Q&A with Pepper

posted in: Exclusive InterviewsFeaturesPopRock

Pepper packs laid back, easy-going attitude. While this may seem to be a contradiction of terms, the band’s sound drives the point home. With rhythmic, chest-pounding bass, complex, evolving guitar effects and a thick, reggae backbeat, Pepper’s live show is the perfect outing for any Sublime or 311 fan. Throw in the fact that they hail from Hawaii, and you’ve got a three piece with a sound that simply oozes “summer”.
The band has toured around the world on Warped Tour, 311’s Unity Tour and even their own headlining trips. They just wrapped up this year’s installment of the Unity Tour, with other support act The Offspring. We got in touch with drummer Yesod Williams to pick his brain about the band’s dub style, recording techniques and touring schedule. Check out what he had to say.
OS: Being a dub-influenced band, guitar effects and processing play a big role in your sound. How much of an influence do these effects have when you’re writing songs?
YW: I think it’s more that the songs have an influence on whatever effects are used, in terms of that vibe. We’ve been blessed that one of our best friends we grew up with does all of our dub effects. That all comes from growing up around reggae music and whatnot. Being from Hawaii, UB40 is one of the biggest influences in our music. They’re one of the biggest bands in Hawaii, and there were a  lot of them on the radio growing up. I think it’s just more that the music has the main influence on the effects.
OS: So it’s kind of inherent in the sound?
YW: Yeah, and it’s like the music comes first and all of the effects, the icing on the cake, comes from the sound of the music.
OS: Your albums each have their own distinct character. What is your technique when going into the studio?
YW: We really have no technique. People ask us what have influenced our albums or sound, but we’re so spur of the moment, whatever we’re feeling at the moment is what’s going to happen.
OS: Along those lines, you also have a really organic flow to your live show. How do you develop a set list?
YW: Well, that’s another thing. Getting back to the spur of the moment concept, there is no set list. We kind of go off the crowd every night. We let them choose what they want to hear. When it comes down to it, they’re responsible for Pepper. There’s no other way we could exist if it wasn’t for them.  We usually plan out the first four songs. Then we let it go from there.
OS: The band has played the Warped Tour several times. How do you fit in with a punk crowd playing a main stage like that?
YW: I think we fit in perfectly. We play reggae influenced, dub music, but we fit in perfectly with the whole attitude of punk. We’re all about the vibe and everything that goes with it, even though you may hear us and it doesn’t sound like punk rock music. I just think we’re on that same wavelength.
OS: You guys tour a lot with 311. Why is that and what is your relationship with the band?
YW: For one thing, we grew up listening to them. They’re a big influence for us. We’ve worked with Nick Hexum who produced about half of one of our albums for us. That’s kind of where the whole relationship got started. We worked with them on the production side, and then it lead to us touring with them, and then we realized that they’re such great people. They’re really good people to hang out with and tour with. They’ve got great friends in the industry. Like Slightly Stoopid or The Expendables. We just hold them in high regard.
OS: So how did you get introduced to them?
YW: It was actually during our album In With The Old which came out in 2005 or 2004. The guy who produced that album, Ron St. Germain, he had produced a few albums for 311 before. So we started to work with him, and he was like I know this great studio. It happened to be the studio that 311 owned. So, we ended up recording that album at their studio and that was where the initial introduction was.
OS: Does Pepper have any onstage surprises planned for the upcoming Unity Tour with 311 and The Offspring?
YW: Yeah, we have a huge theme for these first bunch of stops, and I’ll let everyone come out to the show and figure out what it is.
OS: You haven’t released an album since 2008, are there plans to hit the studio after this summer tour?
YW: We’re actually almost done working on our album. We just built our own studio and now we have our own record label, Law Records. So we can release our own albums and whatnot. We’re almost done and the album should be out this fall. We also have a new single coming out on the radio in the middle of the summer. It’s called Wake Up.
Stay tuned for the new single and catch them at this year Xclamation Festival in Modesto, CA on 8/7/2010.