by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Life is full of unexpected surprises. When I visited the Bridgeside to cover Larry Mangum, I was confident he would be there. However, the duo of Steve and Ilene Peppers, a.k.a. Me, Myself, & Ilene was cranking out classic folk music with excellent vocal harmonies on Bridgeside’s deck. So I decided to stay and check them out. As it turned out, it was a warm night outside on the deck and a cool place to kick back and enjoy a few beers and listen to the couple’s wide range of folk music. They were lively and entertaining at this aesthetically pleasing creek side deck.
Steve and Ilene have roots on opposite ends of the Appalachians. Steve hails from North Georgia and Ilene from upstate New York. Steve’s musical background goes back to his early teens. Steve was a member of the popular 1980s band Brandy Station before forming 101 Damnations in the 1990s. The group released three albums of original material.
Ilene cut her musical teeth in bands in New York State and singing in Doo Wop groups. Late in the 1990s Ilene moved to Jacksonville and met Steve and decided to form both a romantic and musical union as husband and wife. The MMI duo specializes in playing eclectic music from old Kinks or Byrds with songs by Hank Williams and Johnny Cash thrown into the mix. For their Bridgeside gig, Steve and Ilene played music from John Prine, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and, many other classic songs from the most celebrated songwriters in forty years of singer/songwriter traditions.
Both Steve and Ilene have great voices which blend together perfectly in two-part harmonies. They interact well together making humorous comments about their married life, which I’m sure, has boded well for their peaceful long-term relationship. I was impressed by their vast repertoire of material from all decades of the singer/songwriter era. Keeping up with this wide variety of music is a formidable task. But, MMI are old pros who know how to work an audience with their quirky repartee and professional presentation.
As a duo, they draw from each other through four sets of music, which includes classic pop, country, and contemporary songs from Liz Phair, The Cure, Lucinda Williams as well as older folk legends and timeless icons like Patsy Kline They also do parodies of certain cliche songs, which breaks up the maudlin tone of many of the old folk and country songs.
It was a warm, dank night on the Bridge side deck, but with Steve and Ilene’s melodious music and precise vocal harmonies, even the bugs seemed to have been mesmerized. This deck has many memories for me, and Steve and Ilene’s music made me think of all the acts I’ve covered at this location with its many different incarnations in the past.
When MMI played their John Prine repertoire, I knew those songs because years ago, I covered them when I went out as a solo act. Ah yes, my musical career went from nowhere to oblivion. But it was an adventurous time. Today, the singer/ songwriter genre is brimming with exciting new artists who recently have been coming through town. Contemporary songwriters who write memorable songs are rare, and only time tests the quality of their work. After twenty years or more, if people remember the artists’ songs, then their material has withstood the test of time and become classics that other artists want to cover. There are only a handful of artists who have achieved this honor. For example, anything written by Bob Dylan or Neil Young is classic singer/songwriter material worthy of listening to or covering.
|
