John is the guitarist for a band called Burlap to Cashmere. I met him after a show that I didn’t see and I had never heard of the band. After a 30 minute chat (and some research I did later) I found out that Burlap to Cashmere is a pretty well known act in both the worlds of Christian and secular music. In fact my brother had one of their CDs in his car stereo when it was stolen many years ago. I think John had a good time chatting with someone who had absolutely no idea who he was.
John describes Burlap to Cashmere as Paul Simon meets Cat Stevens over Greek Balkan music. To try to figure out what that means we listen to a portion of their song Build A Wall. John also likens the band to “an acoustic version of Rush,” meaning they are an acquired taste but put on a great live show.
We talk about crazy Greek time signatures, his family’s connection to Bon Jovi, having a limo driver at 18, and being recognized in Dunkin Donuts. It’s like a really interesting episode of Behind The Music, but one in which no one dies of a drug overdose. Meet my good friend John.