# Greg Camp > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Greg_Camp > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Greg_Camp.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Camp > Source revision: 1344696946 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Gregory Dean Camp** (born April 2, 1967)[1] is an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band [Smash Mouth](/source/Smash_Mouth) and served as a guitarist and songwriter across several stints (1994–2008, 2009–2011, 2014, 2018–2019).[1][2] Camp is credited as one of the main songwriters for the band, and as such received a Grammy nomination for the song "[All Star](/source/All_Star_(song))".[3][4] Since leaving the band for a solo career in 2008, he has rejoined Smash Mouth periodically.[5] Camp is currently a member of The Defiant.[6] ## Biography Camp was born in [West Covina, California](/source/West_Covina,_California), but attended [Lynbrook High School](/source/Lynbrook_High_School) in [San Jose, California](/source/San_Jose,_California). Before Smash Mouth, he had been a musician in the California rock scene since the 1980s. He was part of several bands including the Gents,[7] when [Steve Harwell](/source/Steve_Harwell) and Kevin Coleman approached him to form a new band. Camp declined, but Harwell and Coleman persisted, until Camp agreed to look at the songs they had written. They formed Smash Mouth soon after.[8] Camp wrote Smash Mouth's most memorable songs of the late 1990s and early 2000s, including "[Walkin' on the Sun](/source/Walkin'_on_the_Sun)," "[All Star](/source/All_Star_(song))," and "[Then the Morning Comes](/source/Then_the_Morning_Comes)". Camp's song "Heave-Ho" was about his experience living in San Jose's St Leo neighborhood.[9] He was the guitarist and backing vocalist from when he co-founded the band in 1994 until he left in summer of 2008, though he has rejoined them periodically.[1] After leaving Smash Mouth, Camp released a solo album, *[Defektor](/source/Defektor)*, on [Bar/None Records](/source/Bar/None_Records).[5][10] *[Guitar Player](/source/Guitar_Player)* wrote that the album "weaves together everything you love about vintage guitar tones, tortured Farfisa, '60s frat-rock vocal hooks, and epic Morricone-esque soundscapes."[11] In June 2009, Camp rejoined Smash Mouth for several concerts as a guest. He also played with the [Santa Cruz](/source/Santa_Cruz_County,_California) rock band The Maids of Honor and Los Angeles band The Selectrics.[12] Camp currently works as a songwriter and producer in Los Angeles. In March 2023, it was announced that Camp had co-founded the band [The Defiant](/source/The_Defiant_(band)) along with [Dicky Barrett](/source/Dicky_Barrett) of [The Mighty Mighty Bosstones](/source/The_Mighty_Mighty_Bosstones) and members of [The Offspring](/source/The_Offspring), [Street Dogs](/source/Street_Dogs) and [The Briggs](/source/The_Briggs). Their debut album was released in October 2023.[6] ## References 1. Collar, Matt. "Greg Camp biography". *[Allmusic](/source/Allmusic)*. 2010 Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 12, 2010. 1. Paramasivam, Indran (2019-04-09). [""We're all friends and we've just kept going": An interview with Smash Mouth's Paul De Lisle"](https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/smash-mouth-live-in-singapore-rugby-sevens-2019-interview). *Bandwagon*. Retrieved 2024-08-02. 1. ["Greg Camp - Artist page"](https://grammy.com/artists/greg-camp/10889). *grammy.com*. Retrieved 2024-08-02. 1. Spanos, Brittany (2019-06-12). ["Somebody Once Told Me: An Oral History of Smash Mouth's 'All Star'"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/smash-mouth-all-star-oral-history-829197/). *Rolling Stone*. Retrieved 2024-08-02. 1. ["Greg Camp"](http://www.bar-none.com/greg-camp.html). Bar None Records. 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010. 1. Lentini, Liza (October 6, 2023). ["5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Greg Camp of The Defiant/Smash Mouth"](https://www.spin.com/2023/10/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-greg-camp-of-the-defiant-smash-mouth/). *SPIN* 1. Quillen, Shay (August 14, 2008). ["Smash Mouth's Camp goes it alone"](http://www.mercurynews.com/shayquillen/ci_10190752?source=rss). *[San Jose Mercury News](/source/San_Jose_Mercury_News)* 1. Hiransomboon, Andrew (January 9, 1998). "California foursome Smash mouth are realising their dreams thanks to the success of 'Walking on the Sun'". *[Bangkok Post](/source/Bangkok_Post)* 1. Purdy, Mark (October 19, 2006). ["The San Jose sound: 40 years later, South Bay is Recognized for its role in rock music."](https://web.archive.org/web/20160220132853/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-153043293.html). *San Jose Mercury News*. Archived from [the original](https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-153043293.html) on February 20, 2016. 1. Gold, Jude (May 2009). "Greg Camp on Going Indie". *[Guitar Player](/source/Guitar_Player)*. **43** (5): 22. 1. Gold, Jude (October 2008). "Greg Camp: Defektor". *[Guitar Player](/source/Guitar_Player)*. **42** (10): 78. 1. ["Songwriting Scene Q&A: Greg Camp of SmashMouth"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151222103126/http://www.songwritingscene.com/2013/12/songwriting-scene-qa-greg-camp-of-smash-mouth/). *Songwriting Scene*. Archived from [the original](http://www.songwritingscene.com/2013/12/songwriting-scene-qa-greg-camp-of-smash-mouth/) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-15. ## External links - [Interview with Greg Camp on his career.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXOHxlamjlU) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Greg Camp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Camp) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Camp?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.