Pepper Keenan

Pepper J. Keenan (born May 8, 1967) is an American guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with heavy metal bands Corrosion of Conformity and Down. He joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1989,[1] but did not become the lead singer until the recording of Deliverance in 1994. In 1991, Keenan formed Down with Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod, and Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange of Crowbar.

Pepper Keenan
Keenan performing with Down in 2012
Background information
Birth namePepper J. Keenan
Born (1967-05-08) May 8, 1967
OriginOxford, Mississippi, U.S.
GenresHeavy metal, sludge metal, stoner rock, Southern rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active1989–present
LabelsSanctuary
Associated actsCorrosion of Conformity, Down

Early life

Keenan was born in Oxford, Mississippi, but now lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he owns a bar named "Le Bon Temps Roule". His father, a former musician, is a local real estate appraiser in New Orleans. While developing his playing style in New Orleans, Pepper served as a member of local band Graveyard Rodeo, and met and became friends with Corrosion of Conformity during their frequent shows at the infamous Franklin Avenue VFW Hall in New Orleans.

Career

Corrosion of Conformity
Main article: Corrosion of Conformity

Keenan joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1989. Corrosion of Conformity released their third album called Blind with Keenan on rhythm guitar. After Karl Agell and Phil Swisher left the band (Swisher being replaced by original bassist Mike Dean), Keenan took over on vocals and guitar. Corrosion of Conformity have since released the albums Deliverance, Wiseblood, America's Volume Dealer, and In the Arms of God, No Cross No Crown, as well as the live release, Live Volume. From 2006 to 2010, Corrosion of Conformity had been on hiatus. The band has since reunited and recorded an album without Keenan.[2] However, a possibility of Keenan re-joining C.O.C. remains, according to a message dated May 15, 2010, on the official C.O.C. website. Corrosion of Conformity performed their first show with the re-united Deliverance era line-up of Pepper Keenan, Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean, and Reed Mullin on March 7, 2015 in Manchester, England.[3] Their first U.S. tour with the re-united line-up, supporting Clutch, was announced on July 28, 2015.[4]

Down
Main article: Down (band)
Keenan performs at Gods of Metal 2009

Keenan was a founding member of Down in 1991 along with Pantera's Phil Anselmo, Eyehategod's Jimmy Bower, and Crowbar's Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange. In 1995, Down released their debut album, NOLA. The band went on indefinite hiatus in 1996 but returned three years later with Pantera bassist Rex Brown replacing Strange. In 2002, Down released their second album Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow. Following a second hiatus, Down released their third album entitled Down III: Over the Under in 2007. Down released their fourth album Down IV Part I – The Purple EP in September 2012 and Down IV – Part II of a four-part series of EPs.

Collaborations with Metallica

Keenan plays guitar and sings a part of the second verse on Metallica's cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Tuesday's Gone". He also recorded a number of other songs in the same session, but this was the only one given a general release (on the album Garage Inc.), the others only being available as bootlegs. Keenan is good friends with lead singer and guitarist James Hetfield. Hetfield provided backing vocals on "Man or Ash" from Corrosion of Conformity's Wiseblood. Keenan auditioned for Metallica's vacant bass player position following Jason Newsted's departure from the band but lost out to former Suicidal Tendencies/Ozzy Osbourne bassist Robert Trujillo. Keenan's audition is shown in the Metallica documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. In addition to his contribution to the song "Tuesday's Gone" Pepper also appeared with Metallica onstage at the Download Festival in Donington, England in 2006 along with Matt Heafy of Trivium to provide additional vocals on the song "Die, Die My Darling" (a Misfits cover). This song was played at the end of Metallica's headlining set.

Personal life

Keenan became the father of a daughter named Flannery Rose Keenan with his longtime girlfriend Anna Hrnjak on January 5, 2010.

In an interview with Guitar.com, Keenan was asked about his thoughts on politics in which he responded "I mean, the Bible means a lot more to me than the Constitution and any fuckin' politics involved in this country or any other country."[5]

Discography

Corrosion of Conformity albums
Date of release Title Label Chart positions
November 5, 1991 Blind Relativity Records
November 27, 1994 Deliverance Columbia Records 155
October 12, 1996 Wiseblood 104
October 10, 2000 America's Volume Dealer Sanctuary Records
August 7, 2001 Live Volume
April 5, 2005 In the Arms of God 108
January 12, 2018 No Cross No Crown Nuclear Blast 67

Down albums
Date of release Title Label US Billboard peak
September 19, 1995 NOLA Elektra 57
March 26, 2002 Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow 44
September 25, 2007 Down III: Over the Under Warner Bros. Records 26
September 18, 2012 Down IV – Part I 35
May 13, 2014 Down IV – Part II 23

References
  1. "Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives – Corrosion of Conformity". The Metal Archives. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  2. "Confirmed: CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's 'Animosity' Lineup Reunited". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  3. "Pepper Keenan Plays First Full Show With Corrosion of Conformity". Blabbermouth.net. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  4. "Clutch to Tour with Corrosion of Conformity featuring Pepper Keenan". Blabbermouth.net. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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