With the Vans Warped Tour coming to Los Angeles on Wednesday, Pepper drummer Yesod Williams spoke with Daily Bruin’s Marjorie Yan about the band’s experiences and future goals. Here is the rest of the Yan’s conversation with Williams.
Daily Bruin: What advice do you have for newer bands hoping to last 10 years like Pepper?
YW: Definitely don’t take yourself too seriously. That always keeps it fun and light in the atmosphere. You know, just hit the ground running and get out there and tour. It’s a sure fire method as far as building a band in terms of getting out there and touring and seeing people face to face. It’s the best job in the world but it’s a lot harder.
DB: How would you say your music has changed over the course of the past 10 years?
YW: We play a lot of different styles of music and we’ve brought them all into one style within the past 10 years. If you listen to one of our first CDs, it’s all over the place. We brought all of the elements together and made it cohesive. That’s what we’ve done in the 10 years. I think the only change we’ve gone through is inevitable change. Not necessarily from being away from Hawaii, but you can’t escape evolution and you kind of take it as it goes. You just go with what feels right.
DB: Do you ever go back and perform in Hawaii?
YW: Oh yeah, we try to make it back at least once a year. We try twice a year. We’ll try to make it back in November.
DB: What is your favorite song to perform and why?
YW: It changes a lot, but this tour has probably been “Davey Jones Locker” from our album “Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations” just because it’s one we haven’t been playing in a really long time so we’ve brought it back into rotation.