When it comes to the value of music, mental health struggles are a popular concept, but in the case of one local band, these struggles are intertwined with the band’s backstory. While traveling around Marin, many people drive past stickers promoting a local band: The Happys. Some may have a baseline of knowledge about The Happys, such as the band’s Marin homeland, but few know details regarding the band, such as the story of its formation, or the thought behind their advertising.
“I don’t know anything about the background of the band, I’ve just seen their signs around town,” senior Owen Merritt said.
Despite the number of people who are unfamiliar with details regarding the band’s history, many are still familiar with it on some level.
“I researched them because I was curious,” freshman Cassidy Flowers said. “I know they’re a grunge/pop rock band, they grew up around here, and they tour around here.”
Many Marin residents have little to no knowledge of the story behind the band’s formation, which is not only inspiring, but unconventional.
“The Happys started because I met a kid in jail that had a guitar scale tattoo on his arm.”
– Nick Petty
Founder of the Happys
“ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and family divorce led me to self-medicate in a bad way… It got so bad I was going to county jail,” Head Member and Founder Nick Petty said. “The Happys started because I met a kid in jail that had a guitar scale tattoo on his arm. Later, I saw him while he was sober at Bananas At Large, a music shop in San Rafael, and he said ‘Oh you’re the kid from jail’ and we linked up and he showed me how to put out an album.”
Their story’s message goes unknown to many of their listeners. People who may face similar struggles could find great value in hearing their story. In spite of the band’s challenge getting started, its obstacles did not end there.
“After I had a [romantic] break up, and people left the band, and I got fired from an electric job, I had a banner on the side of my car that said ‘The Happys’ and I drove all the way to Florida and back by myself in the middle of winter,” Petty said. “I found open mics and played on the side of the street and slept in my car.”
Although the loss was hard on Petty, there was a silver lining: along with the discipline learned from uprooting one’s life and driving across the country, this event led Petty to The Happys’ unique style of advertising.
“It’s called a grassroots marketing campaign. Grassroots means that you’re starting from the very bottom, the roots of it, until you have real signs that are printed somewhere,” Petty said.
This style of marketing has grown to become not only intertwined with The Happys brand, but a part of the experience involving The Happys as a whole. The act of packing up and moving to Florida not only led the band to grassroots marketing, but reignited Petty’s passion for music and brought him to a place where he can give it his all. When it comes to the band, the real story of The Happys is a story of triumph and overcoming obstacles.
“The Happys is a story of prevailing, overcoming hardship, and being your best self,” Petty said. “If you want something, even if it’s really hard, you have to fight tooth and nail for it, and never give up.”
