Anna Rumer

The Desert Sun

With an elevated DJ booth, stage lights and thousands of dollars worth of speakers and equipment, the guys of Weaselchella have the festival camping game down pat.

Weaselchella started off as a group of friends at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2010, blasting music from some house speakers in an RV camping spot, but has evolved each year to become possibly the most outrageous, inventive and enticing campsites the festival sees every year.

Now, when festival-goers head back to the campgrounds after the main stage act wraps up for the night, they can keep the party going at the Weaselchella site, where Los Angeles residents Ernie Alvarez, a 41-year-old graphic designer, and David Arellano, a 32-year-old AV company manager, will DJ into the early morning.

"We just like to do our own VIP experience," Alvarez said, "and our neighbors around us, they hear the music and come party."

Last year, during weekend one of the festival, Alvarez said more than 350 campers showed up for an after hours set.

"When you're up there and just playing music, it's amazing," Arellano said. "That's all I'm trying to do, create something because it's so satisfying."

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Sounds cool, but where does the weasel come in? Well, the duo explain, it's a combination of Alvarez's instagram name, Ernweezy, and his ability to weasel his way up to the front of a crowded show. They designed a graphic with a weasel's face on it and now fly it on a flag high above the campground and wear on t-shirts.

Since 2010, the Weaselchella gang has had to get more creative as it grew. When Coachella rules banned generators in the campground, they figured out a way to power their equipment with car batteries.

"They didn't say no electricity," Arellano said, "just no generators."

Arellano is the mastermind behind making the cogs of Weaselchella turn, with preparations for the next year beginning "almost immediately" after the current festival ends. He even maps out a specific plan of how to arrange cars, speakers and equipment every year.

He guesses over the years he's spent about $10,000 on Weaselchella speakers, lights, sound mixers and batteries, but said it's almost like an obsession making everything grander than the previous year. Last year, it took the group eight hours to set everything up.

"It always seems to evolve," Arellano said. "Every year, it needs to be bigger, something more."

This year might be a little more low key than last, Alvarez said, as last year's festival acted as a defacto bachelor party for a friend of Weaselchella, but the guys will still be out their spinning sets at night.

It's a massive undertaking for people who aren't getting paid or sponsored for their work, but the duo insist all their work is worth it.

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"It's to make our friends happy and make ourselves happy and people are welcome to join," Alvarez said.

"We just want people to come hang out," Arellano added.

Not everyone has the ability to set up an entire miniature music festival when they camp, so here are some more basic ways to ensure your best festival camping experience, courtesy of the Weaselchella guys:

Get there early to stake your claim : Getting the best campsite means waking up early and getting to the campgrounds as soon as possible on Thursday. Don't be afraid to get a little aggressive when picking out your site, but don't go overboard.

: Getting the best campsite means waking up early and getting to the campgrounds as soon as possible on Thursday. Don't be afraid to get a little aggressive when picking out your site, but don't go overboard. Stay together : If you don't drive in with your group, you're not going to end up camping anywhere near them. Meet at a secondary location ahead of time so you're not separated.

: If you don't drive in with your group, you're not going to end up camping anywhere near them. Meet at a secondary location ahead of time so you're not separated. Beware the portable toilets : You might think you're doing yourself a favor camping out close to the campsite bathrooms, but what you gain in time you're going to lose out in stench.

: You might think you're doing yourself a favor camping out close to the campsite bathrooms, but what you gain in time you're going to lose out in stench. Keep an open campsite : Closing yourself off might make you feel more secure, but you can lose out on the sense of community that makes the Coachella campgrounds so special.

: Closing yourself off might make you feel more secure, but you can lose out on the sense of community that makes the Coachella campgrounds so special. Get the party rolling early to make new friends : Daytime activities at the campsite can help you make friends that can last through the festival. Consider or getting a game of flip cup or hearts going to draw in interesting strangers.

: Daytime activities at the campsite can help you make friends that can last through the festival. Consider or getting a game of flip cup or hearts going to draw in interesting strangers. Portable urinals are a must: Walks to and from the bathroom take up time and can break the party vibe. Consider investing in a portable urinal, available in male, female and unisex models, so you can go with the flow and keep the party moving.

Anna Rumer is a reporter covering the Eastern Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at anna.rumer@desertsun.com or on Twitter @AnnaRumer.