Pepper is a hot band. They recently sold out Club Nokia in L.A. and have toured nationally with the likes of Pennywise and Slightly Stoopid. The band came together in 1996 when guitarist Kaleo Wassman met bass player Bret Bollinger in middle school in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. They added drummer Yesod Williams and by 1999 hit the mainland, relentlessly touring the Southern California beach town bar scene until they hit it big with a spot on the Warped Tour in 2001.
The band is currently touring on its acoustic “Friends and Family Tour” and will make an unusual stop Sunday night at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, where they will utilize the venue’s iRocke live high-definition webcasting to share the acoustic, small-club show with their fans throughout the country. Drummer Yesod Williams took a moment to exchange emails with the Easy Reader about where the band’s roots and what brings it to Hermosa Beach.
ER: What’s the story of the band? How and why did you come together?
YW: We’re just three kids from Kona, Hawaii, that grew up loving music. We’ve known each other almost our whole lives and knew each other played our respective instruments it was only a matter of time till we got together and formed Pepper.
ER There aren’t many bands that have influences as diverse as [slack key legend] Gabby Pahinui, Bob Marley, Sublime and Pennyise. Is there a common spirit in such influences that Pepper brings together in its own sound?
YW: I wouldn’t say there’s anything common, that’s why I think we’ve created our own sound. We’re a Rock band but there are many other flavors sprinkled in the mix
ER: Who is on the friends and family tour and what’s the idea behind it? We interviewed Cyril Pahinui last year, and he told us about growing up among these great backyard jams at his family house in Hawaii….is the friends and family tour kind of like a movable backyard island jam?
YW: That’s exactly what it is, that’s what we actually consider all our shows because that’s where it all started for us, playing in our friends’ backyards in Hawaii. And on this run we have the Supervillains from our label, LAW records, and a good friend of ours, Josh Fischel. We also brought along a couple friends who are amazing musicians who are sitting in with us for this small run of shows.
ER: What brings the band to a relatively small venue (Saint Rocke) in Hermosa Beach? Is the filming/webcast component part of it, the fact Pepper fans all over can tune in and see an intimate club show? Is part of it a return to Pepper’s roots in playing bars and parties up and down the SoCal coast?
YW: Yeah, all the above, but the idea came up when I was thinking how we’re doing something we’ve never done before with these acoustic shows and I realized how most of the country, for now at least, was gonna miss out, so doing the show at Saint Rocke is a win-win for everyone.
ER: Is the set list for a show like this a little different?
YW: Yes, we wanted to pick songs that lent themselves well to acoustic and we’ve also revamped some old faves.
ER: The song “Wake Up” is beautiful. Can you tell us a little bit about where it comes from? How about Mirror?
YW: I pride myself to say that is our most positive uplifting song, it’s basically a song about following your heart and doing what’s right for you. And Mirror is a song about someone who only lives for themselves, using the mirror as a metaphor, what I like best is others’ different perceptions of songs in general, that’s the best part about music to me
ER: What do you think sets your sound apart from other bands in the so-called surf-dub scene?
YW: I think the fact that we play with our pants off 🙂 CHO! Seriously though, I think it’s the rock edge we bring to the table that sets us apart.
See www.saintrocke.com for ticket info or click on “Watch Live” to see the Pepper show streamed live Sunday night. Also on the bill is Manhattan Beach’s own Sand Section. ER
