Pepper (band)

Pepper is a three-piece reggae rock band originally from Hawaii,[3] now based in San Diego.[4] The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Kaleo Wassman, vocalist/bassist Bret Bollinger, and drummer Yesod Williams. Since the band's formation they have released seven studio albums as well as two live albums.

For other uses, see Pepper (disambiguation).
Pepper
Pepper performing on the Vans Warped Tour, on August 3, 2007.
Background information
OriginKailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States
GenresReggae rock,[1][2] alternative rock, ska, dub
Years active1997–present
LabelsPepper, LAW Records, Volcom Entertainment, Lava/Atlantic, Powerslave Records, Skunk Records
Associated actsSabotage Soundsystem, Slightly Stoopid
Websitehttp://www.pepperlive.com/
MembersBret Bollinger
Kaleo Wassman
Yesod Williams

Band history

1996-2001: Formation

Pepper formed in 1996 with singer/guitarist Kaleo Wassman and bassist/singer Bret Bollinger, who had been friends since middle school.[5] The duo was influenced by the Hawaiian artist Three Plus and popular mainland groups like Sublime. The group struggled to find a drummer to be in the band, with Wassman stating, "We were going through drummers like a bottomless pit."[5] Wassman and Bollinger heard about a drummer named Yesod Williams who had gained success around their small town, and later met Williams at a party.[5][6] The two convinced Williams to join the band, and they had to come up with a band name.

In an interview with The Pier, Wassman said "We are three kids in High School in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. We're all waiters. We always use to get out of work around ten o'clock at night and then I would race home to watch Saturday Night Live. This was back in the 90's when you had all of these All-stars. There was a skit that they kept re-doing and it was called 'The Pepper Boy'. And, basically its this Italian Restaurant and these 'Pepper Boys' come up to the table, usually to a couple on an exclusive date, and they would come over and OBSCENELY crack pepper all over the woman's plate. It was so funny to us watching the date get so angry and of course the lady just loving the Italian affection. It was one thing the three of us would talk about the next day in Bret's (Bollinger) garage when we were rehearsing and we would just lose it, so we said Pepper for short".[7]

With the trio and new name in place, Pepper left Hawaii for San Diego and went on to open shows by Burning Spear, Shaggy, and other major reggae artists. Pepper first entered the studio in 1997 and recorded a seven-song demo.[8]

In 1999, after gathering a small local following on the Big Island, Pepper gained the interest of an independent, L.A.-based record company, Volcom Entertainment. Volcom produced and distributed the band's debut release, Give'n It, which combined dancehall, reggae, hip-hop, and pop genres and the band made it on the 2001 Vans Warped Tour.[9]

2002-2005: Kona Town, In With the Old, and mainstream success
Kaleo Wassman of Pepper performing at Warped Tour in 2007.

After years of extensive touring, Pepper took to the studio with Steve Kravac (Less Than Jake, MXPX) to record their second album entitled Kona Town, released in March 2002. The track "Give It Up" was released as a single. Pepper continued to tour throughout 2003 and into 2004, including dates with 311 and Snoop Dogg, along with appearances at the annual Bob Marley Birthday celebration, San Diego's Festival "Street Scene", and a U.S. tour with Slightly Stoopid.[6][10]

In March 2004, Pepper released In With The Old, and got to No. 35 on the Billboard Heat Seekers and No. 18 on the independent albums chart. The album was recorded at 311's completely analog Hive Studios by board master Ron St. Germain (Bad Brains, Living Colour, 311, Tool, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden), the album showcases a broader range of influences shared by the trio. The band used punk keyboardist/producer Ronnie King on In With The Old as well as their later album, No Shame.

2006-2009: No Shame and Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations

Beginning on July 20, 2006, Pepper supported 311 along with The Wailers on their U.S. tour. In August 2006, Jägermeister announced that Pepper & Slightly Stoopid would headline the annual Jägermeister Musictour through December 2006.

The band released their fourth album (and minor label debut) entitled No Shame on October 3, 2006. It features production from Nick Hexum of 311, Tony Kanal of No Doubt, and Sublime producer/Butthole Surfers member Paul Leary. A music video was shot for the single "No Control".

On March 20, 2007, Pepper released To Da Max, their first compilation CD containing rare and B-side tracks.

Pepper appeared on all dates of the 2007 Vans Warped Tour. They toured with The Expendables and Passafire, on their "That's Where I Wanna Be..." 42-stop tour from October to December 2007.

Pepper released a new album on July 22, 2008, entitled Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations on their own label, Law Records.[11] The band toured across the United States in 2008 from March through April with Redeye Empire and Iration. A European tour in support of Flogging Molly followed, including shows in Germany, Sweden, France, Italy and more. From August 1, 2008 to September 6, 2008, the band toured the US on the Tailgate 2008 Summer Tour. The band then toured with Slightly Stoopid and Sly & Robbie. The band also headlined the "Law Records" tour in October 2008 along with Passafire, and The Supervillains. This was their first tour consisting of only Law Records bands. After a UK tour with Less than Jake, and a break in December, Pepper, Passafire, and The Supervillains toured the Northwest to complete the first Law Records tour.

The Spring 2009 line-up of the Jägermeister Music Tour featured Pepper with longtime staples on the punk scene, Pennywise.[12] Pepper returned to the Jägermeister Music Tour after a 2006 outing with punk-reggae rockers Slightly Stoopid.

2010-present: Stitches EP and self-titled album

Pepper released their new EP album titled Stitches on October 12, 2010. A single, "Wake Up", from the album was released June 28, 2010 along with "Mirror", and the band toured with 311 to promote the album. Pepper also toured on the "Like a Surgeon Tour" with Shwayze, Pour Habit, and Brother Ali in the last quarter of 2010.

Pepper was one of the headliners for the 2011 Vans Warped Tour. During the summer and fall of 2012, they toured with Sublime with Rome and Cypress Hill.

In 2013, Pepper released their self-titled sixth album.

Following a co-headlining tour with the Dirty Heads in the summer of 2014 and another amphitheater summer run with Rebelution and Sublime With Rome in 2015, Pepper released their 7th studio album "Ohana".

The band released their 8th studio album Local Motion on June 28, 2019.

Other projects

In 2016, Pepper tried their hands as winemaking with their own wine collection based on their album titles and cover artwork. The first bottle they released was, "Kona Town Original Blend", which sold quickly.

In 2017, Pepper partnered up with award-winning winemaker Thomas Booth, a.k.a. "The Wine Boss" of Paseo Robles, California. Their second bottle, "Blend 2" won Gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Competition in 2019. They also have a 2017 "Skullconut Malbec", and a 2015 Cabernet called, "In With The Cab", which is a play off their album, In With The Old. For two years in a row, they've won Gold, Silver and Bronze for all of their wines.[13]

Kaleo Wassman explains, "We didn't want to just license our name to the wine, we wanted to be active in the creation of it. And so it's really incredible for us to get these awards and accolades because we are being able to co-create this wine with Thomas." They look to add to their success with the release of "No Shame Chardonnay" with artwork based on their 2006 album, No Shame.[13]

Members
  • Bret Bollinger - Vocals, Bass
  • Kaleo Wassman - Vocals, Guitar
  • Yesod Williams - Drums, Backing vocals

Discography

Albums

Live albums
  • Kona Gold - (2009) Volcom Entertainment
  • Live at the Belly Up - (2015) Law Records

Demos
  • Seven-song demo - (1997) Pepper Records
  • Give'n It - (2000) Law Records

EPs
  • Limited Edition Warped Tour EP - (2001) Volcom Entertainment
  • Stitches EP - (2010) Law Records

DVDs
  • Pepper LIVE DVD - Volcom Entertainment
  • Searching For The Haj DVD - Law Records

Compilations
  • The Early Poems of Volcom Entertainment - (1999) Volcom Entertainment
  • 1999 Summer Sampler- (1999) Volcom Entertainment
  • Santa's Stuck in the Chimney - (2000) Volcom Entertainment
  • 2002 Label Sampler- (2002) Volcom Entertainment / 2 tracks ("Sitting on the Curb", "Storm Trooper")
  • To Da Max - (2007) Law Records
  • Good Luck Chuck Soundtrack - (2007) Lions Gate Records / 1 track ("The Whistle Song")
  • Spirits In The Material World - A Reggae Tribute To The Police - (2008) Shanachie / 1 track ("Can't Stand Losing You")

Singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Year Title Peak chart positions Album
US
Alt
2005 "Give It Up" 34 Kona Town
2006 "No Control" 19 No Shame
2007 "Your Face" —
2010 "Wake Up" — Stitches EP
"Mirror" —
2013 "FKARND (All Night)" 21 Pepper
"Hunny Girl" -
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References
  1. Jeffries, David. "Pepper – Pepper". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. Mills, Michelle (27 August 2013). "Pepper will sample new album as headliners of Shoreline Jam in Long Beach". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. "Artists who use Zildjian Cymbals". Zildjian.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2010-07-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2010-10-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2009-09-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. https://www.thepier.org/interview-pepper-2/
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2011-06-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-09-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2009-09-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-02-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. https://www.thepier.org/pepper-the-wine-boss-make-their-no-shame-chardonnay-available/
  14. "Pepper Tour Schedule". January 25, 2015. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
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