Pepper MaShay is Diving In to More Than Just The Pool

Pride Diva and Dance Momma Pepper MaShay packed up her things and left Indiana in her twenties, determined to be a singer, without a clue about how colorful her life would turn out to be. She would start her career with an extensive run as a background and session singer, most notably singing backup for Tina Turner for the soundtrack of the film What’s Love Got to Do with It. Once she went solo, her career rocket launched into the dance charts, with single after single of successful dance music, instantly becoming part of club culture. When her hit “Dive in the Pool” became an anthem on the U.S. version of Queer as Folk, she instantly became the mother, sister, and godmother of the LGBTQ community.

Every year she hits the Pride circuit with new music, with no signs of slowing down. If Pride was a goddess, she would be it. Her latest dance hit “Dancin Lights Part 2” celebrates diversity with a club beat infused with a reggaeton and Cuban influence. As her alter ego, Sista Jean, she has equally dominated the folk and blues genre. Once you hear her version of “House of the Rising Sun,” you’ll never hear it the same again. As Sista Jean, she toured the globe with Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band (yes, that Hugh Laurie).

As a person, she is beyond gracious. One of the nicest people in the industry you will ever meet. She always has time for her fans, and you never know when she’ll bust out with an acapella tune. As life would have it, she went from being a performer for the LGBTQ community to becoming a member of the community. A decade ago, she met and fell in love with her wife, Ellen. The two are connected at the hip and make a delightful foil for each other. Since meeting Ellen, Pepper’s life has become that much brighter.

Pepper helps us kick off NEST FEST at The Roost Lounge in Cathedral City with a night of disco and house music, performing her hits and helping us welcome Crystal Waters. We caught up with Pepper during one of her days off on her ranch as we chatted about the music industry, coming out, Pride, and more!

How has the music industry changed the most from your perspective?

It’s basically become too tame for me when it comes to the vocals. I miss hearing the singers I love on the radio. Power vocals of Jocelyn Brown, Michelle Weeks, Inaya Day, Chicago’s Best Dajae, the late Kim English, and my Queen, Ms. Martha Wash!! It gave me life every time I heard all of them.

I’ve always loved singers who hit their “Feel Button” when it comes to the bass and the drums. That’s why I’ve always loved the Basement Jaxx vocalists, and DJ Armand Van Helden singers. I’ve always been a “Child Of The Groove.”

How did you meet and fall in love with your wife Ellen? 

Ellen and I met at an AIDS benefit called “Saddle Up LA.” I volunteered to perform for the organization in return they would let me ride a horse for 3 hours, and I would sing during their dinner. Ellen saw me and came up to me after I had performed, introduced herself to me, and from that meeting, we emailed each other for 6 weeks. I invited her to some of my shows, she invited me to her farm to see her horses. After that meeting, I never stayed another day and night in my home. I knew just by being with her that I had found my soulmate. We will be married for 10 years this October.

Do you think you always had feelings for women or has your sexuality evolved?

 I really think it evolved when I met Ellen. She opened the door to me, and I walked right in. I had been on the road performing for 12 years and had come to realize I needed someone to come into my life. I was ready to stop living by myself. We had a lot in common, we both were married to men, have two adult children, have a blended family, I loved riding horses, and she loved traveling with me to my shows. 

Was it a hard adjustment for your family when you came out? 

My two sons were just happy that I had found someone to love. They felt like I didn’t have to be all wrapped up in their lives anymore. And they were right. They accepted Ellen, and so did Ellen’s son and daughter. I never felt like I was unwanted by both children. It’s been a beautiful life. We’ve been blessed. 

Do you think it is easier to come out later in life than earlier? 

When I was performing “Dive In The Pool,” I had so many young people coming to me and saying that the song gave them the courage to come out to friends and family. I thought it was so strange and I felt empathy toward their lives. They would have tears in their eyes when they would tell me. I think it was easier for me after those moments. Ellen was coming out of a relationship with a woman when we met. I had always had my gay friends, and they were all supportive when they would meet Ellen. It was the hand of fate that put me and her together.

How do you maintain a healthy relationship while in the music business?

I take my wife Ellen on the road with me. She loves to travel, which is a blessing for me. I spent too many years traveling alone, and even though my traveling singing as a background singer with folks like Bobby Caldwell and Hugh Laurie, and as Pepper MaShay was great, it’s better when you can be with someone who really loves and cares about you.

How has the LGBTQ community changed the most from your perspective? 

I’ve had to accept myself for who I am as a lesbian. The community opened their hearts to me before I even knew who I was deep in my heart. I feel exactly how they feel about life. It’s that eternal longing for love that we all search for in our lives.

How has your music changed since coming out?

I’ve been more involved in creating different types of music like blues, jazz, and country. I feel less limited in the different genres I choose to do. Ellen gives me a lot of good feedback on what I want to do. There are no limitations.

Has your coming out limited your mainstream blues singing career?  

No, not at all. When I became a member of Hugh Laurie’s band as Sista Jean, I was treated with nothing but respect. I kept my Pepper MaShay persona to myself. I didn’t want to confuse my newfound fans. Ellen and I got married while I was with Hugh and the Copper Bottom Band. It was glorious. Now my blues fans know me as Pepper MaShay who does dance music and Sista Jean McClain as a blues singer. It’s great!

Your early hits are still demanded at every performance you do…how do you keep the songs fresh? 

Since I only go out to perform my songs during the summer months, it energizes me when I start to rehearse the songs for an upcoming show. I don’t get bored as I did in the early days of being on the road.

What do you love most about performing for the LGBTQ community?

Their undying love for what they hear and see in me which is the warmth and love that I feel when they start to hear “Dive In the Pool,” their coming out song that saved their lives when they heard the song for the first time. This was always expressed to me at my meet and greets. Their smiles and glowing faces fill me with so much joy.

How is your recent music different than your earlier hits? 

My earlier songs were all my personal feelings about unrequited love, feelings about my marriage to my ex-husband, and wanting to have success as a writer and singer.

What do you think the biggest obstacles are for an independent artist in today’s climate?

 I feel lucky I’m an older artist now, and I don’t feel like I have the kinds of pitfalls younger female artists have today. I used my ex-husband as a shield to protect me so that no one would come on to me back in my early days. By the time we had divorced in the late 90s, I was looked upon as an older artist. I was free to be myself. I can’t imagine any of the younger female artists of today not being able to escape from the Me-Too Movement. I hope they haven’t been made to do things to reach their goals. I’m lucky to have had the releases of songs that I’ve sung and written in the 22 years of releasing my own music on my own label. 

What are you working on that you are most excited about?

I have been able to do dance music as Pepper MaShay, and blues music as Sista Jean, as my other persona. My latest song as Pepper “Dancin Lights Part 2.” was a great experience that I’m still promoting. It was composed by my co-writer DJ Marisol Musick who happens to be Cuban. She put together Reggaeton and Tribal Remixes that are just off the chain. We went #1 on the National Latin Music Chart this last August.

And as Sista Jean, I just finished working with my live band, Sista Jeans Blues Machine, which was an exciting experience. We did two songs on a Christmas special on the local PBS channel. My guitar player Carlyle Barriteau and I have a duo named Sista Jean & CB, that we put together in 2010. We have two albums of blues Back To The Root and Requiem For A Heavyweight (Tribute To Odetta). Both albums are up on all streaming platforms. Our next release will be “Shadow People,” a song about immigration, which will be released hopefully on March 10th. And lastly, I’m already planning to finally do an EP of country songs that my friend and songwriting partner Lauren Cazden and I have written and worked on for the past 20 years. The working title will be My Life’s Journey.

What can we expect from your performance for NEST FEST?

I plan to have some fun. We’ll all sing “I Got My Pride,” “Send Me An Angel,” “Dancin Lights Part.2,” and “Dive In The Pool.”

What are some other hobbies/talents we’d be surprised to find out? 

I’m fully Involved in the political realm in trying to save our Democracy as well as climate change, stopping the hate towards the LGBTQIA+ community, and gun violence, and in making a better place for my grandchildren and great grandkids’ futures. 

What is your biggest wish for the LGBTQ community in 2023?

That we all can live our best lives without folks hating a community such as ours that has given so much to make the world a better place for all. 

What is your message to your fans? 

Keep yourself fully engaged in living, don’t give up on yourselves, and make sure you have a good place to lay your head down at night.

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