Las Vegas Weekly

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I can see the logistical advantages of opening for yourself, but does playing two shows a night begin to wear on you?

It makes it a little tough, but not that tough. When Cracker or Camper plays by themselves, we probably play for like two hours, and we might play for two-and-a-half hours with both bands, but there's a break in a middle. It's usually Camper Van Beethoven for, like, 70 minutes, then a break and then Cracker for 70 minutes and then we do an encore which is sort of a mix of both bands. So in a way it's harder, but not that hard.

Which song typically gets a louder reaction, "Take the Skinheads Bowling" or "Low"?

It depends on the audience, but generally the Cracker stuff. Most of the Camper Van Beethoven records have sold since Cracker had its hits. A lot of people went backwards to Camper Van Beethoven.

You guys play Vegas pretty often. Do you have a particular affinity for this place?

When Camper Van Beethoven first went to Las Vegas in 1985, there really was no alternative venue. So we played at this record store, which I think was called the Record Exchange [editor's note: It was]. We played a little afternoon barbecue there, and we had a great crowd. After that we always wanted to make Vegas a place that would really work for us. Then we ended up playing a teen club there that was very metal-oriented, and it was completely crazy, there was a real oddness going, and then someone said, "Hey, I've got this acid." So we all took acid. It was a pretty crazy night.