Pepper Returns to Maui with Band Dirty Heads

By Maui Now Staff

Pepper. Courtesy image

Although the name makes us think of a childhood friend’s black poodle, Pepper in this case is a band formed in in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1996.

The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Kaleo Wassman and vocalist/bassist Bret Bollinger of Hawaii and drummer Yesod Williams of California. Since the band’s formation they have released five studio albums as well as one live album.

Wassman and Bollinger originally met in middle school and were  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 in a biography on Sing 365 ” we were going through drummers like a bottomless pit.”

According to Wikipedia, “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 for San Diego and went on to open shows by Burning Spear, Shaggy, and other majorreggae artists. Pepper first entered the studio in 1997 and recorded a seven-song demo.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

Promoters note that “having grown up surfing on the island, it’s no surprise they would mix their rock ‘shock and awe’ flare with mellow island rhythm roots to create their own truly diverse sound. They have also been known to hypnotize fans of all walks of life with incredibly sweet harmonies, all the while keeping bodies moving on the dance floor.”

You’ve been warned: Listen at your own risk.

Pepper will be joined by Dirty Heads, a gross visual and a reggae band from Huntington Beach, Calif. with a melodic style that includes hip hop and ska punk genres. Their debut album, Any Port in a Storm, was released in 2008.

Tickets for the Thursday, December 26 show are $39 in  advance and $45 the day of the show. VIP  tickets are $59 advance and $65 the day of the show. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and is expected to end at 10 p.m.