn one evening when he was hit by a car that ran a red light. When he climbed out of his car, the two men and a woman in the other car attacked him and almost beat him to death. He was in a coma for nearly a month, and he had to have major facial reconstruction surgery; he will soon have more surgery, as the Kansas City Star newspaper reports:

These days, Philippidis looks like a chiseled rock star, shredding guitar onstage in his skinny jeans, fitted shirt and dark sunglasses. The glasses hide a slightly closed eye, which can be fixed with one last surgery, and there is a C-shaped scar on his buzzed head from a tube doctors inserted to alleviate pressure on the brain.

Philippidis has 13 titanium implants in his face. Doctors replaced the orbital bones in his face, his forehead and jawline. They also had to reconstruct his nose and sinuses.

His two male attackers are in prison, and the woman who was with them fled the country. Despite the unprovoked brutality of the situation that almost cost Philippidis his life, he and the rest of the band refer to it as the “accident.”

“I view it as an accident, personally. I think we all do, because you can’t really hold on to anything. I’m not really angry. I get to sit here with my cousin and somebody that I grew up with since I’m 11 years old and play music,” Philippidis said. “That anybody claps for our music is the biggest reward you can receive. We’re just happy to be here.”

Here's a short video of the band talking about the past few years of trials and challenges:

A month ago, on June 22nd, my wife and I were among those who clapped for the music, live and in person, at the Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon, at the band's first stop on a short tour of the West Coast. The new album—simply titled Burlap to Cashmere—had not yet been released (it came out last Tuesday), but the three new songs playing on the band's site sounded great. I didn't have to think twice about driving up I-5 for the show. After all, I had missed my chance to see the group in concert back in 1999, and then got to hear how wonderful they were from a friend who had first heard of Burlap to Cashmere from me (that always hurts! A quick side note: my ultimate, "Why didn't I go to that concert?!" was a chance to see Jeff Buckley in Portland in 1995. I'll always regret missing that one.) The band played for a little over an hour—but what an hour it was, as they performed the new album in its entirety with the perfect marriage of precision and passion that you only hear live every so often. Once again, the songs captured me at once with their gorgeous melodies and harmonies and kept my attention with their haunting, opaque lyrics. For example, here is some of "Love Reclaims the Atmosphere" (and here is the entire song on YouTube):

Oh the dizziness of traffic as her garden starts to wither
She opens up her violin so the darkness can forgive her
And today we'll crucify the fear
As love reclaims the atmosphere

Be honest in transition when preparing for the feast
Send blessings to your critics and careful with the least of these
Release the prisoners free

I've now listened to the new album a couple of dozen times, and it's difficult to point to a favorite song; it really must be listened to as a whole. Again, the influences are there ("The Other Country", for example, is clearly in homage, musically, to Van Morrison), but they are appropriated fully and respectfully for ends that are uniquely "Burlap to Cashmere". The new album (okay, okay: "CD") does not have the high (frenetic!) energy that dominated Anybody Out There?, but there is a sparsness, subtlety, and maturity to the playing that only comes with time and real artistry, and there is a depth to the writing that comes through real trials and true faith. It's a true joy to hear this outstanding band—both live and on the stereo—after all these years.

Comments

[Mjordanlichens]

Carl, this is among the many reasons you remain my favourite blogger. Because, let's face it, news like this would have missed me and now I'm as excited as all get out. I didn't even know this band was back together but from the few tracks I've heard, it sounds amazing. Thanks, as always!

[Carl E. Olson]

Thanks, Michael, for the very kind comment! Consider this post something of a "thank you!" for introducing me, years ago, to the music of Muse. And do come visit Eugene when you are able. You are missed!

[Joe]

Wow. What a story and review. Thanks.

[Gregory Williams]

There was a little church on the space coast (Titusville, FL) that hosted their very own Christian music festival. Burlap to Cashmere and the News Boys were the biggest names I recall from there. Other artists included Jenny Varnadeau, Raze (I think that was their name), Christafari, and more than I can remember. My favorite discovery was a jazz band called Rhythm. Their lead singer, Reggie Scott, still offers their music on iTunes (google "Reggie Scott Rhythm".)

But, yeah, merely thinking of "Is there anybody out there?" gives me shivers. Great stuff.

[Greg]

Carl, I'm SO glad you posted this! Along with Jars of Clay and DC Talks' first albums, as well as some of Caedmon's Call acoustic material, Burlap to Cashmere's "Is Anybody Out There?" was pivotal in my early relationship with Christ. I have always hoped Burlap would put a second album out. I'm excited to go out and get it!

Also, as a side note: I use the song "Basic Instructions" when I teach 7th and 8th grade Religion to help them memorize John 3:16. It works like a charm!

Keep up the great work!
Greg