The Pepper Saga

(#) Subject: The Pepper Saga Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:29 pm

Note: This post and thread will be an ongoing continuation, until I am done with this part of my story. Thank you for reading, and be sure to check back for new inserts.

I spent the greater part of my childhood, and teen years going from place to place. My Mother was Italian, and My father was British and Sicilian, and a Merchant Marine, who traveled most of his life, until I was a young teen. I spent my childhood moving from school to school, and place to place, and grew up partially, in London, New York, and Florida. I was actually born in Long Island New York, but raised in many locations.

My mother was an entertainer, and believe it or not, and opera singer. She had a full career until her first husband broke her nose, and she ended up with a steel plate to reconstruct the bone. She always encouraged me with music. For that I will always thank her!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a child I studied piano, and did the typical recitals many do when they start that young. I found I could pick up quite a bit by ear, and began rebelling against the standard practice piano books. Somehow bug in a rug type of shit just didnt cut it, when I found out I could play Exodus by ear.

I started singing fairly early too. I was extremely encouraged at a young age, by a teacher, I guess it would have been equivelent to the 2nd grade. The music teacher at that time, only came to class once or twice a week, and would get the whole class singing. One day she started looking around the room as if someone was breaking a rule, then began walking towards the class, and came right for me. Even at around age 8, I had a pretty strong voice. She picked me out, asked me to sing by myself, told the class THIS is what she was wanting the whole class to sing like. In any case, I was like WOW!! and I never forgot it.

I also took ballet and tap dancing classes from about age 5 to 8, and loved it, but I think I really loved music more. I played in my first band at 12, too bad that band never made it out of the garage, except for one party for a school friend LMAO!! I played keyboards, or at least we practised and I played keyboards, and it was fun as heck regardless of barely making it out of the garage haha!!

to be cont~~~~~~~~

(#) Subject: Finding Lost Memories Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:40 pm

Funny what you find when looking thru old files, emails and accounts. I found some old pages that are actually still up on the internet from years ago, I had forgotton completely about. I even ran accross an old interview I took from the Project Object guys when they were touring playing all Zappas music with Ike Willis.

I was thrilled to see Ike again the few times P O did shows here, as I had not seen him in many years, not since many of us left Salt Lake City and the music department there, in search for wider more profitable music roads. I was living with my honey at the time, Tom, he and his brothers and his dad, Doc Fowler, were a huge force in music in any city, but they took over SLC. Tom and I broke up after a couple years, and he went off to play with Its A Beautiful Day, Santana, and then Frank Zappa. So did 2 of his brothers Walt and Bruce. We all stayed very good friends, and after many years on the road myself, I ended up in Los Angeles with the rest of them boys, and thats where I stayed for at least 13 years, and boy did I have a blast living there till I got stupid and married my 1st husband. Word of warning:: If you are a musician or entertainer, dont marry someone who doesnt even listen to music. Stick with your own kind, baby, trust me LOL!!

Anyway, during the SLC days, I had played in numerous bands in the area, an 8 piece horn band, a 6 piece horn band, various rock bands etc.. but then I hooked up with a dude looking for a female that really could sing LOL. I say really could, because it was he and his wife, and 3 musicians, and niether he or his wife could sing. He was one of those rich guys who had always wanted to be in a band so he decided he would put up the money, buy the equiptment, and hire his own people, and have him and his wife, and me, front the band. HA HA what a fiasco those 2 were. the band wasn't really too bad, but between the no talent duo, and the enormous fights the 2 of them had, (I wont even go into some of the stuff the rest of the band had to endure) it was not long before she left his sorry butt for some guy she met while we were on the road LOL. GOOD RIDDANCE I say!!

Now it's a 5 piece, and guess who is getting more requests for songs than the other, MOI!!
This band had a lot of good experiences, but I finally had to move on to a better band. I must say that for a cover band, that was getting too close to disco for my comfort, I sure was making some bucks and perks from the hotels and fans. Plus every where I went in those days, fans used to give me turquoise jewelry, Tons of it!! I used to wear some turquoise in those days, and I guess the more I wore the more I got for gifts LOL. It was insane! I am talking nice stuff too, not junk. Ahh, those were definately the days.

I also went to the most obscure place with that band. Yellowknife North West Territories. We arrived at the Edmonton airport in Canada, it was 30ish degrees out when we left the car in the airport parking lot for the month we were to be gone, I also left my favorite high heeled sandles in the back window. When we arrived in YK, it was -40 below, thats right, -40 below. We left the hotel every night after the gig to go get pizza across the street, and by the time we got inside our tears and snot was frozen to our faces WOW! It would get as much as -50 below there during the month we stayed, and I had a real nice cold the first week I was there. No one knew tho cause my mic only was turned up to like 9 or 10, because I had laryngitis and could only get a whisper out of my voice. No one knew tho, not until they tried to talk to me off stage. The bartender was making me flaming drinks and feeding me hot honey, lemon and whiskey.

We were there almost a month already, and never got to see the Northern Lights, which were dancing putside the hotel every night while we were on stage. then one night the hotel owner stopped the band and drug us all out to see the lights. It really was awesome, and they do sing by the way.

I was also having trouble with my balance and stuff while I was there. The Eskimos said it happened to everyone who visited there. it has to do with the magnetic pull. Sometimes I would feel like I was walking on 3 inches of air, and others, my knees would give way and I would buckle right down to the floor. Vey strange indeed.

Anyhow, as good an experience as it was, I was thrilled to see Edmonton and the car again. Funny tho, you know those shoes I said I left in the back window of the car, well the rubber souls on the bottom of them melted while we were away, because apparantly it was now 85 degrees in Edmonton when we returned AHHH... We left in March and returned in April and it was HOT!

Well I miss those shoes HA HA!!

Below pic of Ike Willis (Frank Zappa Band ) and myself! Not the best, but I treasure it!

» The Naga Saga Raga - excerpt #2 - [Fingerstyle Guitar Originals]
» The Naga Saga Raga - excerpt #1 - [Fingerstyle Guitar Originals]

The Pepper Saga

The Pepper Saga

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