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Julie Bernsden and the Pepper Corn Duck Club

Welcome to the download page of what was the greatest gut-bucket jazz band to ever grace the stage in Hutchinson, KS. Included below are links to a couple of tracks from high school vocal talent shows (in which Julie stole the show both years), and a live album recorded in the summer of 2002 at the historic Fox Theatre.

Pictured above are the members of the group including our “song bird” Julie Bernsden on vocals, Matthew Gertken on Guitar and Banjo, Curtis Gibson on Trombone, Matthew Kappenman on Bass and Banjo, Grady Payton on Drums and Adam Strange on Saxophones (not pictured). Click on the image to view a larger version of the picture.

Below are links to sort of a “Greatests Hits” for the group. Some of the songs we wrote ourselves, while others are standards that I’m sure you’ll recognize. On a personal note however, playing with these people was the most fun I have ever had playing music. We practiced hard making the music sound as full and authentic as possible, while still being a bunch of young college kids hanging out in Hutchinson, KS in what would be our last summer home. We only really played together as a group for around 5 months, but those that know the instrumentalists are aware that we’d been playing together for almost 5 years in some capacity or another.

Download some MP3s Please

To download the tracks below right (or control) click on them and then do whatever your mundane dialogue box tells you to do (i.e. “save file as” or “download file”). Once the files have downloaded to your desktop (or wherever else you put them) add them to iTunes by either “double clicking” them or go to “file, add to library” and choose the songs.

Spring Carousel

The first two songs were recorded at the 2001 and 2002 Spring Carousel, which is a High School vocal talent show in which Julie blew the audience away two years in a row. These tracks include Ben Esinminger on piano and Dave Keller playing bass on All of Me (I played banjo on that track instead!).

All of Me
Fly Me to the Moon

“Live” at the Fox Theatre

The next 15 or so tracks were recorded during a concert we gave at the aformentioned Fox Theatre. We had set a goal for the summer (since we were all going to different schools in the fall) of playing a show at the Fox. Needless to say we jumped at the chance to play at a concert orgazined to exhibit great Jazz in Hutch.

Unfortunately, due to recording problems (Rumback had to the change the batteries in the middle of the show (my fault) and it lost the first five songs when he did!) the first five songs are of a lower quality being that they were recorded off a video camera in the audience. The rest of the concert was recorded in great quality via a line right off of the sound board. If you feel like checking out the whole show feel free to download all of them…trust me it hearing Julie sings I’ll See You in My Dreams is worth it. The full quality tracks begin with Red Valley Green Valley.

It Don’t Mean A Thing
When the Saints Go Marching In
Riverside Roof*
I’ll See You In My Dreams
Trouble in Mind
Red Valley Green Valley*
Pacific Ocean*
Sittin’ On Top Of The World
I’m Low*
Anything But Love
Won’t You Come Over
Fly Me To The Moon
Call Me On The Phone*
All Of Me
I’ve Found A New Baby

The “*” denotes an original song written by the members of the band, with lyrics by Matthew Gertken.

A Little Band History

I was just about ready to post this page, but I had a sinking feeling that I was leaving something out in terms of telling the story of Julie Bernsden & The Pepper Corn Duck Club. I realized you as a reader might want a little set up as to who, what, where, when and how a group of teenagers got together to create some great, but a little antiquated music in the middle of Kansas.

This group was originally assembled in order to back up Julie in the Spring Carousel talent show in 2001. At that time Gertken and I were heading off to seperate colleges, while the rest of the group at that time was staying in Hutchinson (Curtis had not been brought in yet) so no one really had any thoughts of making it into anything other than an impromptu group. Now the term impromtu group is a little misleading considering Gertken and I had been making music together since we were in the 8th grade, while Grady and Adam entered the scene when we all met up in the Hutch High Jazz band. We’d all been giging for a couple of years and we were pretty much used to throwing a song together, so the idea of playing one song with Julie wasn’t a huge deal in terms of prep. So here’s the set up…

Somehow, someway all 4 of us (Gertken, Grady, Adam and myself) all became deeply interested in different forms of Jazz music, and we talked each other into enrolling in Jazz Combo at the local Junior College in order to play more challenging music. It was here that we hooked up with Curtis (Grady and him are cousins and from there on we attempted to include him in all the musical endevours we took on, even if he was from the dreaded high school rival Buhler High). Throughout High School and early college the five of us (also including Ben Eisenminger, T.J. Williams, Dan Kerr, T.J. Lippincott and Drew Mendoza) took on making music throughout Hutch performing in bands such as Plan 9 From Outer Space (Ska), Tom Tinker and the Wiskey Boys (Alt Country), Dios Mio, Man(Funk/with Zach Mendenhall on vocals), and Lasso Face (Bluegrass).

It wasn’t until college, where Curtis and I were playing in the jazz band at WSU, and Gertken was up at KU (I joined him later that fall) that we realized how much we all missed playing together. So when Grady and Julie started “getting the band back together” for that year’s Spring Carousel (Julie, Adam and Grady were still in High School) that we all got really energized about making music again. It was during the rehersals for that performance that we realized how much fun it would be to do it all summer. Plus we all loved hearing Julie sing, and odds were we were going to have a band anyway (we ended up having 3 that summer) so why not have one with a great vocalist.

Long story short…we had a great summer making music and I think the above tracks are a testament to that.