Kepi Ghoulie

Kepi, born Jeff Alexander and also known as Kepi Ghoulie, channels a cartoonish vocal delivery, affection for the Ramones, and welcoming attitude into his lighthearted songs, which brim with memorable melodies and an upbeat tone. He first gained notice leading the Groovie Ghoulies, a group fixated on horror-movie imagery, then branched into country sounds with the Haints before pursuing independent releases that drew on folk traditions in American Gothic, targeted younger listeners in Kepi for Kids, and delivered straightforward rock energy. Returning to the Ghoulies catalog, he oversaw a run of reissues during the mid-2010s. Across every format and style, his work consistently reflects an optimistic perspective, playful compositions, and a cheerfully unpretentious outlook on both living and performing.

He launched his recording path by assembling the Groovie Ghoulies in Sacramento, California, during the late 1980s. The lineup featured Kepi alongside his wife Roach and a rotating cast of drummers, and the band’s fusion of horror themes with bubblegum pop developed across many singles and nine full-length albums issued primarily through Lookout Records, with additional imprints stepping in once Lookout faltered in the early 2000s. Around the same period Kepi and his bandmates created the Haints, a country-rock outfit that produced two albums before dissolving in 2007, shortly after Kepi and Roach ended their marriage.

Kepi promptly resumed activity under the solo banner Kepi the Band and aligned with Asian Man Records. His debut effort in this phase, 2008’s Hanging Out, retained a strong Groovie Ghoulies flavor, after which he issued the acoustic album American Gothic under the name Kepi and Friends, featuring contributions from the Muffs’ Kim Shattuck and power-pop artist Anton Barbeau. Maintaining a steady touring schedule that emphasized encouragement, he also maintained a prolific studio presence that yielded two 2009 releases—Life Sentence and the collaborative The New Dark Ages with Vic Ruggiero of the Slackers—followed by a live recording in 2010, the 2011 album I Bleed Rock and Roll, and the children’s project Kepi for Kids in 2012. He further established a yearly custom of issuing a fresh single each Valentine’s Day.

While continuing to perform live and creating visual art, Kepi joined forces with Eccentric Pop to begin reissuing Groovie Ghoulies material, commencing with Flying Saucer Rock-n-Roll! and Appetite for Adrenochrome in 2014. That year also saw the country-tinged Kepi Goes Country and a new version of the Ghoulies album Fun in the Dark, supported by Dutch punk band the Accelerators. Additional Groovie Ghoulies catalog work appeared in 2016 with the re-release of 1994’s Born in the Basement. In 2017 Kepi delivered his eighth album, Lost and Lovin’ It!, which wove together the punk, Americana, and country threads that have long defined his output.