Cashmere Jungle Lords came out of the vibrant cowpunk club scene in Richmond Virginia during the mid 1980's. In their early years they made a name for themselves opening for highly touted national acts like Wall of Voodoo, Lords of the New Church and blowing them off the stage. They toured the eastern half of the US incessantly promoting their two vinyl releases. The records charted heavily on college radio. A few labels expressed interest, but no one wanted to put a contract under their noses. They pressed on. No industry support came.
Original drummer Sean Sumner committed an act of violence against guitarist Dominic Carpin's best friend. He went to the Richmond City Jail for 8 months and was replaced by mullet-wearin' moustache sportin' John Bonham wannabe "Jungle" Jim Kaylis. Bassist John " Rainbo Brite" Moore and Dominic took Kaylis under their wings and taught him how to be cool and how to play drums Jungle Lords style. The band toured on, building a strong following from New York to New Orleans with their eclectic blend of danceable retro latin surf rockabilly blend.
The band slowed down a bit when bassit John Moore and guitarist Dominic Carpin decided to settle down and raise a few children. In 1998 they released their critically acclaimed CD, Southern Barber Supply. The disc received high praise in numerous prominent magazines and newspapers. The group opened for The Who at Charlotte Pavilion in August 1998. They conducted the trans-continental El Nino Tour to support the disc and secured distribution through Red Eye in Chapel Hill, NC. They backed rockabilly legend Robert Gordon, and licensed all of Southern Barber Supply to MTV for use on Real World and Road Rules episodes.
2006 marked the release of Bloodstone Follies, a full-length CD that landed the group smack dab in the middle of the burgeoning Vaudeville Rock Burlesque Revival. In 2008 they digitally re-mixed and re-mastered all the original analog vinyl recordings and added three bonus tracks from their seminal beginning phase. The group just returned from a successful two-show stint at Floyd Fest. This fall they hope to perform at The State Fair of Virginia and Virginia Beach Neptune Festival.