The boys are home.
Rock-reggae band Pepper is coming back home to Kona Town for a special, one-night-only concert at the Brewery Oasis.
Comprised of Kailua-Kona natives guitarist/vocalist Kaleo Wassman, bassist/vocalist Bret Bollinger and drummer Yesod Williams, Pepper takes the stage Saturday night at the Kona Brewing Co. venue located off Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona.
The trio promises a “super fun” concert filled with positive vibes for all ages in Pepper’s first time playing Kona Town since 2011, Wassman said.
“It’s been way too long,” he told the Big Island Entertainment Scene during a recent interview. “I mean we’ve all been home, but we just haven’t done a show — and shows at home are so fun.”
Saturday’s concert also marks a homecoming for the band at Kona Brewing Co., said Shane Johnson, Kona Brewing Co. general manager. Pepper last played the pub around 2004 or 2005, well before the area now known as the Brewhouse Oasis existed, Wassman said.
“The show was at the entrance by the laundromat side, it was that long ago, so, it was super long ago,” Wassman explained, noting he’s heard nothing but good from other bands about the “oasis” in the middle of Kona’s Old Industrial Area. “I’m super just excited to be back home and to have a really nice, legitimate, cool little zone to play some music in.”
Added Johnson, “we’re really stoked to kick off the summer with such a special concert for our Big Island community. There’s really no better band to do that, so we’re excited to welcome Pepper; Back Home to Kona Town. Pepper played here at the Brew Pub when it was a much smaller venue and at a time when we were such a young company; it’s been awesome to see their national successes over the years and it’ll be great to see them again at our expanded Brewhouse Oasis.”
On Pepper’s set list Saturday night is an awesome lineup of new and old — including songs from the group’s newest album due out this summer, Wassman said.
“You are going to hear a couple of brand new songs, as well as the old favorites, the catalogs,” he said. “It’s going to be a super fun show, super vibes, super happy, super positive. It’s just a really nice homecoming and we’re looking forward to seeing our old friends from the old days when we used to play Michelangelo’s up by the old Chart House (restaurant).”
The trio of former Konawaena High School students formed the band in 1997 and played mostly house parties and garages.
“Me and Bret (Bollinger), we were jamming music all the time after we met in world history class, and Yesod (Williams) came on a little later down the line, and when he came into the band we actually formed ‘Pepper,’” Wassman said, later explaining that their name is derived from the mid-1990s “Saturday Night Live” skit “The Pepper Boys.” “Our first legit’ gig was at a graduation party. That’s where we decided, ‘OK, we can’t go to college, we don’t want to go back to school, we want to try to do this,’ and that’s where it just kind of took off.”
With a name and a local following, the group finally made its way the West Coast in 1999 to push its first studio release “Give’n It.” After releasing its fifth album, “Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations” in 2008, the band took a hiatus because of a sense of fatigue and disunity among the three musicians, according to the group’s bio. A couple of years later, the three joined forces, again, and released “Stitches” in 2010.
In all, Pepper has released five albums, including a self-titled album in 2013. The group’s sixth release is due out this summer.
During the nearly two decades together, Pepper has toured extensively, including shows with groups like 311, Slightly Stoopid, Flogging Molly and Sublime With Rome. They also spent several summers on Warped Tour.
Saturday’s Kona concert, which is open to all ages, kicks off at 6:30 p.m.; gates open at 6 p.m. The Darkroom, The Steppas and Oahu’s Ikena Du Pont &The Pocket Band will offer opening performances.
Kona-based band, The Darkroom, comprised of Dylan Kai, Matt Panzarino, Lee Bennett and Chris Arnold, plays a variety of styles including electronic dance, dubstep, punk rock, reggae and blues.
The Steppas is a five-piece Hilo-based band that fuses roots, rock, ska and reggae. It comprises Star Alaniz, Kekolu Pavao, Makana Rosetti, Samuel Ikeda and Bryan Legaspi.
Ikena Du Pont &The Pocket Band bring its talents to Kona from Oahu. Comprising Ikena Dupont, Kona Hewlen, Garrette Sevellino, Nainoa Nuuhiwa, Kelandy Diaz and Edward Nguyen, this band plays a mix of rock and reggae.
“Bring the best attitude you’ve got because it’s just going to be a super time to just have fun and to relax,” Wassman said. “The boys are home.”
Tickets are available for all ages. General admission is $39 and VIP access, for those age 21 and older, is available for $59. The VIP Pass includes entry at 5:15 p.m., two drink tickets, pre-concert pupu reception and a concert poster.
Tickets are available at the brewery and online at www.konabrewingco.com. They can also be purchased at Soundwave Music, Kiernan Music in Kainaliu, Oshima Surf &Skate in Lanihau Center, and CD Wizard in Hilo.
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