Eargasm
CASHMERE JUNGLE LORDS >> BLOODSTONE FOLLIES.
LITTLE ABNER 2006

It was June of 1993. I had just graduated high school and was free at last to revel in what I like to refer to as "the Golden Age of the Outer Banks." This was back when men like Deannie Fantone, Lynn Shell, Barry Price, Scott Busby, and Stuart Taylor ruled the lineups with unearthly tuberiding prowess. Back when OBX stickers weren't plastered on every automobile from Wanchese to Guam. Back when the iconic Mex-Econo restaurant still breathed life into the Graveyard of the Atlantic. It was there at Mex-Econo's where I first got an earful of Cashmere Jungle Lords, a smoky Richmond, VA, trio who aptly refer to their sound as "Southern Fried Salsa Surfabilly." The Lords played one of the first shows ever at Mex-Econo's, and one of the last, and quickly earned a dedicated following for their feelgood, backwoods flavor spiced up with a hybridized departure incorporating an acoustic "swamp set" -- double bass fiddle, congas, bongos, tambourine, and maracas. As for their on-stage presence, any fan will swear that their skits and antics rival Southern Culture On The Skids' fried chicken tossings.  

The Lords' latest, Bloodstone Follies, features 16 unreleased songs as good as anything they put out back in the day, including "Moyock Speed Trap," which conjures up painful images of flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror during a late-night 'Ghani run through Currituck County. Meanwhile, songs like "Marigold" evoke nostalgia of sea oats whizzing past at 60 mph as you and your best friend rush through Pea Island to greet a south swell. And the pop song of the bunch, "Summer Horoscope," transports you to one of those days where everything goes perfectly: Helen's biscuits for breakfast, Rodanthe shacks for lunch, and a duneside romantic interlude for dinner. 

Mex-Econo's has since shut their doors for good, OBX has officially overtaken "the Banks" as the preferred namesake for the island, and I don't recognize half these kids chop-hopping the KDH shorebreak nowadays. But all it takes is one listen of the Cashmere Jungle Lords to take me back to the greatest days of my wasted youth. By Matt Pruett