Rockin' It Homestyle

Thank you to my best friend, Jessica and her sister, Kristie for setting this up!

I'll be in Mississippi for my Dad's wedding next Saturday, and that night I'll play at Zachary's in Columbus. This town is the site of my alma mater , my first real job, and the church where we were married. My old apartment is two blocks from there, so it literally is my old 'hood. I'm still tracking down an amp, but being related to 50 people in the tri-county area (most of whom share the last name Pepper) ought to provide enough connections to work that out.

In my old apartment, when my next-door neighbor did yardwork she could literally hear me singing and playing in my living room. Not, like, through a window or anything- through the exterior wall. (Yeah - I know. It was a really nice place.) The day she brought this embarassing phenomenon to my attention, she said, "hey - don't worry about it. It sounded great. You should consider playing in bars; my friends and I would totally come hear you." That was the first time I really considered the possibility. The moral of the story: kind words are powerful. The next chance you get to say some, go for it.

If you're in the area, I start at 9 p.m. Kristie's the bartender, so give her a fat tip for making this happen!

St. Pepper's Day

Loving this logo:

It's from a bar on the south side of Indy called Peppers. http://www.pepperslive.com/featured_poker.php

Let me explain: my maiden name is Pepper, and I come from Irish stock. I won't go a St. Pat's without having corned beef and cabbage. It's just not done.

I identify mostly with my Irish heritage because I'm so freakin' pale. The other big influence in my family is Native American (Choctaw, specifically) and I do exhibit some attributes of that influence. I'm kinda short, have dark eyes, dark hair, and more booty than your average white girl.

So, my darker relatives make fun of me for my complexion. Given the genetic combo, it is somewhat vampiresque. Not really what you're used to seeing.

From the Irish angle, I could pass as part Black Irish. Of course, like most Americans, after the genetic marbles were thrown who knows what's Irish or Choctaw or English or whatever in the end. We're all truly a bunch of mutts here in America, which is cool, but it's also nice to identify with something.

To see this logo that coincidentally links St. Pats to my family of origin's name, well, I kinda dig it. First of all, I miss my maiden name. It's very distinctive. It's pretty easy to forget Ramsey (no offense, Bryan, Bob, and Deloris - I LOVE being a Ramsey) but Pepper kinda sticks in your mind. Plus, being fair skinned when the rest of my family was dark-complected made me feel particularly Irish. Like I might fit better in the Irish culture.

I've always dreamed of going to Ireland. Maybe I'll get there someday.

But, 'till then, happy St. Pepper's Day to all.