Butthole Surfers

Formation (1976–1981)

Butthole Surfers formed at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas during the late 1970s, when students Gibson "Gibby" Haynes and Paul Leary Walthall (later just Paul Leary) met for the first time. Though it was their shared taste in non-mainstream music that caused them to become friends, both appeared to be headed for very conventional careers. Haynes, as captain of Trinity's basketball team, as well as the school's "Accountant of the Year", soon graduated to a position with a respected Texas accounting firm, while Leary remained in school working on his MBA degree.

Early years (1981–1984)

Haynes and Leary played their debut show at a San Antonio night club, The Bonham Exchange, in 1981; at that time, they had not yet settled on the band name "Butthole Surfers". By 1982, the band was backed by the sibling rhythm section composed of bassist Quinn Mathews and his brother, drummer Scott Mathews. The band did not gain a following in San Antonio, and purchased a van to return to California later that summer.

Prior band names

The band went through several names before settling on Butthole Surfers, after a master of ceremonies at their first paid show did not recall the name they were using at the time, and instead used their first song in the setlist, "Butthole Surfer" from Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac, as an impromptu name. They decided to keep the moniker and have been billed as such ever since. Prior to this, they deliberately performed under a different name for every live performance; their aliases according to Haynes included the Dick Clark Five (a pun on the Dave Clark Five), Nine cm Worm Makes Own Food, the Vodka Family Winstons, the Ashtray Babyheads, Ed Asner Is Gay, Fred Astaire's Asshole (also varied as the Right to Eat Fred Astaire's...

Pepper

"Pepper" is a song by American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers from their seventh studio album, Electriclarryland (1996). Released on April 11, 1996, the track reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, becoming the top-ranked song of 1996 on the former listing.

In Australia, the song peaked at number 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was ranked number four on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 1996. It also reached number two on the Canadian RPM Alternative 30 and number 32 in New Zealand.

Composition and lyrics

"Pepper" opens with the chorus guitar riff, slowed down to half speed. The song shifts from spoken word verses to sung choruses. The lyrics of the verses list ten characters and describes how some either die or escape a brush with death.

Music video

The video for "Pepper", directed by Gavin Bowden, features 1960s style news clip-like footage of the band members being arrested in a Texas hotel for kidnapping while newscasters and cameramen crowd around. The kidnapping victim, rescued by the police, is portrayed by Erik Estrada. Singer Gibby Haynes is portrayed as the ringleader, and is shown being interviewed by reporters as police gather evidence. The newsreel segment is filmed in 16mm black and white, and is broken up by 1960s-style color footage, showing the band performing on a show much like American Bandstand. This performance footage is interspersed with 1960s style enactments of cooking and variety shows. The police and Estrada are repeatedly shown eating corn from a can,...

Cover version

On September 2, 2010, Hesta Prynn and Shawn Crahan of Slipknot released a cover of "Pepper" as a 7-inch vinyl single. The B-side of the single is the previously unreleased track "Seven Sisters".