Epic rock REDEFINED

John Kenny, Philip Peeples and Jim Cocke are on the hunt for epic rock songs created after 2000.

The three Lake Highlands bandmates debate songs for future setlists while finishing lunch at a back table inside Fish City Grill. Cocke says it’s their responsibility to define epic rock music for future generations.

Queen? Absolutely. Radiohead? Divisive. Fall Out Boy? Hopefully not, but millennials love it.

Kenny laments that pop music rules the radio, and Cocke accuses him of being a cantankerous old man.

“What makes a song epic?” is a common conversation topic among members of Epic Unplugged, a cover band that reimagines popular rock music. The eightpiece outfit follows an atypical model, swapping an electric guitar for its acoustic counterpart and adding a string quartet and a piano.

“We do ‘Cashmere’ by Led Zeppelin,” Kenny says. “It’s a different song hearing it live with strings. People are like, ‘Whoa, this is cool.’ That’s the wow factor.”

With only four shows to their name, Epic Unplugged already has booked 10 gigs throughout the fall, including the House of Blues and Lake Highlands

Epic Unplugged

Oktoberfest, slated Sept.29. All eight members are professional musicians, and two are household names in Dallas’ music scene.

Peeples is a drummer for the Old 97s, a 25-year-old alternative country act. Kenny is the guitarist for Graceland Ninjaz, the self-proclaimed “King of Party Bands.”

Thanks to their credentials, booking gigs is seamless, although juggling several projects often is chaotic.

“Only with the quality of players we have could we get ramped up so quickly,” Kenny says.

The inception of Epic Unplugged spurred from a conversation between electric violinist Lance Youts and Kenny. Youts wanted to cover his favorite music, and Kenny wanted to sing again.

They opted to add a bass, piano and drums.

“Then it became, ‘What if we got a string quartet?’ ” Kenny says. “ ‘What if we get a harp? … You know what? Let’s stop there.’ ”

Sans harp, Kenny enlisted longtime musicians Cocke and Peeples. Next, they drafted a rotating cast of violinists, cellists and a viola player for live performances.

Now all that’s left is to narrow down their setlist. Peeples rattles off their choices: the Beatles, the Eagles, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, MGMT, Black Sabbath.

“We might be the first people on the planet to play ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Immigrant Song’ unplugged,” Kenny says.