BURLAP TO CASHMERE BAND HEADLINES KICKOFF OF CITY OF ROSES MUSIC FESTIVAL

The marketers don't quite know what to do with Burlap to Cashmere. Their sound, which roils with Flamenco guitars and soars with harmonies worthy of Simon and Garfunkel, fits no niche.

Christian radio likes the band's spiritual bent, and now mainstream radio is being challenged to make room for the Brooklyn band with the unusual sound and name.

The band just shot the video for its first mainstream single, "Digee Dime," off its CD "Anybody Out There?" and earlier this week performed at a College Television Network showcase closely watched by MTV and VH1.

Burlap to Cashmere is headlining tonight's opening of the City of Roses Music Festival in downtown Cape Girardeau. The band will play at 10:30 on the Main Stage across from Hutson's Furniture Store, followed by local heroes Papa Aborigine at midnight.

The festival begins at 6:30 p.m. today with The Brown Baggers playing Cajun music on the Main Stage and Damascus Road performing at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. Music will continue on both those stages throughout the evening and gets started at Mudsuckers at 7 p.m. with Mustapha & Fara & Don.

The Southeast Big Band also begins performing at 7 p.m. at the Swing Stage at the corner of Main Street and Themis.

Music begins at the other venues -- the Yacht Club, Broussards, Rude Dog, Ragsdale's Upstairs, Detours, Ragsdale's Downstairs, Mollies, Kelsen Gallery, the Wine Cellar and Touch of Grace -- at 8 p.m. and continues at some until 1 a.m.

Saturday's schedule begins at 11 a.m. with Puppet Power at the River Campus. The action on the Main Stage begins at 1 p.m. with DC Tryal, culminating with the St. Louis jazz band El Buho at 11 p.m.

Burlap to Cashmere sounds so eclectic because each of the seven members of the band has very different tastes in music, said drummer Theodore Pagano by phone from an East Coast tour date.

Steven DeLopoulos, the lead singer and songwriter, grew up listening to what Pagano calls "old folk" -- Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel and James Taylor. Other members of the band are fans of Sting, Santana and the Beatles.

The band evolved out of DeLopoulos' theater projects at Marymount College. One of those projects was named Burlap to Cashmere.

Having an unusual sound "has been both a blessing and a curse," Pagano said. "The label wants to sign you because you're different. And they're afraid because you're different."

He says Burlap to Cashmere ultimately was signed to a contract because of their live show. "There's no way anyone can fool you there."

The band's music sounds as if they've had classical training, but that's really not the case. "Most of us are old rock 'n' rollers who got bored with rock 'n' roll," Pagano said.

"You can take a rock 'n' roll lick that you play on the electric guitar and play it on a nylon string guitar, and you are halfway there."

Burlap to Cashmere has a Christian orientation -- some members are Catholic, some are Greek Orthodox and some are born-again Christians -- but they don't want to be promoted as a Christian rock band.

"That's not what we are," Pagano said. "... We're a band with a very positive message. That's how we choose to make it."

They returned a month ago from a tour that took them to Holland, London, Kuwait and Bahrain. The Middle Eastern portion was the trip on behalf of the USO.

They have played some big Christian festivals of 60,000 and 70,000 people. And for two weeks they opened for Hootie and the Blowfish. A week and a half ago they opened for the Village People.

"We are all spiritual people and we believe in what we're saying," Pagano said. "But we don't want to choose the route of a Christian band."