1:19 p.m. - 01.21.2005
Join the Camp
In my last entry I asked about what had happened to the loveable scamp, Jesse Camp. The gangly gad about town what won the premier of MTV's I Wanna Be A VJ.
Well, I piqued my own interest on that one so I did a little "Where Are They Now" digging. I didn't find anything, leading me to believe my original hunch that, whilst out walking one day our hero took a wrong turn and plum fell off the face of the earth. That or the mother ship returned and took him back to his home planet of scarecrows, Oz.
Anyhoo, Jesse rose to fame in 1998 and fell from public eye in 1999. At least it was more than 15 mins.
Well, I found an article on the boy in 1998/99 asking him about his upcoming record, and I believe our brave Jesse actual foretold the impending hipster/indie rock revival. About his record, Jesse states:
"I'd always been trying to get a band going and stuff," Camp said, "and I don't really know how everything has fallen into place, it's just been real, real lucky. I think from day one, my whole vibe has been trying to get a rock & roll scene happening again, and whether it's us or not, I don't know. It's never about one band, you know, but I just wanna get the rock & roll scene going again so it can be like in the old days, when there were tons of bands, just tons of rock & roll all over the place."
Keep in mind, 1998/1999 was pre-Strokes fame. pre-White Stripes fame. pre-Jet. pre-glam rock respect/revival. pre- The Darkness. pre-hipster as we know it.
No, there was no Rock n Roll scene. That unkempt, devil-may-care greasy, heroin rocker look. Nope - surpisingly scarce in '98 my friends. Around in BUCKETS today. Though still something of a joke visually, Jesse's "look" would totally be apropros ajourdui, n'est pas? And low and behold, now there is a rock band on every corner!
So I salute you - Jesse Camp, for your mental fortitude and fashion prowess. I dub thee, the God-Father of Hipster!
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