Pepper (band)
Encyclopedia
Pepper is a rock band originally from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The band's music is often classified as a combination of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...

 and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Kaleo Wassman
Kaleo Wassman
Kaleo Wassman is an American musician who serves as the lead singer and guitarist of reggae, dub bands Pepper and Sabotage Soundsystem.-Early life:...

, vocalist/bassist Bret Bollinger
Bret Bollinger
Bret Bollonger is an American musician who serves as the lead singer and bassist of reggae, dub band Pepper.-Early life:Bollinger was born in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. In 1996, he started working with fellow band members and guitarist Kaleo Wassman and Yesod Williams...

, and drummer Yesod Williams. Since the band's formation, they have released five studio albums as well as one live album.

Formation

Pepper began in 1996 when singer/guitarist Kaleo Wassman
Kaleo Wassman
Kaleo Wassman is an American musician who serves as the lead singer and guitarist of reggae, dub bands Pepper and Sabotage Soundsystem.-Early life:...

 met bassist/singer Bret Bollinger in middle school. The duo was influenced by Hawaiian icons Gabby Pahinui
Gabby Pahinui
Charles Philip "Gabby" or "Pops" Pahinui was a slack-key guitarist.Gabby was born Charles Kapono Kahahawaii Jr. and later hānai-ed into the Pahinui family as Charles Philip Pahinui and raised in the Kaka'ako area of Honolulu in the 1920s...

 and Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. The group struggled to find a drummer to be in the band, with Wassman stating " we were going through drummers like a bottomless pit." 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. The two convinced Williams to join the band, and with the trio in place, Pepper left Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 for San Diego and went on to open shows by Burning Spear
Burning Spear
Winston Rodney, OD , also known as Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer and musician. Burning Spear is known for his Rastafari movement messages.-History:...

, Shaggy
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...

, and other major reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 artists. Pepper first entered the studio in 1997 and recorded a seven-song demo.

In 1999, after gathering a local following on the Big Island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

, Pepper gained the interest of an independent, L.A.-based record company, Volcom Entertainment
Volcom Entertainment
Volcom Entertainment, officially founded in 1995, in Newport Beach, California, and currently based in Costa Mesa, CA is the brainchild of Volcom founder Richard Woolcott and theLINE's singer/guitarist Ryan Immegart. Ryan being Volcom's first sponsored snowboarder and having a love for music...

. Volcom produced and distributed the band's first release, Give'n It
Give'n It
Give'n It was originally a demo released by the band Pepper in 2000.The demo was released on Skunk records/ Cornerstone RAS. It was eventually reissued by the band's label LAW Records in 2003.-Track listing:# Unsafe Bridge# Feels Good# Regret Is...

, which combined dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

, and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 genres. With the success of Give'N It, the band landed a spot on the 2001 Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...

.

Mainstream success

After extensive touring, Pepper took to the studio with Steve Kravac (Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...

, MXPX
MxPx
MxPx is a pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington with connections to the Christian punk scene. The band has recorded eight studio albums, four EPs, four compilation albums, a live album, a VHS tape, a DVD and released 20 singles....

) to record their second album entitled Kona Town
Kona Town
Kona Town is the debut album by reggae band Pepper.The town is Kailua-Kona onthe Big Island of Hawaii.- Track listing :# The Good Thing - 0:26# Stone Love - 4:14# Dry Spell - 3:55# Face Plant - 3:19# Tradewinds - 4:16# Stormtrooper - 5:27...

, released in March 2002. With Kona Town, Pepper's sound continued to evolve, adding elements of an "island sound". The track "Give It Up" was released as a single. Pepper continued to tour throughout 2003 and into 2004, including dates with 311
311 (band)
311 is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson , bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton...

 and Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

, along with appearances at the annual Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

 Birthday celebration, San Diego's Festival "Street Scene", and a U.S. tour with Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk". As a band, they have released eight albums with their sixth studio album, entitled Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat...

.

In March 2004 Pepper released In With The Old
In with the Old
In With the Old is Pepper's third album, released on March 30, 2004 .-Track listing:# "Back Home" – 3:12# "Are You Down?" – 3:55# "Love Affair" – 3:23# "Use Me" – 4:07# "Seven Weeks" – 3:43# "Ashes" – 3:01# "Border Town" – 3:39...

, debuting at #35 on the Billboard Heat Seekers and #18 on the independent albums chart. The album was recorded at 311's completely analog Hive studios by legendary board master Ron St. Germain (Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...

, Living Colour
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, and heavy metal...

, 311
311 (band)
311 is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson , bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton...

, Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...

, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

), the album showcases a broader range of influences shared by the trio. The band used punk keyboardist/producer Ronnie King
Ronnie King
Ronnie King is a musician, producer, and co-owner of Blue Label Records with Sean Couevas. He says of himself, "Sometimes I feel like this generation's Billy Preston."-Credits include:* 2Pac, keyboards on Still I Rise, Until the End of Time...

 on In With The Old as well as their later album, No Shame
No Shame
No Shame is the fourth album by Hawaiian band Pepper. Released on October 3, 2006, it features production from Nick Hexum of 311, Tony Kanal of No Doubt, and Sublime producer Paul Leary....

.

Beginning on July 20, 2006, Pepper supported 311 along with The Wailers on their U.S. tour. In August 2006, Jägermeister
Jägermeister
Jägermeister is a German 70-proof digestif made with 56 different herbs and spices. It is the flagship product of Mast-Jägermeister SE, headquartered in Wolfenbüttel, south of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany.- History :...

 announced that Pepper & Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk". As a band, they have released eight albums with their sixth studio album, entitled Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat...

 would headline the annual Jägermeister Musictour through December 2006.

The band released their fourth album (and major label debut) entitled No Shame
No Shame
No Shame is the fourth album by Hawaiian band Pepper. Released on October 3, 2006, it features production from Nick Hexum of 311, Tony Kanal of No Doubt, and Sublime producer Paul Leary....

on October 3, 2006. It features production from Nick Hexum
Nick Hexum
Nicholas Lofton Hexum is an American musician, currently the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock band 311.-Early life:Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Hexum went to Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska...

 of 311, Tony Kanal
Tony Kanal
Tony Kanal is an English musician, record producer and songwriter. Kanal is the bassist for the American rock band No Doubt...

 of No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...

, and Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...

 producer/ Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...

 member Paul Leary
Paul Leary
Paul Leary is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie...

. A music video was shot for the single "No Control".

On March 20, 2007, Pepper released To Da Max
To Da Max
To Da Max - Mistakes and Outtakes is a compilation album by the band Pepper, composed of B-sides, demos, and live performances.- Track listing :# The Arena # New Beef # Green Hell # Armagideon Time...

, their first compilation CD containing rare and B-side tracks.

Pepper appeared on all dates of the 2007 Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...

, 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
Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations
Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations is the 5th studio album from Pepper released on July 22, 2008. The title is taken from a fictional album recorded by "Coconut Pete" in the Broken Lizard film Club Dread. The album is produced by Paul Leary...

on their own label, Law Records. The band toured across the United States in 2008 from March through April with Redeye Empire
Redeye Empire
Redeye Empire is a rock-reggae band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is prominent in the rock-reggae scene in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia....

 and Iration
Iration
Iration is a reggae group from Santa Barbara, CA. All members originally hail from Hawaii. They play a mix of reggae, dub, rock and are known for playing a lot of Sunshine Reggae.-History:...

. A European tour in support of Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...

 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 is now touring with Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk". As a band, they have released eight albums with their sixth studio album, entitled Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat...

 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 will tour the Northwest to complete the first Law Records tour.

The Spring 2009 line-up of the Jägermeister Music Tour
Jägermeister Music Tour
The Jägermeister Music Tour is a hard rock, hardcore punk, and heavy metal music tour that has been held twice a year in the United States since 2002. It is owned by the American importer of Jägermeister, Sidney Frank Importing.-History:...

 featured Pepper with longtime staples on the punk scene, Pennywise
Pennywise (band)
Pennywise is a Californian punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The name is derived from the monster, It, from the Stephen King novel of the same title....

. Pepper returned to the Jägermeister Music Tour
Jägermeister Music Tour
The Jägermeister Music Tour is a hard rock, hardcore punk, and heavy metal music tour that has been held twice a year in the United States since 2002. It is owned by the American importer of Jägermeister, Sidney Frank Importing.-History:...

 after a 2006 outing with punk-reggae rockers Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk". As a band, they have released eight albums with their sixth studio album, entitled Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat...

.

Pepper released their new EP album titled Stitches on 12 October 2010. A single, "Wake Up", from the album was released June 28, 2010 along with "Mirror". The band will be touring with 311 to promote the album. Pepper will also be touring on the "Like a Surgeon Tour" with Shwayze
Shwayze
Aaron Smith , better known by his stage name Shwayze, is an American rapper.Born and raised in Malibu, California, Shwayze worked at a local Starbucks coffee shop until he met Whitestarr frontman Cisco Adler at a nightclub. One night Shwayze jumped on stage during Whitestarr's performance and...

, Pour Habit
Pour Habit
Pour Habit is a punk rock band from Long Beach, California, USA. Their first demo CD, "WTF!?" is long out of print. In 2007, the band released its breakthrough album, Suiticide. After signing to Fat Wreck Chords in 2009, the album was re-released on the label that same year...

, and Brother Ali
Brother Ali
Ali Newman , better known by the stage name Brother Ali, is an American hip hop artist signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.-Personal life:...

 in the last quarter of 2010.

Pepper is currently a headliner in the 2011 Warped Tour.

Members

  • Bret Bollinger - Vocals, Bass
  • Kaleo Wassman
    Kaleo Wassman
    Kaleo Wassman is an American musician who serves as the lead singer and guitarist of reggae, dub bands Pepper and Sabotage Soundsystem.-Early life:...

     - Vocals, Guitar
  • Yesod Williams - Drums, Backing vocals

Albums

  • Give'n It
    Give'n It
    Give'n It was originally a demo released by the band Pepper in 2000.The demo was released on Skunk records/ Cornerstone RAS. It was eventually reissued by the band's label LAW Records in 2003.-Track listing:# Unsafe Bridge# Feels Good# Regret Is...

    - 2000 Cornerstone Ras Inc. (Reissued by LAW Records in 2003)
  • Kona Town
    Kona Town
    Kona Town is the debut album by reggae band Pepper.The town is Kailua-Kona onthe Big Island of Hawaii.- Track listing :# The Good Thing - 0:26# Stone Love - 4:14# Dry Spell - 3:55# Face Plant - 3:19# Tradewinds - 4:16# Stormtrooper - 5:27...

    - 2002 Volcom Entertainment
  • In with the Old
    In with the Old
    In With the Old is Pepper's third album, released on March 30, 2004 .-Track listing:# "Back Home" – 3:12# "Are You Down?" – 3:55# "Love Affair" – 3:23# "Use Me" – 4:07# "Seven Weeks" – 3:43# "Ashes" – 3:01# "Border Town" – 3:39...

    - 2004 Volcom Entertainment
  • No Shame
    No Shame
    No Shame is the fourth album by Hawaiian band Pepper. Released on October 3, 2006, it features production from Nick Hexum of 311, Tony Kanal of No Doubt, and Sublime producer Paul Leary....

    - 2006 Law Records (Reissued in Japan by Powerslave Records in 2008)
  • Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations
    Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations
    Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations is the 5th studio album from Pepper released on July 22, 2008. The title is taken from a fictional album recorded by "Coconut Pete" in the Broken Lizard film Club Dread. The album is produced by Paul Leary...

    - 2008 Law Records

EPs

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

DVDs

  • Pepper LIVE DVD
    Pepper LIVE DVD
    Pepper LIVE DVD was filmed over the course of two sold-out 2004 performances at L.A.'s Troubador nightclub.Released: March 8, 2005-Tracks:# 7 Weeks# Stone Love# Back Home# B.O.O.T.# Use Me# Tongues# Feels Good# Tradewinds# Your Way...

    - 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
    To Da Max
    To Da Max - Mistakes and Outtakes is a compilation album by the band Pepper, composed of B-sides, demos, and live performances.- Track listing :# The Arena # New Beef # Green Hell # Armagideon Time...

    - 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

Year Song US Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

U.S. Modern Rock U.S. Mainstream Rock Album
2005 "Give It Up" - 34 - Kona Town
2006 "No Control" - 19 - No Shame
2007 "Your Face" - - - No Shame
2010 "Wake Up" - - - Stitches EP
2010 "Mirror" - - - Stitches EP

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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