P e p p e r ' s G h o s t has been through a lot: a pair of polished independent releases, a slew of shoestring-budget tours, a high-profile record with legendary producer/engineer Andy Johns, a bum record deal, and a notorious tour that everyone told them not to do. The Philly band—consisting of brothers and lead vocalists Anthony and Michael Montesano, multi-instrumentalist Robbie Bennett, bassist David Hartley and drummer Zil—even built their own tour bus. But despite the hype, the ups and downs, the press clippings and the crazy rumors and stories, despite it all, Pepper's Ghost has always kept one thing squarely in its cross-hairs: great songs.

They can play them live, too, and have done so with bands like The Kings of Leon, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Def Leppard, Albert Hammond Jr., and Phantom Planet, to name a few. Last year they even performed in front of Philadelphia's City Hall with The Roots and Fishbone to help launch Al Gore's cable-based Current TV. After a short layoff, some management reshuffling and a stylistic evolution, Philly's blue-collar boys are back with a new EP and ambition to spare.

Although the band has seen an array of radio exposure and licensed music to the E! Entertainment channel and the Nickelodeon network, Pepper's Ghost is probably best known nationally for their opening slot on Ashlee Simpson's first North American tour. “How could we say no?” Robbie rationalizes. Indeed, the band said yes to a sold-out 37-date tour, Ashlee gave her show the rock edge she was looking for, and Pepper's Ghost's fan base mushroomed.

In fact, prior to the release of their 2005 Hybrid Recordings debut Shake the Hand that Shook the World, their single You're in My Heart (Little Pretty) rose to #3 on the Billboard singles chart in the U.S. and #1 in Canada strictly through on-site merchandise sales. That album dropped April 5th, 2005 and went on to independently sell well over 15,000 copies despite minimal promotion. Andy Johns, whose credits include Led Zeppelin's IV and The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street, relished the chance to produce fresh talent. “This band has so much to give, especially vocally. With these guys, you set up a couple of mics, they sing, you do a few takes and its done! Working with them was a distinct pleasure.” The sessions took Andy back to rock's glory days—“I've only worked with two bands this good before, and I don't even need to mention who they are.”

Nonetheless, by early 2006 the boys decided they were unhappy with their relationship with Hybrid Recordings—“particularly their indecisiveness and lack of follow-through,” says bassist David Hartley. While this kind of corporate interaction can be a troubling obstacle for young bands, Pepper's Ghost seized the opportunity to reinvent themselves and explore different influences. The new songs are the product of a more collaborative songwriting process and an open-minded lyrical approach.

The result is The Vet EP, a self-produced, low-fi tour de force engineered by the Cobbs (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) featuring simple, aggressive arrangements to compliment their trademark harmony vocals. Interestingly, their fan base seems more than willing to follow them in this new direction and the turnout for their shows is stronger than ever. “We didn't plan it this way, but I guess our fans are changing along with us,” Zil offers. It probably doesn't hurt that Dirty Bomb from The Vet EP has been added on Philadelphia's only two outlets for new rock music, 93.3 WMMR and 88.5 YRock on XPN, or that they were named Philly's Best Unsigned Band in the latter stations's 2006 year end poll. Pepper's Ghost took some time to reload and the preparation is paying off; they have been popping up more and more in the local press. This, of course, is just the beginning. Presently the boys are wrapping up post-production for their first music video, a visually raw and risqué affair to accompany the song “4 Letter Friend”, and are currently booking a US tour for the spring.
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