The Fox Theatre is spicing things up Saturday with a special show by reggae/punk, hip-hop outfit Pepper. The college band is playing with Slightly Stoopid at Red Rocks Friday night. Here’s the deal – the Fox show is part of a two-day package, but individual tix for Pepper’s Boulder show are now available to the public.

Pepper started out playing on the islands of Hawaii, but the group now resides in sunny Southern California. This is one band that is always ready to mix things up when it comes to musical stylings. Pepper is currently touring behind its new, very island-sounding CD “Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations.” Sounds a little Southern Cali to me.

“With all the achievements we make, we’re always looking to go further and take the next step,” said drummer Yesod Williams. “Besides being a pro-surfer, being in this band is the best job in the world. You get to travel around the world and meet people. It’s fun! Our music is more developed now than when we started. We’re a little more rock involved, but we still have the reggae. There’s also a maturity to our songwriting.”

Pepper gets to show off its latest musical sounds on “Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations.” Williams says his band likes to progress on each record and that each CD is uniquely different.

“Now that we own our own label, we’re really taking things into our own hands,” said Williams. “We made exactly the CD the way we wanted to – it’s got more of a punk-rock vibe. We also added a Motown vibe. This is our most soulful record to date.”

AMOS LEE

Philly bluesman Amos Lee is doing double-duty in Colorado this week.

The artist’s playing the Folks Festival in Lyons on Friday, and then he’s hitting the Gothic in Denver Saturday. It’s all good – Lee is out touring with his latest CD “Last Days At The Lodge.” The record was produced by ace studio man Don Was, and the project really shows off Lee’s rich voice and emotive songs.

“It’s been a year since I played Boulder and Denver,” said Lee. “I’ve been working it, man. I’ve been playing a lot of shows and I made a record in L.A. I just try to figure out where I am at the moment for each CD. Lately, I’ve been listening to Iris DeMent and lots of old roots stuff.”

Lee’s excited to be hitting Colorado with his new CD “Last Days At The Lodge.” The record dropped on June 24.

“It took me about a year to make this record,” said Lee. “I think the music is always getting better. I’m always trying to get a deeper understanding of things. I put the music first on this CD and I recorded with the people I liked. I really hunkered down in the studio and this was a fun record to make. It’s all about making songs that people will want to hear live – and people have been receptive to the songs on this album.”

MIKE RELM

Get ready for skateboards and DJs when Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom Huckjam comes to Fiddler’s Green Saturday. The event will feature boarding pros showing off their amazing stunts and DJ Mike Relm providing the pulsating tunes for the event.

DJ Relm visited the Fox Theatre a few months back and showcased his hip-hop/electronica turntable stylings. The artist is known for cranking out audio mashups that are matched up to ever-changing video images. The DJ also tours with the Blue Man Group in his spare time, and he’s released the DVD “Clown Alley” – featuring video clips taken from his Coachella and Blue Man shows.

“I also made my first original CD,” said Relm. “Most of the time I do a mix on my records, but this is the first time I’m doing all original songs. As an artist, I want to grow – I don’t want to do the traditional DJ mix thing forever. When you do other people’s mixes, you’re highly dependent on what other people are doing at the time – and that can be frustrating at times.”

Relm’s original CD is called “Spectacle” and it hits stores Sept. 23. For now, the DJ is touring with the Tony Hawk skateboard blowout – and he loves every minute of it.

“Tony’s manager came to see me at the Blue Man shows and they were looking for an opener for his tour,” said Relm. “I’m on the main stage with the videos and music. This isn’t a music show, but the tour does have this band feel to it. All these skateboarders are doing their tricks and between sets I’m also doing my music and videos. Yeah, I’m working overtime, but it’s a pretty cool thing.”

Relm plans to hit the road this fall to support all his new projects. His original CD has also managed to hit the Top 20 slots of many college and urban radio stations.

“That’s never happened before,” said Relm. “I’m just mad I didn’t do this original stuff earlier, but the timing definitely feels right now.”

OTHER STUFF IN TOWN

Hieroglyphics hit the Fox Friday, The Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue plays the Boulder Theater Friday, and Reggae on the Rocks comes to Red Rocks Saturday.