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“If you want something done right, you do it yourself. Too many bands are waiting around for someone to make things happen for them. It’s harder work to do it yourself but it’s worth more in the end.” – Happy Campers, lvlocalmusicscene.com

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Part 1: 1996 – 1998

Happy Campers began when the music bug bit Isaac Campa in 1995, shortly after wrapping up high school.

Isaac Campa, vocals/guitar

My dad got me an acoustic guitar for high school graduation and I started writing a bunch of songs and poems. I taught myself how to play as most beginners do, by playing songs from my favorite bands such as Nirvana, Green Day and the Beatles. During this time I started to write my own songs as well. When I wasn’t accepted into Cal Poly and my parents had moved away, I had no home and nowhere to go. My best friend Lindy Pennington had moved to Vegas with his family so I figured I’d hang out there for a while.

Lindy Pennington, drums

Isaac bought a guitar and started writing songs. So when we would hang out, I would start drumming on buckets and salad bowls. We didn’t have any formal music background, so we just taught ourselves. When my mom would get annoyed at us for playing in the house we would take the guitar and buckets to a park and play. The crazy part is that sometimes people would actually stop and listen… even though it sounded terrible *laughs*.

Isaac Campa

I never thought to be in a band at that time. Then one day while getting some strings for my new electric guitar, I saw an ad that a bass player and guitarist were looking for a singer and drummer to start a punk band. That was the only ad I ever answered.

Lindy Pennington

That’s how we met Ben and Irk.

Ben Montoya, guitar/drums

Irk and I were close friends in high school. We had always shared a similar taste in music, along with our other close friends, Dave Sanders and Brady Knapp. We had aspirations to form a band for awhile. The turning point was when Irk got his first bass during senior year of high school. He instantly wanted to form a band.

Irk, bass

I bought my first bass shortly after Ben got a vintage Fender guitar. We tried to jam with two of our best friends who also played guitar. There were just too many chefs, so that became difficult. Ben and I decided that we wanted to continue playing and maybe even play some local shows so we made up the ad and put it everywhere hoping for a few good prospects.

Ben Montoya

Pre-social media, pre-corporate music store days, we took those flyers and posted them at various music shops in town. Isaac responded within 48 hours, maybe less.

Isaac Campa

I could barely play guitar and sing, not to mention Lindy was playing ice cream buckets for Christ’s sake *laughs*. 99 musicians out of 100 would have laughed at us and I would have probably never tried again. But the guys whose ad it was were as green as we were.

Ben Montoya

We found out that we had similar senses of humor. It was a light atmosphere. Isaac had songs but he wasn’t forcing us into a mold with them. He was just showing what he had. Lindy was charismatic and silly, which Irk and I both found appealing. We had a sense that things could fit musically and personally. Songs were easily learned.

Irk

The four of us immediately hit it off and we spent just as much time laughing as we did playing. We decided right then that this was a great group and that we wanted to move forward as a band.

Dave Sanders, friend

I went with Ben and Irk to Isaac’s tiny studio to meet these potential bandmates. We chilled and listened to Isaac play the acoustic guitar while Lindy kept a beat on whatever was at hand—books, boxes, possibly some pots and pans.

Lindy Pennington

Isaac had an apartment on the second story near UNLV. We set it up and started playing and within about one minute his neighbors started banging on the walls and telling us to shut the hell up.

Ben Montoya

It was cramped and hot. Lindy had no drums; he played beats with empty soda liter bottles.

Dave Sanders

These guys needed gear and a place to jam, and that tiny studio apartment was not going to cut it. My parent’s place had a decent sized garage that was open enough to accommodate the four of them and their gear. I asked my parents if they could jam in the garage, and they were cool with it… just as long as they could still watch Gunsmoke reruns *laughs*.

Isaac Campa

Dave’s mom let a bunch of loud ass kids practice in her garage and her kid wasn’t even in the band! This still amazes me. We had a ton of fun playing the songs I had written, writing some new, goofy songs and practices usually ended up with everyone switching instruments and Lindy rapping.

Dave Sanders

Sometimes, well into the evening and just beyond the threshold of our neighbors tolerance, things would devolve to freestyle raps and general shenanigans. Instruments would be swapped, angst and giggles would be exorcised, and a group of kids would develop the foundation for what would eventually become Happy Campers. But, let’s be honest here – they were terrible. Loud and fun, but genuinely bad. But eventually they found their voice, honed it, and decided it needed to be heard.

Ben Montoya

We just wanted to play live, like a real band, even if we weren’t invited.

Isaac Campa

So one night, we set all our stuff up at this little outside amphitheater at Winchester Park. We rocked out 5 or 6 of our monster jams to a couple girlfriends, Dave, the guys from Organic, and maybe a few homeless people.

Irk

That was a great night! *laughs* We had been hanging at the park with our girlfriends and we noticed there were electrical outlets near a slightly raised half circle “stage.” Someone had the idea that we should go get our equipment and set up an impromptu show… so we went back to the practice space, loaded up Ben’s truck, and headed back to the park to set up.

Ben Montoya

Having grown up on MTV and watched too many music videos, we probably thought teenagers would just start appearing and running to us as our music emanated towards the heavens. Instead, the police showed up.

Lindy Pennington

That was fun. There was actually a small crowd that hung out for the entire set. Then a cop showed up because we never got a permit.

Dave Sanders

The Winchester Park gig was a helluva good time, if not an entirely “legal” foray. Toward the end of the short set a police officer showed up—likely because neighboring homes were not quite as stoked to have punk blasted during their dinner or sitcoms.

Ben Montoya

We didn’t get set up until like 8.30 or 9.00, i.e. when it was dark and the surrounding area was quiet.

Dave Sanders

The officer chilled, let them finish their song, then explained that we had to shut it down. We shrugged, apologized for disrupting things, and began packing up the gear. Pretty sure that cop said he liked what he heard.

Lindy Pennington

He was cool though and let us take our time packing up.

Ben Montoya

Hey, it was our first “public” gig!

Isaac Campa

Our next show was in Dave’s garage with a band called Planegray (Dave Keuning‎, later of The Killers, was in the band). Ben played the whole show with his back to the crowd and an epic freestyle rap session broke out afterwards.

Dave Sanders

Fun fact: at this point the group was calling themselves “Chunky Monkey.” There may even be a VHS tape or three of those early jams in the garage, but I’d recommend they stay in whichever storage box they’re in until they can be used for some proper blackmail and/or a VH1 “Where The F**k Are These Guys” kind of show.

Isaac Campa

After the Planegray show, our skater friend Sara hooked us up with some people that were putting on an outside skate show. Since we had a real show coming up it was time to decide on a band name.

Ben Montoya

Isaac and Lindy liked to joke about monkeys and make up nicknames associated with monkeys. I am actually quite surprised we didn’t end up with “monkey” in our band name.

Isaac Campa

We would make up a new name for our band at each practice, like “Bothan Spies” or “Rage Against the Monkey.” It was always something stupid and usually had “monkey” in the title for some reason.

Irk

Everyone had very different ideas on what our name should be and it became a little game for us. We would see who could outdo everyone else with every name we could come up with. It seemed there was no end in sight as each time we thought we had settled on something, someone would come up with an even better name.

Lindy Pennington

My little brother actually came up with the name!

Isaac Campa

Lindy’s brother said we should be “Happy Campers,” because no matter how much bad stuff happened to us, we just laughed it off and kept on going. That sounded good to me and has kind of become the theme to my life.

Ben Montoya

We liked it because of what we thought was the contrast between a kitschy phrase associated with family vacation and our loud punk music about slacker lifestyle.

Isaac Campa

That was our first taste of playing a real show and our introduction to the Vegas music scene. That show was when I decided that this is what I want to do with my life. Nothing was more fun than playing shows and meeting people who loved doing the same thing as us. We played with Attaboy Skip, Boba Fett Youth, Nonoxynol 9 and a band called Milkhouse who did a NOFX cover – so we instantly thought they were amazing.

Ernie Castaneda, drums/bass

I met Isaac and everyone at a grand opening of a McGee’s Skies, Bikes, and Boards. My band, Milkhouse, played right before the Happy Campers. I looked into the bed of Irk’s blue Ford Ranger and saw that they basically had practice amps *laughs*.

Lindy Pennington

My drum kit was crappy and the high hats were all cracked. Ernie said he would lend me Milkhouse’s.

Ernie Castaneda

We offered to let the whole band use our gear, but Irk said “No, we’re good. We got our levels on.” He came across as so professional! I thought they must have their own sound guy or something to have such tiny amps *laughs*. So, I was expecting a lot. They played and I loved the sound so I chatted with Isaac. I was just getting into home recording. They wanted to record, so I offered to record them. And we did.

Isaac Campa

Irk and I ended up moving in with Ernie’s girlfriend at the time. When they broke up, she moved out and Ernie took her place. And the first “Happy House” was born! It was here that we really started focusing on the band by practicing every day and hanging out every night.

Irk

It was great living there. I had just turned 18 and graduated high school, it was on the other side of town from where I grew up, and we could play anytime we wanted! Good times. We had 3 different bands with members living and practicing there so that meant there was a band practicing every night during the week. Then we would have house shows on the weekends! It was so much fun!

Dave Sanders

Practice sessions in their dining room were a common occurrence, as were concerts (both theirs and those of multiple other groups), impromptu jams, and a fair share of parties.

Lindy Pennington

I didn’t live at the Happy House, but I showed up for the parties, which got pretty crazy.

Ben Montoya

I never lived there formally, though I spent much of my time there. It was a mess. More a music rehearsal space than a home. A run-down neighborhood on the west side of town. In other words, a neighborhood where you could play loud music and no one would call the cops. It was a place of freedom, fun, stupidity, some mistakes and lots of rehearsing.

Irk

One house show was announced on the college radio station and we had hundreds of punks show up. About half way through the show a group of skins showed up and started messing with everyone. They were told to leave but then came back a little later with baseball bats. That night got out of hand! There was wall-to-wall punks inside and the backyard was packed as well, and in come the skins trying to bust up our fun. No one was having any of it and they got dealt with pretty quickly. After they were gone the show continued as if nothing had happened.

Ben Montoya

Crazy antics aside, we really started to come together as a band as we had space to really work on our chops. And because we had a bigger space, we could invite friends over to hear us, which built networks and got us gigs at other band houses. In an age before social media, it was a grassroots, hardworking and genuine effort.

Isaac Campa

Lindy was starting to concentrate on other things at this time, so we ended up practicing with Ben on drums. We realized we sounded better with that lineup and became a three-piece.

Lindy Pennington

I had just started a job with an airline and did a lot of traveling, so I couldn’t commit to practice and shows.

Ben Montoya

I got an eight-piece drum set for a steal of a deal and we tried it out. It clicked, instantly. We found a clarity and punch to our sound that we didn’t know could be there. We realized that having two guitars was redundant for a band that never did guitar solos and only played power chords. We also realized that my style of drumming held down the beat in a way that made our sound less silly and more meaty.

Dave Sanders

This is when The Campers really began to hit their stride.

Ben Montoya

Lindy was an original, and he always will be. But he never had a consistent playing style that held down the beat. It was almost like he was a jazz drummer by nature, in which improvisation is constant. Well, it is hard to know what your sound is if the drummer is playing songs a little differently each time you play them. By contrast, I was coming up with parts: parts that complemented Isaac’s songwriting and Eric’s developing bass playing. Excuse the cliche, but the Happy Campers quickly transformed into a power trio.

Isaac Campa

Things moved very quickly after that. We started playing shows every weekend and recorded a demo Hooked on Ebonix with Ernie’s recording equipment. By the end of 1997 we recorded our first CD Campfire Songs, which was released by Nicole Sligar on Shoestring Records, and had a manager, Steve DeZarn (currently of The People’s Whiskey).

Steve DeZarn, former manager

I saw a band with poignant songs that related to the “struggle” of suburban youth the same way that Green Day and The Offspring were connecting to audiences at the time.

Nicole Sligar, Shoestring Records

I was impressed with their work ethic and the amount of people they brought to their shows, so when I started my record label, I wanted them on it!

Isaac Campa

For our CD release for Campfire Songs we opened for the Vandals at the Huntridge. It was the Christmas show which was always a ton of fun and it was our first big show to probably like 1000 people. We were all super nervous but the show went great. I did a backflip with my guitar which was a big hit and I didn’t kill myself, so bonus there.

Irk

The crowd was great and the Vandals were really cool to us. I got to drink beers with Josh Freeze [drums], the drummer for No Doubt [Adrian Young] was there, and Warren [Fitzgerald, guitar] was really encouraging to us. Pansy Division put on a great show and the Vandals were unstoppable, as usual. We got to hang out backstage at the Huntridge, which was the first big stage that we played on.

Isaac Campa

We had been going to the Huntridge to see all our favorite bands so I felt like we were a real band when we played there and had a CD to sell at the show.

Ben Montoya

The Huntridge Theater was an island in a sea of superficial and trendy music. In a town where bands were usually cover acts of 70s and 80s music, or country western music (such as Kenny Rogers), the Huntridge was the place where kids like me went to see the bands that mattered: Sonic Youth, The Jesus Lizard, Helmet, Therapy?, Biohazard, Sepultura, ect. If it wasn’t for the Huntridge, many of those bands probably would have never come to Las Vegas. Can you imagine Sepultura playing the Aladdin?! Being on the stage and playing the show was exhilarating. I felt like we were establishing ourselves as a real band, as a real contributor to a music scene in Las Vegas. Perhaps the irony was that I left the band within six months of that Vandals show.

Isaac Campa

By 1998 the other guys were starting to get ready for new adventures. Ben left to concentrate on school. I don’t think Ben was ever super excited about punk music. He was more into Soundgarden and stuff like that.

Ben Montoya

Isaac and Irk wanted to take the band on tour. To me, they wanted to make the act more about a business – selling merch, going on tour, selling CDs. I was not comfortable with that; I just wanted to play. Also, I became more focused on school. It wasn’t lost on me that my grades during my first two years of college were poor, the two years I was with the Happy Campers. I also left the band because of musical differences. We didn’t have fights over music, per se, but I became increasingly less interested in the musical direction of The Campers. I came out of a different rock music tradition. I was more of a Seattle music guy, not a punk guy (Chris Cornell was my hero – and still is). I liked what we played, and I could do the punk rock playing style to an extent, but my heart was less and less in it. So I left in May 1998.

Isaac Campa

I think he had fun playing and being in a band. I don’t think I ever really noticed the musical differences until he left because I was so excited. Ernie replaced Ben on the Drums. This worked out since we were all living together in the second Happy House.

Ernie Castaneda

They were rehearsing in the Happy House and so I got to get real familiar with their sound and their songs. So when they ended up needing a drummer, I already knew the songs, and so that’s how I ended up becoming their drummer.

Lindy Pennington

Ernie is funny and definitely talented. I think he added a lot musically when he joined the group.

Ernie Castaneda

I had been playing bass since 1988 and at that time I was a much better bass player than drummer. I wanted to be a drummer, but I was a terrible at it back then *laughs*. I had no respect for timing or any of that stuff. But I liked the energy and their style of music. I don’t think any of us were planning on me being their drummer, but we all got along great and that was the key component. And the music was fun.

Isaac Campa

Ernie had a very “colorful” personality. Once we were eating dinner at a restaurant when he ripped out his own leg hair and put it in Irk’s soup while laughing and blowing his soup all over my face. Things like this happened pretty much every day with Ernie around. We toured up and down California as well as El Paso, Texas where our van broke down; this would happen a lot in our future. We recorded a new demo Sumpin’ New. We got to open for the Offspring at the Joint and played the first Extreme Thing. We also played a lot of shows up in Reno, which eventually led to Irk deciding to move there for college.

Irk

I grew up in Las Vegas and everyone else had moved there. I was just ready for a change of scenery so I decided to go to UNR. I am in the Army now and have lived all over the world so I guess I should’ve been careful for what I asked for! I still keep in regular touch with Ben and I was in touch with Isaac for a good while after I left Vegas. We have always picked up right where we left off which is awesome.

Isaac Campa

It was at that point I realized the band was in my hands and whatever was going to happen was on my shoulders…

Part 2: 1998-2001

Happy Campers continued to experience lineup changes. And while the new members continued to be jokesters on the stage, things began to run more professionally behind the scenes.

Isaac Campa, vocals/guitars

After Irk left the band we decided to move Ernie to bass and bring in Vic Moya on drums. Vic was an aspiring comic book artist with a lot of energy.

Vic Moya, drums

I was in The Sweat Hogs and we had played a few shows with Happy Campers, who were this poppy, kinda sloppy, but extremely fun band. One show, someone suddenly said over the mic “Let’s give a big Camper farewell to Irk Campa!” After the show I found out that Ernie was shifting from drums to bass and the band was looking to fill the drummer position. I asked if I could tryout and bam – I was in the Happy Campers. The Sweat Hogs weren’t too thrilled with sharing a drummer and asked me to choose. Just by asking, they made my decision. I was a full-time Camper.

Ernie Castaneda

Victor had a real talent for drums. Much higher than mine. When Irk moved to Reno… I didn’t really want to switch instruments. But I was a much better bass player than drummer, and Victor was a much better drummer. So it just made sense to bring Victor on and move me to bass. It was a smart decision.

Isaac Campa

Ernie was a monster on the bass. He could play every Primus song ever written. We started to become a more serious band. The music was a lot darker, a lot faster and a lot better.

Vic Moya

We gelled right away. Ernie liked the same kind of punk that I did and we steered Isaac in that direction, slightly away from goofy pop punk while still keeping it fun. Especially at the live shows.

Isaac Campa

Ernie would play Super Mario songs while I jumped around like the plumber. Ernie and I would take time between each song to make fun of each other and Vic. I think we may have wanted to be stand up comics more than a punk band.

Vic Moya

Ernie and Isaac just kind of busted on each other, and me. Though Isaac got the worst of it. He was kind of accident prone and did silly stuff like pushing on a pull door, smashing his face into it, then trying to push again when there was a giant sign posted on it that said, “Pull” *laughs*. That kind of stuff.

Isaac Campa

It was a great time in the Vegas scene with lots of good punk bands. We had fun shows at places like the Huntridge, the BatCave, and the Castle, but we were also concentrating on getting out of town and doing our own thing. I bought a piece of shit van and we traveled all over the western United States doing mini tours with bands like Boy Kicks Girl (San Jose), Evenground (Reno), and File 4 (Colorado Springs).

Brett Holt, Boy Kicks Girl

Isaac and crew were always a pleasure to play shows with. We were based out of San Jose. To help each other gain followings in our cities we would put each other’s bands on our shows. This was a great way for us to gain exposure in Las Vegas and they would gain a following in the Bay Area. We would go on to play with them 16 more times.

Ernie Castaneda

At that time, the thing that held us together was that we were friends first. We just got along great.

Vic Moya

Touring was tough. I didn’t know how to drive so it was just Ernie and Isaac trading off. We weren’t made of money so we either slept in the van or begged for a place to crash during our set. Then sometimes Isaac would have to sleep in the van anyway because he has severe allergies.

Isaac Campa

I have terrible asthma and am extremely allergic to cats, dogs, dust, mold and… pretty much everything. We stayed at random people’s houses quite a bit on tour. We’d get there and find out they have cats or the house was super dirty and then I’d be screwed and have to sleep in the van. But the alternative was almost dying, like in Idaho one night. I was only being able to play five songs because I could barely stand, let alone sing.

Vic Moya

Then the van would break down every other show.

Isaac Campa

That goddamn van must have broke down at least 15 times. Luckily, Ernie knew enough about cars to keep fixing it.

Vic Moya

Ernie was also a devious prankster. I’m claustrophobic and he thought it would be funny to lock me in the back of a truck.

Ernie Castaneda

We lured him there and he freaked out so bad that I was afraid he was gonna kick the glass out of my camper shell! So we let him out *laughs*.

Vic Moya

He let me pretty quickly because it looked like I was going to dive through the glass to get out. Isaac had his turn locked in the back too. But for this one, Ernie drove through a parking lot hitting every bump and dip he could, resulting in Isaac bouncing all over as if he were a super ball.

Isaac Campa

Ernie started driving like 50 mph over speed bumps!

Ernie Castaneda

Victor and I were in the front, and the reason I remember that is because in the rearview mirror a couple times I hit some parking curbs and I could literally see Isaac lifting up into the air. I don’t think he enjoyed it nearly as much as Victor and I did *laughs*. But it did make Victor feel better and that was my goal.

Isaac Campa

During this time I became obsessed with every aspect of the band. I would spend all night booking shows and writing songs. I started my own label, Monkey Ass Records. I became really focused on songwriting and wanted to make sure each song had a point or story to tell. One day while watching the press coverage of Columbine, I wrote one of our most popular songs, “PuppetShow.” It’s about how disgusted I was with the reporters and the way they treated people who had just lost their friends and family.

Vic Moya

We recorded with Adam “Bomb” Segal (The Faction, 2¢ Worth). One release was Big City Campers and a few more single songs meant for compilations.

Adam “Bomb” Segal

Working with Happy Campers was really fun. We were all friends and they were open to taking advice… for the most part.

Isaac Campa

Big City Campers had “Puppetshow” on it, as well as “Sixteen” and “Voices.” These would end up being some of our most popular songs, even to this day.

Ernie Castaneda

Working with Adam was an eye opener. He introduced us to things that we never knew, like timing and tonal differences. How the hi-hats washed over guitar riffs at certain times. Things like that.

Adam “Bomb” Segal

I did try to get the timing a little better, as there was no click going on that early stuff. A click won’t help a drummer with loose timing, just drive him crazy.

Isaac Campa

A few of the songs from these sessions found their way onto MTV as background music as well as Tony Hawk and Bam Margera’s Cribs episodes.

Vic Moya

Adam also helped us get ready for what would be the biggest undertaking for The Campers yet, recording S’moreCore.

Isaac Campa

When I showed Adam the original solo for “All Alone” he said he didn’t think a single note of it was in key *laughs*. It became apparent that it was time for me to learn how to play my guitar better. One of my biggest regrets about the band was that I never wanted to learn more about music and theory early on. I guess I thought it was more punk rock to do things my way and not have outside influences.

Ernie Castaneda

I’ve been doing music forever and every time you record there’s always something you wished you did differently. But we learned a lot on that one. Recording with Adam was, in a word: “very educational.” Adam taught us a lot on S’MoreCore. He could have just said, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” But no, he took some time and offered up and shared a lot of his experience with us. And we gained a lot because of it.

Isaac Campa

I got a crash course on playing in key, rewrote all my solos and we went into the studio to record S’moreCore. Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. My SG had a crack in the neck and never stayed in tune so we had to re-record all my guitars.

Ernie Castaneda

Adam kept having this issue with the tuning going out. And we’re probably four or five songs into this thing and Isaac’s like “Oh yeah, well, my head stock’s cracked, that might be a problem” *laughs*. Adam just couldn’t believe that somebody kept that under wraps for so long. I think if you mention it to Adam his eyes will still pop out of his head *laughs*.

Adam “Bomb” Segal

It was a total nightmare. We did a lot of tracks before realizing there was a small crack in the neck of Isaac’s guitar, and it was slightly dipping in pitch whenever he played hard. Once we started doubling guitars there was no way to get it to sound in tune and we couldn’t figure out why. I was playing, Isaac was playing and everyone was trying to figure out what was going on. Then I saw the crack in the guitar, and we started over redoing all the guitars we’d already done.

Isaac Campa

Some of Vic’s drums sped up. I was sick a lot due to my bad asthma and allergies so we were constantly redoing the vocals. The engineers at the studio lost some of the tracks. We overpaid quite a bit for studio time and probably should have just done the thing at Adam’s house to begin with, but such is the way of Happy Campers. Nothing is ever easy. Live and learn. I ended up putting almost 10 grand on my credit cards to record the damn thing.

Adam “Bomb” Segal”

It was fun, but doing it at an outside studio was tough because everyone was stressed about the hourly costs.

Ernie Castaneda

You have to give Adam credit because he stuck it out. He stayed easily three times longer than he agreed to and he didn’t charge us an extra penny. I gained a lot of respect for him. He also stuck to his guns on a lot of things. We would say, “I want this or that” and he would say, “Nope, you’re going to want this.” And we ended up putting out S’MoreCore and it was good. It was really good.

Isaac Campa

When the album was finished, Vic decided that he wasn’t going to be able to leave his family to tour. He left the band before the CD came out.

Vic Moya

I had to move to Denver for some family stuff, which ending up sorting itself out before I even left town. The drummer position had already been filled by then, so there was no going back. That was when I hooked up with Adam’s band 2¢ Worth.

Isaac Campa

Ernie left shortly after that. He wanted a second guitarist for the live shows but I wasn’t ready for it at that point. I liked having a poppier edge and second guitarists tend to be for bands that play heavier stuff.

Ernie Castaneda

In the recordings, we layered a lot of guitar. I felt that to produce that sound live we needed a second guitar player on stage. I didn’t want to go on performing in front of people presenting a CD that sounded like two guitars but only having one on stage.

Isaac Campa

I was pretty possessive of my songs and message and liked it to be pure and clean. In hindsight, we probably would have done better and the music would have been better if we added a second guitarist then. But that was my mindset at the time. Hey, some people tell me they like the old stuff better than our new CD, which musically blows those old ones away. So who knows?

Ernie Castaneda

I was frustrated and I let it get the better of me. So I left out of frustration. I think the term I used was “bogus.” I said “This is bogus and I don’t want to be in a bogus band.” And rather than work it out or talk it out or accept it I just quit.

Isaac Campa

I had lost another line up, had 10 thousand dollars of debt, was sleeping on people’s couches and had a 30-day tour booked with no bandmates to play. It was depressing, but I was determined that the show must go on. Most of 2000 and 2001 were spent touring with whoever could fill in. Larry Freire, a metal drummer, was the only member that lasted more than a few months.

Larry Freire, drums

My girlfriend worked with Isaac’s girlfriend and they got to talking one day. She called me and said that Happy Campers was looking for a new drummer. Touring was fun. I met some cool heads and saw some cool places. There wasn’t a lot of money on the road but we always seemed to find someone to let us crash their pad.

Isaac Campa

I wasn’t happy with the situation and for the first time, it felt like the band was taking a step back. I wasn’t sure if I could keep it up anymore but help was on the way….

Part 3: 2001-2009

Happy Campers soldered on with another new lineup, eventually gaining a boost of popularity from an unusual source.

Isaac Campa, vocals/guitars

I had a month long tour booked when Ernie left, so I needed a bass player STAT. Gene “Bean” Boothe went to junior high and high school with my then-girlfriend (now wife), so he had been hanging around our shows. Gene ended up being our roadie for a couple tours and was quickly becoming one of my best friends

Gene “Bean” Boothe, bass

I spent seven days with them on the road, which got me hooked on touring. I was barely 18 and headed out to take over the west coast!

Isaac Campa

One day he said, “I’m going to learn bass and be in your band.” I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but he bought a bass and a month later he had mastered all the songs.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

I had never played an instrument before and had bought a bass for a guy named Chris so that he could join The Campers. He got through one tour and moved on to other shit.

Isaac Campa

Chris ended up being a hot mess. His playing was good enough but he would be yelling at his ex on the phone on people’s lawns until 4 a.m. Or he would turn up missing when we had to drive to next town. One night knocked me off the stage and onto a $5,000 soundboard. I was gonna kick him out but Larry and me figured we might as well finish the tour.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

I got the bass back and taught myself a couple of the easier Camper songs in one night.

Isaac Campa

Let’s face it, Happy Campers isn’t rocket science *laughs*.

Gene “Bean” Boothe, bass

I had a flying spaghetti monster talent for the bass and destroying stages!

Isaac Campa

Larry couldn’t do a big tour we had booked because of work, so Jay Losey of 7 Foot Midget introduced us to his friend Logan Kolb. Logan was only 17, but was very talented and funny. He pulled off learning all the songs four days before tour. Halfway through the tour he became our permanent drummer.

Logan Kolb, drums

I was excited for the opportunity but I was also really young. I was only 17 at the time and still in high school. Touring was wild but a lot of fun. I learned 10 songs in four days. On the fourth day we left for tour so it all happened fast. Isaac looked after me since I wasn’t 18 yet.

Isaac Campa

We had some great tours and were starting to get on a lot of great festivals back home in Vegas. We played the Tony Hawk Big Skate Park event, which showcased a bunch of great skateboarders like Bob Burnquist, a young unknown named Shaun White, and Tony Hawk himself. It was amazing.

Logan Kolb

It was a huge show for us and playing to our hometown was great. It was one of the biggest shows we had ever played at that time.

Isaac Campa

We did part of the Slim Jim tour in Texas and hung out with wrestling midgets and circus act people. We also got to meet Macho Man Randy Savage, who was the spokesman.

Logan Kolb

Macho Man Randy Savage introduce us at each show. They had midget wrestling, a freakshow and a contortionist. We ended up partying with everyone from the freakshow, so I kept coming up with ideas to try to get on stage with them.

Isaac Campa

Logan ended up drinking an entire bottle of ketchup!

Logan Kolb

I said, “If I chug this bottle, can I be in your freakshow?” A giant guy said, “If you do it, I’ll let Tito the Midget break a beer bottle over my head.” So I pounded the bottle and the midget tried to break a Corona bottle over his head. He hit him like 5 times and knocked him out without breaking it *laughs*. While waiting for the elevator at our hotel that night I had to puke. I tried to make it to the trash can but didn’t and threw up all over by the vending machine. We had had pizza for dinner and that mixed with a bottle of ketchup and beer looked like a crime scene *laughs*.

Isaac Campa

All this touring led up to one of our biggest shows, Extreme Thing 2002. We opened the show and played to almost 10,000 people. It was nuts! We sold merch and signed autographs for six hours. The big, signed bands that played were asking who the hell we were.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

We were playing with huge bands on huge stage. We were getting lots of love from Vegas locals and many more thanks to our stage performances and our personalities. We loved hanging out with our fans and getting to know people along the way.

Isaac Campa

Around this time, life on the road and partying was proving to be too much for Logan. It was hard but we knew it was best to part ways.

Logan Kolb

I wasn’t 21 and we were playing mostly 21+ venues on tour. The rest of the band was older. I was drinking too much and so was everyone else and we fought a lot towards the end. It came to a head in California when everyone wanted to go to a bar and I didn’t. They snuck me in, we got drunk and we got in a fight. I had had enough so I left. I spent the night on the street, rode a bus to the airport in the morning and flew home. We played one show after that and went our separate ways. It wasn’t a positive environment for me at that young of an age and I was not easy to deal with. So it was the best move for all of us.

Isaac Campa

Jay, who had introduced us to Logan, was living with Gene at the time. Gene decided that Jay was going to drum for The Campers, but I was reluctant to the idea. 7 Foot Midget was our close friends and my favorite local band. But Jay was also one of the best drummers Vegas had seen and it was ultimately his decision to make.

Jay Losey, drums

Logan left Happy Campers for personal reasons and I was in the position where I could finish the last leg of their tour. Helping out with the end of the tour wasn’t weird, but quitting 7 Foot Midget to join The Campers full time was very tough. The other members of 7 Foot Midget were concentrating on college and their future careers, whereas I really wanted my career to be playing music. The Campers were more focused on touring, which is what I wanted to do.

Isaac Campa

We finally had the solid lineup I’d always wanted and we took off from there! We recorded our self-titled CD, which became known as Black Bear Album, with Frank Klepacki. Brian Saliba (Smash Magazine) became our manager before the album and he set us up to record with Frank.

Frank Klepacki, producer

Brian was a mutual friend, so I met with the guys to listen to their practice session and find out what their goals were. I took notes on what I would suggest to enhance what they already have. They said they just wanted as good a representation of these songs as we could get, and they were receptive to some of my ideas as it pertained to the studio – whether it was layering vocals, guitars, making slight arrangement tweaks or altering amp tones and drum tunings.

Isaac Campa

We recorded four songs with him and hit it off so we did the rest of the album. Frank’s a great dude and fun to work with.

Frank Klepacki

I think it’s a very sincere album – Isaac certainly wore his heart on his sleeve. Musically it’s as strong as any good punk album I’ve heard. I wanted them to sound like they had the same energy as their live show. I enjoy recording the old school way – choose the right mics for the job, have the guys come in prepared to play it down, no auto-tuning, no sample replacement, no amp modelers. It’s all their sound, legit.

Isaac Campa

We were touring a lot and playing big shows like Rebelpalooza with NOFX, Extreme Thing and Red, White and Boom. Our Christmas benefit show at the Huntridge brought over 800 people and was the largest local show ever for unsigned bands.

Jay Losey

Red, White and Boom was an amazing day. We upset Brian Saliba by using a ton of his water bottles to fill up our kiddie pool that we brought backstage. Playing in front of a crowd that big is an experience that sticks with you for a lifetime.

Isaac Campa

I was busy running the merch booth and taking care of business, as usual. The other guys used like 50 water bottles to fill a kiddie pool *laughs*. I mean it was hot out so… But I felt like a babysitter for a few years there. It was a lot of work sometimes to keep the train on the tracks.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

We were lucky enough to get a large following of loyal fans and friends that helped us along the way. Hard work and good people helped make us a known Vegas commodity for a hot minute. The big shows were always fun. We usually got to party with some big bands and cool people. We also wreaked havoc at times and had too much fun… Lots of stories there. Lots! *laughs*.

Isaac Campa

One night a couple guys showed up at one of our shows and asked if they could use some songs in a video they were making. We figured it was a skate video or something and said, “Sure, whatever.”

Gene “Bean” Boothe

We were playing a show and these guys from Indecline are there and they say, “Come check out these fight videos we did.” They wanted to use our music, which was cool to me. We had a few different groups of people making videos ask for our music, so it was something we were used to.

Isaac Campa

A few months later, their video BUMFIGHTS VOL 1 sold a million copies.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

The BUMFIGHTS thing was crazy. Howard Stern played a clip that included one of our songs during his show! A friend called and told me he was listening when it happened. That’s when we knew some shit was going to get cray.

Jay Losey

The exposure we received from the BUMFIGHTS videos was unparalleled for us as far as its reach to other countries throughout the world. It was great exposure for quite some time until all of the bad press surrounding the video began to be publicized and spread through the community.

Isaac Campa

It got everyone else arrested and sued, but got us an international fanbase that we could have never imagined. I didn’t really liked being tied to BUMFIGHTS because I was more about a positive message but there was no denying it got a lot of people to hear us and let’s face it, they were pretty funny.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

Touring the USA after BUMFIGHTS was definitely better. We had never made it out to the East Coast, and BUMFIGHTS helped get us good shows.

Isaac Campa

Next we made a music video for “Wave the Flags.” I had worked out a deal with some guys to film a few videos for us. Jay showed up to the shoot in white spandex shorts and no shirt.

Jay Losey

It was cool being in the middle of nowhere playing in the desert, but the music wasn’t loud enough for us to play along.

Isaac Campa

My brother Travis Irvine happened to come to town a few months later. We redid the shoot with him directing and made sure the PA system was blasting the song so we could sync up to the song.

Travis Irvine, brother of Isaac Campa

Isaac and I are brothers from other mothers and grew up together as much as possible when our dad would have him in Ohio in the summers. We reconnected when I was in college and bonded over our mutual artistic pursuits. We decided to work together and since this song was politically conscious – another mutual passion – it seemed like a perfect fit.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

I thought it turned out really good, especially for the time. It’s still such a relevant song, Isaac is a great songwriter.

Travis Irvine

The only bummer is that the video isn’t higher quality. I shot it on my mini-DV camera, which was the hottest and highest quality video at that time. The war footage came from Iraq War documentaries that I took out from the library (we didn’t have any rights to any of it, but that fit the punk rock motif). But for as raw and rough as it was, I’m still proud of the message and the art we created.

Isaac Campa

pIn 2004 we recorded Old School EP, also with Frank, and did our biggest tour, a two-month stint all the way to the East Coast and back, as well as a few weeks on the Warped Tour.

Jay Losey

Warped Tour was a blast. Each date was a different experience. We weren’t on the main stages for those shows, so some of the crowds were decent, and some were thin. Even though most musicians would prefer to play in front of a massive crowd with tons of energy – myself included – it’s also rewarding to play to a small crowd with people that are really into the music and enjoying themselves.

Isaac Campa

It was amazing but I think it burnt us all out, too. We were having a lot of fun but we never quite got over the hump to be a band that could do it for a living. We didn’t have a label and punk was starting to wane in popularity.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

It was fun, I learned a lot, I met a ton of great people and we played our asses off. And I’ve got to say, I don’t think there was a three-piece anywhere that could hang with our stage presence and energy. Isaac and Jay were beasts and we definitely earned respect everywhere we played.

Jay Losey

There is nothing like playing to new crowds every night, partying with different people, learning about different communities and ideologies, and above all the bonding and shared experiences with your bandmates.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

We had to work so hard to do it our way but it paid off. Touring with my bros was the best time of my life.

Isaac Campa

It was after this that life got real. I had a near-fatal asthma attack at the Excalibur jousting show. I was rushed to the hospital and put on life support for a day.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

When Isaac almost died, that really changed a lot of what we had going on. I believe we were right at the cusp of breaking into the next level and it’s unfortunate that we had this setback. It was hard seeing our brother in that condition and our focus shifted to him getting better so we could continue our run.

Jay Losey

I don’t think it took Isaac long to bounce back. It ultimately seemed like a small blip and Isaac was back in action.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

When Isaac was ready, we got at it again with a furious disposition. It was tough at first, which happens when you disappear in a fickle scene for a few months. After we had our comeback going and were starting to get ourselves back to that level, Isaac told us he was having a kid. I’ll be honest – I was scared. All I wanted to do was play shows, travel, be in a punk band and enjoy life. That news really put a mental fork in my road. I love my band family and the extended part of it I love just as much. Isaac’s kid is my family and his wifey-boo is like a sister to me. I was one part happy, one part scared, and lots of parts confused about what could be.

Isaac Campa

In early 2005, my first son Azure was born through an emergency C-section at 2 pounds. He suffered severe brain damage. My fiancée and I had no idea what we had just signed up for. Our little guy was blind, had cerebral palsy and later we would add autism and epilepsy to his long list of diagnoses. We were told that he might never be able to talk or walk as well. It was a very hard time for me. I was almost 30 and eager to start a family but I wasn’t expecting it to be like this. The band had to take the back burner. We never stopped playing but we definitely slowed down.

Jay Losey

It was difficult for Isaac and his wife at that time because Azure was dealing with so many issues. I feel like going through all those tough times gave Isaac a certain level of intense emotional clarity.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

All I cared about then was Azure surviving and living to have a normal life. So much changed when that happened and all I could think of was Isaac and his wife and how unlucky we’d all been through everything the past few years. I love them all to death and I wish I had done more or could have done more at the time. Hindsight is always 20/20 after you grow up a little bit.

Isaac Campa

I just had Azure and was dealing with a lot of depression. I was ready to be a dad but it didn’t work out the way I was expecting. Azure didn’t come home from the hospital for a few months and that was just the tip of the iceberg. All four of my grandparents died in a four year span. My wife’s dad passed. My songs had always had a somewhat positive tone but that was starting to change. I was writing more by myself on an acoustic.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

Loss of family members took its toll on us all at some point. It was like one fucking thing after another, for all of us.

Isaac Campa

Gene left to tour with Unwritten Law as a roadie, so we added Ernie back to the mix and decided we would stop touring for a while.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

I left for a lot of reasons, some personal and some for experience and growth. I was doing merch for Unwritten Law at a show through Brian Saliba. I ended up becoming good friends with the guys and they invited me on an 11 month tour. I definitely took advantage of touring with huge bands and some crazy shit went down. Nothing bad, just crazy *laughs*.

Isaac Campa

In 2007 we decided to work with Adam “Bomb” Segal again and started to record Death and Mourning in Las Vegas.

Ernie Castaneda

Isaac and I had mended our relationship. Gene was gone and Isaac had already written enough stuff to put out another record. He needed someone to do the studio stuff. I couldn’t commit to touring, but they were cool with me just laying down tracks. I was happy to do that. I wouldn’t say I came back, I would just say that I helped out a friend.

Isaac Campa

Ernie worked on the album but he had other stuff going on and wasn’t able to dedicate the time to rejoining the band full time. Gene eventually came back into the fold halfway through doing the album. Death and Mourning ended up having some of the songs with Ernie on bass and some of the songs with Gene on bass.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

I came back after the Unwritten Law tour reenergized to record.

Isaac Campa

Adam had his studio set up at his house not too far from me so it worked out great. He gave us a great rate and just let me work for hours and hours on vocals, which was probably very therapeutic for me. A few of the songs are just me and Adam. He played piano and guitar on a few.

Adam “Bomb” Segal

That was the first time I had software with unlimited tracks, so we just kept going and going with layers and harmonies. Isaac has great pitch so I could just hum an idea over the headphones, which I would sing pretty out of tune, and he could just sing it back instantly. Then we either liked it or deleted it. That album is one of the top three or four I ever recorded. Sometimes everything falls into place.

Isaac Campa

I wanted to push the album more but life… (not just mine). There wasn’t as much opportunity as before. Punk rock was on life support by the time we did Death and Mourning. The shows were getting smaller and the other bands all started being emo or screamo.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

Shit had started to change and everyone was fucking sad at shows! *laughs*

Isaac Campa

We were getting a little burnt out. Things had been on an arch where things kept getting better and better and then it wasn’t. We were all ready to get jobs and not be poor.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

We had another nice run of shows, I was working a big boy job and life was just changing. I had gone through a run of bad luck with cray shit and women so I decided to move to Huntington Beach. I didn’t leave the band on bad terms, I just needed to do my own thing. I love all those guys like brothers. Jay and Isaac are like brothers to me. Nothing will change that.

Isaac Campa

Death and Morning was a very personal album. I thought it was a really good album. But we never did much to push it. It wasn’t easy but we transitioned to just playing bar shows for fun. Giving us a night out to hang out with friends and catch the other local bands in the scene. In a way it felt like the early years. We were hanging out and playing shows with great Vegas bands again… only we were older, fatter, and had bills, jobs and families. But soon the itch would come back and it would need to be scratched…

Part 4: 2009-2015

Happy Campers reemerged in a changed Vegas music scene, playing smaller shows to an over 21 audience while working on their most expensive album to date.

Isaac Campa

In 2009 Gene moved to California. We enlisted Robert DeTie, currently of Franks & Deans, to take over on bass. We had been playing lots of shows with his band Betting On Tomorrow and we were already getting to be good friends.

Rob DeTie, bass

I started off as a Happy Campers fan in high school. My band, Guilty Allies, was starting out and throwing backyard shows. This is where I met Isaac. Shortly after Guilty Allies broke up, I got a call from Mike Wise (drummer, Murder Majesty) asking me if I’d be interested playing bass for his band Betting On Tomorrow. After a couple practices we started playing shows, and this is where my journey with the Campers begins. After a Betting On Tomorrow/Happy Campers show at Boomers, Gene came to me and said he was moving to California. He told me I should try out for his spot in the band since I’ve been following them for so long.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

Rob had been in the punk scene for a long time. We had become good friends through playing shows together. When I had decided to move away I didn’t want some random dude taking over all of what we built. I wanted who was in there to have pride for the band and who would get along with my bros.

Rob DeTie

A couple months later, Isaac called me and gave me a list of about 10-12 songs. I showed up to practice with about 15 or so show-ready to go *laughs*. Isaac and I have gotten along since day one. Seeing each other out and about at shows, dropping demos off on his doorstep, I was even there after he brought his first son home from the hospital. Isaac, being the strong, catchy melody writer he is and me, being the choirboy I am, made the chemistry of playing and writing music together come naturally.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

Rob is a great guy and an even better friend. He was a natural fit with his personality and demeanor. I’m glad he stuck.

Isaac Campa

I was itching to do things a little differently this time around. I was writing songs that I couldn’t play and sing at the same time and others that I felt needed something more. Jay had been wanting us to add a second guitarist for quite a while, but I had always wanted to keep the music simple and pure.

Jay Losey

I always felt that adding a second guitar player would take us to the next level. I always respected Isaac as a great songwriter, but I wanted more technical guitar parts in our songs.

Isaac Campa

Everyone was pushing to get more and more technical and I always wanted to do the opposite of that. I felt it was time to try something new, though, so we had our buddy Chad Crowder from Battle Born come over and we all hit it off right away.

Chad Crowder, guitar

I’d been a fan of the Campers since I was a teenager. Those guys were always supportive to up-and-comers, and as a product of the Vegas scene, I always looked up to them. I was stoked to get the call when they were looking to add another guitar player. Being into their records, and buds with those guys over the years, jumping into the mix felt very natural and was a lot of fun.

Isaac Campa

Now we had four people in the band who could sing so it was like a punk rock barbershop quartet. We worked out some four part harmonies in a bunch of the songs.

Chad Crowder

All of those guys are exceptional singers with great ears, so the harmonies came together easily. Everyone let their ears do the work, and would throw in harmonies as they struck us. We didn’t do a lot of drilling as far as vocals go. The chemistry was there, and being so familiar with the band probably made it easier for Rob and I to jump in and do our thing.

Isaac Campa

One of my favorite four part harmonies was for our song “Buried Alive.” We changed the break down to an acapella four part harmony. I had never heard something like that in punk rock.

Jay Losey

I got the idea for the a capella part in “Buried Alive” from an old Millencollin song off of their Four Monkeys album.

Rob DeTie

The song “Buried Alive” was written before I was in the band. However, they would play the song during shows and I would jump on stage and sing the harmony. We later re-recorded the song when Chad joined.

Chad Crowder

“Buried Alive” is a song that I already loved, and we all geeked out to see what we could do to it with all of these vocalists. We had a blast listening to all of those isolated vocal tracks in a nice studio like Odds On. It was seriously cool. We were all pretty psyched about it.

Isaac Campa

We liked the new version so much that we re-recorded it and made a music video. Rob and I bought a used coffin prop and drove across town with it hanging out of the back of my truck for the shoot. Things were going well until a cop pulled us over.

Rob DeTie

Getting pulled over with a coffin hanging halfway out of Isaac’s Expedition was the best part of recording the video. We searched Craigslist for over a month looking for used coffins. We finally found someone selling one out in Henderson. On the way back to Isaac’s, we got stopped by Highway Patrol.

Isaac Campa

The officer said, “Please tell me there isn’t a dead body in that thing.” Luckily, there wasn’t *laughs*.

Rob DeTie

The cop’s face was the best part. He had to do a double take before saying “I don’t even want to see what’s inside” *laughs*. We told him what it was for and that we were less than 5 miles away from our destination.

Isaac Campa

He was cool enough to follow us the rest of the way to make sure it didn’t fall out. The video came out great!

Chad Crowder

Isaac’s brother, Travis, directed the video and it was a cool experience. My best bud, Nick, got to wear the musty old bear suit, so that was fun! Above all, I learned that it’s hard to pretend you’re not having fun while being crowd-surfed into a coffin with a guitar around your neck.

Travis Irvine

Most of the idea was Isaac’s, but I had to direct it in such a way that it would last the whole song, as it was a bit longer than their others. We shot it all in a day and I was happy with how it turned out — lots of fun acting, images and color and I still like the plot a lot!

Isaac Campa

We were playing more shows and it felt like we were picking up traction again. That is, until being in three bands got to be too much for Chad and he had to step down.

Chad Crowder

Leaving the band was a really tough decision. It pained me to do it, but I was spreading myself pretty thin between three bands, work and everything else. I don’t know how some of these guys do it (I’m looking at you, Dave Bartlett *laughs*). It would have been fun to record Dancing With Demons with them. But I was on my way out so it was time for somebody else to step in.

Isaac Campa

We had some great new songs and a more up-to-date full sound but now we had to find an awesome guitarist who could help us take the next album to a new level.

Rob DeTie

After Chad decided to part ways we brought onboard Bill Simons from Back Stabbath. Bill is a good-hearted, down to earth, sarcastic asshole *laughs* and shredding guitar player. Which made him a great fit.

Isaac Campa

I had recorded a couple songs with Bill and his band Milkhouse (with Ernie). Also, we played a lot of shows together back in the day. We asked him to whip up a solo to a couple songs and we were blown away. He was in.

Bill Simons, guitar

I knew Isaac for a long time and we were always all smiles when we’d run into each other. One day he sent me a message asking if I was playing with anyone at the moment. It just so happened that my old band was just about to call it quits, so Isaac sent me some demos. I tried out and things sounded good and felt right. They asked me to join that day

Jay Losey

I loved bringing Bill into the band. He was more dedicated to The Campers than Chad. Chad has an awesome voice but The Campers were more like a fun side project for him. I missed having the four part harmonies from when Chad was in the band, though.

Isaac Campa

We worked hard over the summer to get 14 songs ready for the album. Then it came time to figure out who to record it with. I love a lot of the guys who record in Vegas, but I wanted to try something new and go really big with this one. Part of me felt like this might be the last shot to make something big happen, and we were in a rare situation of actually having money. I saved up everything we made from show and TV placements for a couple of years, and that money was just sitting there. It was about eight grand.

Rob DeTie

The new line up was in place and the songwriting was nearly finished, so we had a lot to think about when it came time to record.

Isaac Campa

I contacted two producers: Bill Stevenson from the Descendents, who runs the Blasting Room in Colorado and Ryan Greene, who had worked with NOFX and a lot of Fat Wreck Chords bands. We met with Ryan in Hollywood when we playing a couple shows out there and it seemed like the perfect fit. The guy is a living legend in recording, especially for punk! Our budget worked out to ten songs and I haggled him into throwing in an acoustic song.

Rob DeTie

Ryan was amazing to work with. He kept it professional and pushed us to do our best. He also made it fun and easy, even flying a remote controlled helicopter at Isaac, trying to hit him while he was recording scratch vocals *laughs*.

Isaac Campa

It was an awesome experience. He was a blast to work with and was very funny. He told us lots of great stories about some of our favorite bands.

Jay Losey

Recording with Ryan was surreal, being that he recorded all the bands we grew up listening to. He had a lot of great ideas when we were recording. He was very picky, but that’s understandable when you’re putting your name on an album.

Bill Simons

He really knew how to get things out of us, things that we never knew we had.

Isaac Campa

We knocked out the drums, bass and guitars in about 10 days. I was coming out on weekends to work on vocals. We got through about half of the vocals and then everything came to a screeching halt.

Rob DeTie

Ryan is a very busy man and was recording a few different projects at the same time. This is why it took a year to finish.

Isaac Campa

Ryan had big projects he had to work on in Texas and Japan and we couldn’t get into the studio to work for months. We kept getting pushed back and it was disheartening and discouraging. We finally got in a few more times to get the lead vocals done and we ended up doing most of the backups with Adam Bomb at his studio here in Vegas.

Rob DeTie

With Ryan being so busy at the time we decided to finish this up at the Bomb Shelter. It’s always great working with Adam and since he had worked with Isaac so much in the past it made recording the final tracks quick and painless.

Bill Simons

Adam was super nice and it was cool flipping through his record collection.

Isaac Campa

By the time we finished the record it had been about a year. Ryan sent over the finished product and we all gathered at my house to listen to it for the first time. We were blown away! This CD sounded better than we could have ever hoped for! It took about a year and we went 5 grand over budget but hey, that’s what credit cards are for *laughs*. Man, it sounded awesome! Vic did the artwork for us. He’s now a great comic book artist. The album had a giant demon on the cover. Badass!

Jay Losey

It was nice to finally put out an album that I was completely proud of and happy with. I always felt like there was something that could have been done differently or better on all the albums I had recorded prior.

Rob DeTie

Dancing with Demons was one of my favorite albums to record. We had our album release at the old Hard Rock Cafe on Harmon with Battle Born and At It Again opening up the show.

Isaac Campa

We played to a couple hundred of our friends, family and fans. It was our biggest headlining show in a long time.

Rob DeTie

The place was packed! It was full of family and friends and I couldn’t have been happier with the way everything turned out.

Bill Simons

The release show was a good time for sure.

Isaac Campa

We played some good shows over the next year and recorded a music video for “Bleeding Me Dry.” That was my first turn at directing and editing.

Rob DeTie

Isaac came to us with the idea of him directing the video. We were hesitant at first, but it was Isaac… what could go wrong? We all see how bad of an idea that was now *laughs*.

Travis Irvine

It doesn’t surprise me that Isaac took a turn at directing. He made plenty of video movies with our family’s big clunky VHS camera, growing up, which inspired me to do the same.

Rob DeTie

We decided to dress up like classic horror movie characters and release it on Halloween. I think we freaked out a few hikers as we chased a screaming pale, white girl through the trees of Mt Charleston. The second part of the video was shot at our boy East Side Joe’s place Joe has always been a supporter of the local scene and was more than happy to let us trash his place.

Isaac Campa

I was very happy with how it came out. It had four different endings! It was supposed to come out for this new video company that ended up going under.

Rob DeTie

Unfortunately, the album didn’t get the attention we all wanted. It’s hard to get out and push a new album when life gets in the way.

Jay Losey

I don’t have a great answer for why the album didn’t draw record label attention, but if I had to guess, it’s because it wasn’t unique enough. Maybe labels thought that it had been done before. That it was nothing new. I was disappointed that we didn’t get interest in the album, but we all were busy with families and work.

Bill Simons

I think labels weren’t drawn to us because the music game was so different than it was 10 or 20 years before. It’s always been a business first and if there’s no money coming in than what’s the point?

Isaac Campa

We had another batch of new songs ready to go. Probably at least half an album of songs every bit as good as Dancing With Demons in the works. But for all my pushing and trying to make something big happen… it just didn’t. Still no label. Still no booking agency. Still no money. Punk was coming back a bit but would never be like it used to be. The long delay took a toll on the band.

Rob DeTie

A lot of changes happened at once, so we had to push the album aside and go on a hiatus. We all had jobs. We all had kids or were having kids at the time.

Isaac Campa

Bill and Jay didn’t want to play too many shows or travel. Rob was getting Franks and Deans up and running and was getting busy with that.

Bill Simons

I just had my daughter so it was hard for me to get out and play shows. I was cool with just writing and getting ready to make the next album.

Isaac Campa

And then the final nail… Jay was moving to Reno. That one hurt the most. We’d been jamming together for over 13 years and he would be next to impossible to replace.

Bill Simons

You just can’t replace a drummer like Jay.

Jay Losey

My wife was accepted into grad school in Reno, but we had been wanting to leave for years before that. It was time for me to move on from the heat and dust. I made a vow to never move back to Vegas. I’m over the Vegas desert.

Isaac Campa

I had a baby girl on the way and was getting burnt out with everything so I decided that it was time to take a break. We set up what would be our hibernation show on July 11th, 2015. Maybe our last show. Maybe not.

Jay Losey

It was a sad and happy day to play the show. I was happy that I was moving on to new adventures, but sad that I was leaving the band. There were actually a few people from other bands shedding a couple tears because I was leaving. It made me feel great to be part of the scene for so long.

Rob DeTie

The hibernation show was a hard one for me. I’d been a fan of the Happy Campers long before I joined the band or even before I became a friend of Isaac’s. So to know the songs were no longer going to be played live hurt. But that’s how life works. Things come and go, people change and move on with their lives. I’m just glad everything stopped on good terms.

Isaac Campa

It was a great show. We were surrounded by family, friends and lots of members of bands we played with along the way in the Vegas scene. It was bittersweet and felt like the end of something special.

Bill Simons

Looking back on things, I really enjoyed just hanging out and playing music. And busting Rob’s balls just for being Rob *laughs*.

Rob DeTie

Playing in Happy Campers will always be a highlight in my life. The band is the reason I started playing. Happy Campers was one of the first punk shows I went to in Vegas. One of my favorite times with the band was a show in Boise, Idaho. Jay and I were being idiots in the backseat with a cooler of beer in between us while Isaac was driving yelling at us like a dad from the frontt. From what I remember….. it was great time. This is where I met Hoss from the band Switch Hitter and Sampson from The PirkQlaters/ Hotel Chelsea. I’m in a band with them now called Franks and Deans. You can catch us the first Wednesday of every month at the Double Down Saloon for the Franks and Deans Weenie Roast.

Jay Losey

My favorite part of being with the band was hands down all the touring we did. Seeing the country, partying with different people every night, meeting new friends, seeing new bands, honing our craft by playing every night, and the bonding experience with your boys.

Logan Kolb

I had a blast playing with the Happy Campers. We had some great times together and we also had some bad times. But I loved playing music with Gene and Isaac. We were a great band together. I’m thankful for the opportunity and all the memories good and bad.

Gene “Bean” Boothe

I want to shout out to all the roadies and friends that took care of us over the years. I have some of the best people in my life because of this fucking band. I wouldn’t change anything about my time with The Campers… except maybe a few of the bad things that happened to us. For a while, we were the greatest fucking three-piece ever. I’ll argue with anyone that we could manhandle stages like no other. Quote that shit! Bfk for life! *laughs*

Chad Crowder

My favorite part of playing with any band is time spent in the practice room. Just getting together with my buds and letting loose, bouncing ideas off of each other. You feed off of the players you surround yourself with, and the Happy Campers brought a lot to the table. It made playing together a blast.

Isaac Campa

Over the last year or two I’ve been slowly piecing together a band. Maybe Happy Campers, maybe something new… that sounds eerily close to Happy Campers. Since I mostly work nights bartending concerts and Vegas Golden Knights hockey games it’s been hard to find guys that are on the same schedule as me, let alone on the same page. But I have most of an album written and am anxious to get back at it. I love making music and I imagine it’s something I’ll always do. In the meantime I’ve been playing acoustic shows here and there, playing punk covers with my buddies in Fallen Out and spending time with my family.

Ernie Castaneda

Isaac and I are doing a cover band called Falling Out. That’s just a hobby for fun and to relieve stress… because apparently murder is still illegal *laughs*. Music is just a hobby for me now. We might rehearse once a month. But I have too many other hobbies. I just don’t want to make too much time for one thing. I’m getting old, so I’ve got to do everything I can before my body tells me “no” *laughs*.

Ben Montoya

I enjoyed my time with the band. It was hard to leave. I missed playing live and showcasing our music. But what I missed most was being with friends and making music with them. It was an adventure.

Vic Moya

I’ve been in so many local bands, I don’t know if I could remember all of them. But the first band that was really serious, the first band that was putting out pro recorded CD’s, playing big bill shows and booking tours, was The Happy Campers. I’ve kept in touch all the guys, even members that had come and gone after my time. Ernie became my brother-in-law when he married my ex-wife’s sister. My son is in the same class as Rob’s. I was also in band with Bill and Ernie for awhile.

Rob DeTie

I love my Happy Campers family. We keep in touch and I see the guys around holidays and at shows. The Campers will never be gone 100%. I’m sure we will be on stage together again in the future. After all, we are only in hibernation.

Jay Losey

I told Isaac that I am more than down to record another album with him. He just needs to record some scratch tracks and send me the music!

Dave Saunders

Over time, the lineup changed. Ben went off to school, Irk moved to Reno, Ernie played drums, Logan played drums, Jay played drums, Gene Bean played bass, some super nice kid with kickass corduroys played bass, Ernie played bass, Ernie played drums again, Rob played bass… and so on. Isaac, however, has always been there.

Isaac Campa

I worked very hard on Happy Campers. I gave it my all. I gave it everything I had. My blood, sweat, tears and my soul. I gave up college. Maybe a career. Time with family. And almost even my life a few times. The band, all the break-ups, missteps, the almosts and never was’s caused me a lot of stress, anxiety and pain. But I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I had some of the best times of my life in those shitty vans with the guys I’ll call my brothers for the rest of my life. The songs were my diary, all the shows and practices were my therapy and release. Not many people can say they recorded six albums, toured across the country, made videos, heard their songs on radio, TV and movies and played shows in front of thousands of people. I can. I can’t thank everyone enough that helped make that possible along the way.

Part 5: Epilogue (2017)

Ten Years after the band’s personal ‘Death and Mourning in Las Vegas’ album was released, Isaac and Travis reteamed for one last collaboration.

Isaac Campa

“Turnin’ Grey” is a special song for my family. My dad actually plays lead guitar on it. My Grandpa passed a way a few years before and Travis decided to do his third Campers music video as a tribute to him and our family.

Travis Irvine

That was something I wanted to do on my own because I knew it would be low-budget and a little more on the “artistic” side. I just shot it like a home movie on my iPhone, which is how most home movies are shot now. Then I made a video collage, similar to how I did “Wave the Flags.” I used old family video footage mixed with video of my dad and Isaac playing guitar.

Isaac Campa

He used a video I made when I was 10 or so – I was really into making movies back in the VHS era. He added old family video shots and footage we took of my dad and I playing during a recent camping trip. Voila. We play the song all the time when we go camping with my dad. Travis used it to make a family tribute to our grandpa. All the remaining Irvine males are in it, including my boys.

Travis Irvine

Our dad played guitar all while we grew up, as he was a singer/songwriter type, and Isaac finally inherited the bug when he got to college. So music was always a part of us growing up.

Isaac Campa

The song started a trend of my dad and I jamming more. We get together once or twice a year and spend a lot of time making music around campfires and drinking lots of scotch. We have a new song we co-wrote over the last couple trips.

Travis Irvine

I got the video done in 2017 and figured it would be my last video for the band. It kind of put a cap on The Happy Campers era (for me), but was also a present for Father’s Day to my dad and Isaac. They both knew I was making it, but I don’t think they knew what to expect. I’m told it made Isaac cry for Fathers Day!

Isaac Campa

Seeing my grandpa again, and us as kids and clips of my life over the years… I cried. The song almost makes more sense 10 years later now that I hit my 40s and am in fact “Turnin’ Grey” *laughs*. I don’t get to caught up in the past for the band. I pretty much have another album written now, I’m just holding out and waiting for the right lineup to do it with. I love all the things we did and all the times we had, but I’m more concerned with whatever’s next for me.

Written and compiled by Emily Matview. Phone interviews transcribed by Kristy Calhoun. Edited by Emily Matview and Julien Boulton