Fat Camp

"We are a "drink-pop" band... just kidding." - Fat Camp.

Ever heard of Fat Camp? No, not an actual fat camp I mean the band. 2018's must-watch band of the year consists of Mario Otero (vocals/guitar/songwriter), Malone Seymour (drums), Grant Gonzalez (bass guitar/producer), and Sergio De Santiago (guitar/keyboards). I recently got to see them play at The Outpost where they also premiered the video for their latest single: Golden Crown. They played some of their older material, did a cover of a Juan Gabriel song, and played their newer material along side other silly stuff. From taking pauses to vape to telling jokes like Sergio just getting out of prison, without a doubt these boys have talent.

After asking the guys why they called themselves Fat Camp, there was some disagreement on how it happened. One story was that they got fat on their own and the other story was that they got fat while at the recording studio and one day they looked at themselves and saw how fat they were. "One day we were sitting the table and we were talking about how fat we were and then I said Fat Camp because at that time our name was Rock, Paper, Sisters. Our name before that one was Shrek the Third but no one thought it was funny and we also changed our name in the middle of one of our first sets to Aerosmith and it went horrible." I asked whether being fat together made them closer and they replied "yes". "We were spending so much time together, writing songs, and drinking a shit ton. You know how that goes". 

They mentioned that the first song they recorded together was called "Hello Life". They also mentioned that their first tries were a disaster but after messing around in the studio they came up with "Hello Life". ""Hello Life" was originally a pop song. It had a verse, chorus, and a verse and it was just stupid. We kinda just made it into a beat and we liked it and from there we started recording an album." They mentioned that at first they tried really hard to become an indie band and then came to the realization that if it is catchy, they could still record it. 

It also helps that most of the guys have known each other since high school that being Mario, Grant, and Malone while Sergio joined about a month or two ago. Sergio was brought into the band to make is sound "less rock" and the guys mentioned that ever since Sergio joined, it has sounded a hundred times better than before. 

To that extent, I asked the guys to tell me about their newer material including the recently debuted video: Golden Crown. Mario mentioned that for a while he was struggling to write songs. He said, "in my mind I thought I had to go through something traumatic in order to be able to write about it. I thought I had to traumatize myself somehow so I went around doing dumb things. It somehow worked and I wrote Golden Crown." The guys also mentioned that the music video itself was filmed on an iPhone. "I was sitting there while these motherfuckers kept throwing things at me", added Mario.

Following up that conversation, Mario added that, " we are currently working on our next album and Grant is producing everything. Little do people know we record in a bedroom, but it is studio quality." The guys plan on playing a lot of shows this upcoming year and they hope to grow as a band. They recently got a manager and plan on taking Fat Camp to the next level. 

A big thank you to the guys! Go check out their Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook. They are definitely a must watch band of the year! 
Instagram: fat_camp_
 https://fatcamplovesyou.bandcamp.com
fatcamplove.weebly.com
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