Pepper is a three-piece reggae rock band originally from Hawaii, now based in San Diego. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Kaleo Wassman, vocalist/bassist Bret Bollinger, and drummer Yesod Williams. Since the band's formation they have released eight studio albums, as well as two live albums.
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. 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." 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 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".
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.
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.
2002–2005: Kona Town, In With the Old, and mainstream success
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. The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
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.
In March 2004, Pepper released In With The Old, and got to #34 on the Billboard Heat Seekers and #18 on the Billboard 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 added punk keyboardist/producer Ronnie King on the album as well.
2006–2009: No Shame, 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. With Ronnie King on keyboard again, 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", which became their first commercial single. The album made it to #96 on the Billboard 200 chart.
On March 20, 2007, Pepper released To Da Max: Mistakes and Outtakes (1997–2004), their first compilation album 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.