# 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, 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.

## 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, was 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

Keenan joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1989. Corrosion of Conformity released their third album, 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 was on hiatus. The band later reunited and recorded two albums without Keenan, however, he rejoined the group in 2015 and they performed their first show with the reunited Deliverance-era lineup of Keenan, Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean, and Reed Mullin in March 2015 in Manchester, England. Their first U.S. tour with the reunited lineup, supporting Clutch, was announced in July 2015. No Cross No Crown, the bands latest album to date, was released in 2018 and features Keenan on vocals and guitar.

### Down

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 a 2014 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." Keenan has been a critic of the Donald Trump presidency, as he noted at a 2016 concert. Originally disturbed by bandmate Phil Anselmo's behavior at the 2016 Dimebash, Keenan later accepted his apology in a February 4, 2016 Facebook post.
Keenan was featured with his 1955 Chevy "Gasser" in a television episode of Big Easy Motors.

## 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 | Columbia Records | 104 |
| October 10, 2000 | America's Volume Dealer | Sanctuary Records | |
| August 7, 2001 | Live Volume | Sanctuary Records | |
| April 5, 2005 | In the Arms of God | Sanctuary Records | 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 | Elektra | 44 |
| September 25, 2007 | Down III: Over the Under | Warner Bros. Records | 26 |
| September 18, 2012 | Down IV – Part I | Warner Bros. Records | 35 |
| May 13, 2014 | Down IV – Part II | Warner Bros. Records | 23 |