Fred Ped: We wanted a short band name like Kiss or The Who, something easy to spell and most people had no clue what it was. Steven Dunbar and I lived in a house near Winthrop college in Rock Hill South Carolina. We had this roommate named Boyd that had some kind of leg action or Hustler nudie magazine. There was a story about these two chicks licking each others Peds, Dunbar said "That's it!" The Peds! On the telephone people think your saying the pez, like the candy. Ruyter Suys of Nashville Pussy asked me if I was a child molester. We have heard it all "Peds? like Pedophiles?". The word Peds I believe, is the scientific name for feet.

At the moment we are not touring. We might play the Milwaukee Metalfest again this year. My favorite part about playing in a band is the touring. Special Moments? Of course the 1998 Milwaukee Metal fest we did, but I would have to say my personal favorite was the time we spent on the South Carolina coast. We played this really cool Punk Rock showcase with Grimlock, then two back to back shows with the Stink Ladies.

Fred Ped: It's great for underground artists that don't get caught up in the whole R.I.A.A. bullshit. All I'm going to say about that is Downloading is not a crime. When the recording industry is coming after teens for downloading that's just sad. Because? they are losing money? Maybe they should take a hard look at the quality of the artists. I think the public is sick of turning on their TV sets and seeing this waste of money. Artists and people in the recording industry going on million dollar shopping trips. URG! I could go on all day about this topic. It's easier to promote your band, stay in touch with your audience and track your stats.

Fred Ped: Probably not, would love to deal with someone like Go-Kart, Relapse, Century Media or an Epitaph sized label. I don't care about the money, it would be nice just to make a living touring and writing original music.

With an appetite for destruction, the self-proclaimed “Godfathers of Rasp” are well on their way to a great VH1 Behind the Music episode. In less than a year the band went straight from the practice shed to Main stage at the Milwaukee Metal fest XII. Following the metalfest the Peds had offers from record labels, women and drugs that sent them straight on the path to hell. It’s been exactly 5 years and the Peds are back like a bad slasher flick, ready to destroy the world.

Just outside of Charlotte North Carolina The Peds were formed in 1997 by frontman Steven Dunbar and guitarist Steve Cook. Dunbar, a deranged talent with a penchant for fire, porn and just plain grossed-out lunacy had just split with Liquid Devil (which featured Doug Throgmorton of Antiseen on drums). Steve Cook worked with Stuck Mojo in 1995 as guitar tech on the Snappin’ Necks tour and had played in various local acts. The two met when Steve Cook had placed an ad looking for a vocalist for 4 Speed Overdrive. 4.S.O made headlines in local papers for stunts such as performing in front of little kids at a Magic Show. On the spot they changed lyrics like “Undivided attention to the tip of my cock” to “I bought my first bike at the bicycle shop” and threw out penny candy to get the kids excited. Dunbar and Cook grew up worshiping bands like Motley Crue, The Butthole Surfers, Nirvana and the non-stop party animal Ozzy Osbourne. They knew they had to move on if they were going to earn respect and any kind of fanbase older than 8 years old. The two Steves called up two drinking buddies Mark Ben Benson (Drums) and P.J. Schwerin (Bass). Taking the name out of a porno magazine The Peds created Rasp, which they hoped, would rule the world like Hair Metal and Grunge once did. The Peds had an incredible start selling over 5,000 copies of the demo “House Of Nuts” and the 1998-mainstage spot at the Milwaukee Metalfest sparked record labels interest. It was the bands lifestyle that ended the party just as soon as it had started; success went straight to their egos. The band split up after just a little over a year together, canceling all touring and recording plans for good.

Guitarist Steve Cook went on to join Dead Speed with members of local acts he had worked with in the past. With the reputation of The Peds it wasn’t long before he got Dead Speed a spot on the Gardy Loo, Mentors, Kill Allen Wrench tour. and an opening on a local Ozzfest gig. During the Mentors tour, club owners and friends helped Steve realize Dead Speed was just a weak version of The Peds. Taking advice from the Mentors manager Gumby he picked up and relocated to the North West. The first year he spent most of his time as a studio musician and recorded the track “All women are insane” with Gumby for The Mentors tribute “Rockin’ with a hood”. Gumby passed away of a Heroin overdose and the location of the recording is unknown.

Exactly 5 years after the last Peds show, The Peds decided to reform and release “Escape From Neverland Ranch”, a collection of demos and unreleased material. They are currently recording new material and plan to tour again this summer. Steve Cook aka Fred Ped & Steven Dunbar, now in their late twenties are much wiser and see what they did wrong in the past. The godfathers of rasp are back with a vengeance.

Fred Ped: As a band our biggest influence would have to be the humor we all share. The Peds are all about raising hell, blowing sh*** up, drinking, strippers and chaos. There is always at least one guitar smashed at every show. Common bands we all like are the Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers, Gardy Loo, Fu Manchu, Primus, Motorhead, The Ramones, Beastie Boys, Iron Maiden, Fear and Slayer. Beer is probably the biggest influence on what we end up doing.

Fred Ped: As a band even though we hated it at the time, it would have to be the house we shared on Ebenezer ave in Rock Hill South Carolina. We have thousands of good and bad memories at that old house. Oh and the Silver Dollar Saloon, where we went to drink every night.

Fred Ped: I use Marshall Master Volume amps, JCM 800 and an old JMP. Soldano Hotmod, Soldano Supercharger, Seymour Duncan Original Trembucker Pickups, Gibson Les Pauls, Custom Vampira Schecter Diamond Series S-1 Guitar with Dimebucker pickup, Groove Tubes, D&D picks, Celestion Speakers, Morley Wah pedal, Behringer V-amp pro. That's it no effects. All the crazy sounds on "Sex with your daughter" were done with a key chain toy, played into my pickup.

We just released a lost demo from 1997 on CD for the first time called "Ausgangs/Kopfhorerbuchse" they are available for $5 that includes shipping.