Like a snowball rolling downhill, Henry Pepin has a habit for bringing like-minded musicians into his world and taking them for a ride. Pepin started the Moguls in an effort to solidify himself and his talented musical friends as a staple in the Wyoming and Idaho music scenes. The dynamic nature of the group creates moments for spontaneity and opens the door for musical conversation. In the eyes of many (including their own), they’re out here “living the dream” – skiing, gigging, sleeping on repeat. Pepin along with members of the band stopped by KHOL to discuss plans for summer concerts, why they love living and performing in Teton Valley, and their soft spot for homemade baked goods.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. -Ed.
Support for this arts and cultural coverage comes from the Wyoming Arts Council.
EB: Could one of y’all tell me how the Moguls first came together?
Henry Pepin: The bare beginnings were me and Andy and a guy named Jim Wilson over in Teton Valley doing a little string group thing and then shortly after Mark came in and played with us and then every six months we’d add a new person.
Avery Lazes: The funny thing about moguls is that as long as you keep skiing, it’s generally just what gets left behind
HP: It’s not that you can’t ski moguls, it’s that you can’t ski and moguls show it.
EB: What’ve y’all’s experiences been like as working musicians here in Jackson?
AL: Remarkably positive – the community here is so supportive and people are just always down to go see live music and have new people play. I’ve lived in some places where it can be a little hard to get your foot in the door and this place just seems so open to having new people come in.
HP: I’d say the same. I went straight to the Hootenanny when I first moved here and met Mark, met a bunch of people. My first album that I recorded after I got here, I had a group of songs I wanted to record so I immediately set out trying to find a studio and somebody pointed me in the direction of Ben Winship over in Victor at Hen House Studios and was blown away with his ability and talent.
Sophie Harnew-Spradley: I think Jackson’s a remarkably collaborative place. I’ve had really awesome experiences, even just interacting with other bands. There are a lot of really friendly, kind people who give you sound advice and refer you to cool venues. Music in a lot of places can be a bit more competitive. Something that’s special about Jackson is how kind people are and how collaborative people are in the music scene.
EB: Henry, you’re really good at finding musicians who can plug and play your music really well together. Do you see that as more of a challenge or an exciting way to kind of keep your sound fresh?
HP: It’s both. Definitely a challenge trying to incorporate any new individual into a band, because there’s so many factors that play into whether somebody’s going to fit the band, the vibe, the scheduling… Even when it’s not a good fit, the show’s still interesting. We’ve had a couple where we incorporated different people and there’ve been good moments of every show.
AL: I’ve always preferred to play in original projects, but one of the things that I’ve liked about music is playing with people’s stuff, and how as long as they don’t have something remarkably set in their brain, you bring in a lot of your own personality to those kinds of things. When I’ve played in groups where I’ve had my original stuff, I’ve actually tried to hold back from giving people some feedback so that it brings their personality into it.
SHS: It also keeps it really dynamic. Anytime you combine the music that you’re doing with a new musician, it gives it a new flavor, and it’s a new challenge. I’ve been in bands in the past where you play the same thing and you’re like, ‘Okay, like this is the music we’re selling,’ and you go and you do it.
EB: What do you think is it that makes Teton Valley a special place?
Andy Gabel: I moved to Jackson and it was incredible. It was like I was living in a dream. The years went on and I made some changes and met my wife and we were able to get our own place over in Teton Valley and it turned out that there were a whole bunch of people that had the same story. I was worried I was going to miss out on a lot of musical opportunities, but I really haven’t. It’s actually just gotten better.
EB: What are y’all’s goals with this project here?
HP: My vision originally was both artistic and utilitarian. I wanted to be able to flesh out albums with musicians who had the vision to be like, ‘Oh I see what you’re doing, this would fit here, this will fit here.’ All these guys are really great at that. The bigger the stage, the more fun we have. We’d love to keep going up, keep climbing the ladder and play Snow King one day.
AL: I studied music and this is the first time I’ve ever really gotten paid for it, which is sweet. I’ve had a couple days now where I’ve skied all day and then skied up to the Moose, walked inside in my boots, onto stage, taken my boots off and played a show. And that’s just the best of days. I got up, I skied, I played music and went to bed. It was great.
Mark Engel: My goals are just to make a living from playing music because it tends to fill me with joy. Being on stage with a band, with people I love, even if I’m grumpy beforehand or something I always leave with a smile on my face.I also have a passion and love for arranging music. And being in this band, I get a chance to voice my opinions on the arrangements and work on stuff together and it’s been really fun.
EB: Now what else is going on this summer for the Moguls?
ME: [We’re playing at the Silver Dollar Bar] June 12th and June 27th, then we have a few private gigs and weddings through the summer and then the Tetonia Club on August 15th.
HP: We’ve been playing swing dance nights at Guidepost [Brewing] in Victor. Those are always fun. At some point I’ll get another album out that is coming slowly. Occasionally Avery makes specialty baked goods for Valentine’s Day and Christmas, be on the look out for those.
ME: Where can they find your baked goods?
AL: I can do those for hire, I’ll also make hot sauce. My Instagram’s @avey.cakes. Will cook for most things, mostly money, but we can work something out.
Listen above for KHOL’s live performance and full conversation with Henry Pepin & the Moguls.
