To his credit, Bob Pepek has always played it cool. At family functions, concerts, or just random encounters at a local watering hole, someone invariably comes up and asks him how his musical career is going, then ultimately concludes, "Well, you should be on a label in no time. Your cousin is the Nightcrawler!"
Pepek will usually deflect the observation with something like, "Yeah, well… he's a busy guy."
But hopefully, he knows the real truth. And if he ever needed someone to talk about it with, all he would have to do is go find a local sports team and a kid whose father is the coach.
The assumption is that someone in such a position will receive favorable treatment, of course. More often than not, however, the reality is quite the inverse. In an effort to stave off the aforementioned pre-conceived notion—and, perhaps, feeling the weighty glare of the watchful masses every step of the way—the perceived "favored son" oftentimes has a tougher experience than his contemporaries.
So while your friendly neighborhood Crawler never made his cousin pick up the balls after practice or ride the bench so even the kids who suck got equal playing time, he is guilty of being stingy with his ink with regards to his cuz, to say the least.
After more than a decade of music-making and a spankin' new CD waiting in the wings, guess it is as good as time as any. So what about it, Bob? Ready for your moment in the spotlight?
"Of course," the now Enfield, Conn.-based singer/songwriter says with a chuckle. "And after all, you are responsible for this, you know!"
"Moi?" the Crawler replies.
"Yeah… I was a punk guy until I started talking music with you," he explains. "Then you gave me that Beatles tablature book and showed me there was more to songs than power chords. I might very well have been fronting some melodramatic punk band today."
Based on the capable composition and hook-happy melodies evidenced on From The Let Go, Pepek's five-track debut, punk's loss is a gain for fans of singer/songwriter-driven soft pop—with the EP's architect leading listeners through a sonic assortment of instantly-accessible toe-tappers and wistful balladry.
Although Pepek (myspace.com/bobpepek) has firmly established himself a solo fixture on the regional coffeehouse circuit, he says he'll utilize the occasion of his June 13 Maximum Capacity CD release show to enlist the services of some of his colleagues and perform fully-realized versions of the tunes in the full band format.
"To be honest, I only perform solo so much simply because of schedule," he explains. "In that I know mine. But, yeah, any time I can get some of my amazingly talented friends to come along, I jump at it."
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In other news… summer may be lurking just around the corner, but apparently, some heavy Snow activity is being reported in Sunderland of late. "Yes, I am looking to purchase Seven-Os. In fact, I just left the town clerk's office with the necessary paperwork to do the deal and am on the town agenda June 29 to apply for transfer of the liquor license," says Mark Snow, best known otherwise for his work with the Mark Snow Band.
If all proceeds as planned, Snow says he hopes to take over the venue by mid-July and promises a musical haven where fans and performers can "play, network and simply enjoy all the talent in the area."
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Lastly, some solemn news on veteran Valley musician Roger Salloom. According to two of the Crawler's most valuable resource tools these days—Facebook and local music superfan Brian Anastasi—Salloom, who, as chronicled in this very column recently, made his Iron Horse headlining debut just last month, suffered a heart attack May 29.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for the man widely regarded as "America's Best Unknown Songwriter.""
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
