Meet Camp Saint Helene

Coming in hot from the wild Catskills of New York, we’ve got Camp Saint Helene on the bill this fine day. Inspired by the lands of a christian summer camp, these campers will get you thinking of sunrises and big questions and campfires and ghost stories and more.

Below, we talk to members Liza and Dylan about their origin story, the magic of upstate, and Girl Scout hijinks. Give it a read and go make yourself a s’more.

CAR OF THE YEAR a story by Camp Saint Helene

It's here, the all-new DA VINCI. The most luxurious BAT you'll ever drive! The only four-door AMETHYST that comes equipped with dual air BUTTONS, power SYMBOLS, and contoured, plush leather STATUES. And, believe it or not, it is the only car in its class that can grow up to a hundred thousand MUSHROOMS without needing a QUICKSLIVER.change or a ROSARY tune-up. Run, do not HARANGUE your nearest DA VINCI dealer and feast your KIDNEYS on the car that Motor GEODE magazine calls the QUIXOTIC MAPLE LEAF of the year. As always, we save the best for last. When you see the sticker price, you are sure to shout, "GOLLY!!"

Would You Rather

Would you rather be able to jump a hundred feet in the air, or make things move with your mind? What would you do?

Move things with my mind. It'd save me so much time to be able to clean things quickly.

Some questions with Camp Saint Helene

How did Camp Saint Helene come to be?

Dylan has always been an incredible musician, whereas I never explored it beyond childhood piano lessons. We started to collaborate when I felt excited about singing and brought him some material I'd written. After writing songs and performing locally as a duo, we wanted to expand the sounds we could create live.

We connected with Alex (drums) and Wesley (bass / keys) in our beautiful community of musicians and artists. They have been so supportive and helped us record it at Alex's studio (Basement Floods), lent us new ideas, and it's just been so awesome having them really bring it all to life.

If you had to be on one reality TV show which one would it be? What would you do?

Shamelessly going to say - I really want to be on The Bachelorette so I can totally troll it and be the most dramatic contestant.

How has living and working upstate shaped your music?

I remember we moved a few years ago - it was in the spring, a time of rebirth. It was rainy and we were surrounded by trees, grass, mountains, and running streams, all moving much slower than the excitement of a city. During that time, we really started developing the record and were emotionally informed by the landscape and its magic. I think the feeling of being in a new place, so full of mystery and new lessons to be learned, translated directly into the record. We were recently in LA and I could never imagine writing the same album there.

Do you have any good summer camp stories?

When I was young I went to Girl Scout camp often, which was probably some of my favorite childhood memories. My troop was sort of ridiculous - once we all put our underwear on the ceiling fan and waited for one of the troop leaders to come into the cabin and turn it on.

Where do you begin when starting to create a new song?

I usually get an idea in my head and record it into a voice memo on my phone. Dylan usually hears the entire song in his head and can quickly build up a recording with his super power of being able to play any instrument. We've approached writing every single song differently.

What is the best kept secret in the Catskills?

There are so many, but the biggest secret is to never put any on the internet ;)

I do want to shout out to every present local business owner and the employees who work alongside them - they all work their butts off and really make the community wonderful.

Which is better Play-Doh or Silly-Putty? Why?

Play doh - there are more colors and it's less sticky.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

We just released a music video! It's our first one and we're really excited. You can watch it here:

or here https://www.campsainthelene.com/

Camp Saint Helene