Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group. An eclectic band even by the standards of 1980s underground music, Camper Van Beethoven mixed elements of pop, ska, world music, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and acid rock. Camper Van Beethoven formed in 1983 in Redlands, California. The band grew out of several related garage bands, including Sitting Duck, Box O'Laffs and the Estonian Gauchos (the latter featuring future Cracke... more

Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group. An eclectic band even by the standards of 1980s underground music, Camper Van Beethoven mixed elements of pop, ska, world music, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and acid rock. Camper Van Beethoven formed in 1983 in Redlands, California. The band grew out of several related garage bands, including Sitting Duck, Box O'Laffs and the Estonian Gauchos (the latter featuring future Cracker guitarist Johnny Hickman). Initially called Camper Van Beethoven and the Border Patrol, the group centered around bassist/vocalist David Lowery, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Chris Molla, drummer Bill McDonald, and various other rotating musicians. Although the band began in the punk rock scene, the members disliked its purism, and were fond of confusing hardcore audiences by playing countrified versions of punk classics and ska-inflected instrumentals with Eastern European and Mexican melodies. They relocated to Santa Cruz, California in... less