Biographies
Josey and the Whalers formed around the end of 2019. It was intended to be a small group with a small, acoustic sound, but the sound system, the keys, the songs, and most of all, the drums, keep growing. Here’s to new adventures, both on and off the stage!
Hoppy pictured with his gong, December 2020
Hoppy Hopson
Originally comes from Texas, but has been all over the world with both music and the oil field, from Thailand to Chad to Paris. A lifelong musician, he was the lead singer of his first group in high school. He has played the drums for most of his life, and toured for years with The Killer Bees, a reggae group based out of Texas.
He moved to Williston in 2011 to work on the oil field, and as often happens, found other musicians, Jeff Peck and Doug Smith. He joined Josey and the Whalers in 2019 in Williston, North Dakota, and has added his own special percussive flair to our original songs, cowbells, timbale, chimes, tambourine and more. He has recently retired, and hopes to play more frequently. He has two daughters, granddaughters, and even two great-grandsons.
Jeff playing for Blu Country, December 2019
Jeff Peck
Jeff is from Wisconsin, and spent most of his life in the Midwest. He has played since high school, and toured with a group from Minneapolis all over the United States. His blues and funk inspired style makes Josey and the Whalers truly unique, and he has helped arrange many of our original songs. His own original song, Same Situation, is also featured on the album.
He moved to Williston, North Dakota after attending trucking school to work for a hot oil company. He turned his garage into a studio pictured in many of our videos. It’s this space that has provided us the time and opportunity to get together and play.
Josey playing solo at The Williston Acoustic Friday Night 2020
Josey Nickles
Josey was born in Alaska, but raised in Wyoming. She performed for the first time at five years old, when her kindergarten teacher gave her a solo for the Christmas program. She has been singing ever since.
She began piano lessons at six years old from her Gran, Dolores Woods, and continued to play through high school. Music has always been apart of her life, wherever she has lived, and she has played and sang in churches, bars, community events, and everything in between.
She began writing songs in 2018, and met Jeff and Hoppy shortly after. They have been playing for three years now, and have just released their first album with Josey and the Whalers.