Pepper’s island vibe gets the three-dimensional treatment
By Arrissia Owen Turner
The band Pepper left paradise behind for Southern California at the perfect time. It was 1999, Sublime still loomed large and surfing had never been more popular on the mainland. Pepper helped fill the post-Bradley Nowell soundtrack void with upbeat, Sex Wax-inspired tunes.
After meeting at middle school in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, frontman Kaleo Wassman and Bret Bollinger started playing music together in 1997, eventually adding drummer Yesod Williams. The trio headed to the mainland in 1999, packing their combination of reggae, dub and rock-filled harmonies with their surf trunks.
By 1999, surf company Volcom had added Pepper to its growing independent label roster, putting them in the studio with producer Steve Kravac (Blink-182, MxPx). The result was 2002’s Kona Town. The band hit the road with Warped Tour, fueled by the success of the titillating “Give It Up (Dirty Hot Sex)” on stations like KROQ. After signing with Atlantic Records, Pepper worked with Tony Kanal of No Doubt and Nick Hexum of 311 as producers on their next batch of songs. They also recruited Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers, a producer for Sublime back in the day. Then Atlantic did its best to mess with the album, resulting in the label dropping the band and handing them No Shame in 2006.
Pepper started their own label, LAW Records, releasing No Shame and their new EP, Stitches, in October. CULTURE chatted with Williams to get the lowdown on Stitches’ most three-dimensional aspects, getting Snoop Dogged and what to look for in Amsterdam.
What was the inspiration behind the new single “Drunk Girl,” and why did you choose to film the video in 3D?
“Drunk Girl” is a journey through female emotion and experience when heavily intoxicated, in the most fun and lighthearted way. The 3D video came about from a friend of ours who designed rigs to film in a much more realistic and cost-effective way. The technology enables more indie bands to be at the forefront of technology, which is awesome.
What was it like sharing an audience with Snoop Dogg? Any words of advice from the Doggfather?
We played a show in Bakersfield that was pretty scary. It was a pretty dangerous crowd. We thought we were going to get looted on stage, but Snoop told us not to be pussies. It made us take the stage and have a killer show. He was such a proud Doggfather. He gave us all pimp cups. You don’t know what it’s like being called a pussy until a legend calls you one.
You played with Fishbone recently. Has Fishbone been a big influence on the band?
Even though I’ve never religiously listened to them, I think they have subconsciously influenced us because they’re such a big influence on the music industry. They came up with and have influenced so many great bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt, Sublime, just to name a few.
Any thoughts on Sublime with Rome?
It’s epic. The majority of Sublime fans never got to see them—granted, no one can replace Brad. Rome is keeping the torch lit and giving the fans a live experience.
Where would Pepper be right now if the band hadn’t relocated to Southern California from Hawaii?
Waiting tables and surfing everyday back in Kona. Sometimes I wonder why we left—just kidding. I couldn’t be happier playing music for a living, but our lives before weren’t horrible.
How integral was Volcom to the band’s success and development?
Huge. We still work on projects all the time. We’re doing their yearly Hawaii tour in December, The Volcanic Rock Tour. They gave us our first chance for a major tour and gave us the chance to make Kona Town, which is one of the biggest building blocks in our career.
You’ve toured around the world. How does the Pepper sound go over in places like Germany and France?
Our music is pretty universal, but of course going anywhere for the first time there is a building-from-the-ground-up vibe.
Did you get to Amsterdam? If so . . .
Yes, three times. The coffee is great [laughs]. But you need to hit the coffee shops outside the red light district. Most of those are tourist traps and only carry one strain, but they call it a bunch of different names. The hash and mushrooms are a must. And there’s this chocolate drink, I think it’s called chocomel. They make the chocolate shakes at McDonalds with it. It’s phenomenal.
