The Hippos were an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, and disbanded in 2000. During the band's lifetime they released 3 full-length albums. Their early work is best classified as part of the third wave of ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 music, or as ska-punk, though in the later years of their career the band transitioned to a more pop rock

Pop rock

Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...

 sound utilizing synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

s.

Formation

The Hippos formed in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 in 1995 with a lineup of Ariel Rechtshaid

Ariel Rechtshaid

Ariel Rechtshaid is an American record producer, engineer multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, who resides in Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA. He is most known for his work with Cass McCombs, Murs, We Are Scientists, Glasser, Theophilus London, and Plain White T’s whose No.1, platinum-selling,...

 on vocals

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 and guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, James Bairian on bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, Louis Castle on trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

, Rich Zahniser and Danny Rukasin on trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

s, and Kyle Briggs on drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

. This lineup would remain virtually unchanged throughout the band's career. They self-released a cassette demo entitled Attack of the Killer Cheese and began playing shows around southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, establishing themselves amongst a prolific ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 scene including bands such as Reel Big Fish

Reel Big Fish

Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...

, No Doubt

No Doubt

No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...

, Buck-O-Nine

Buck-O-Nine

Buck-O-Nine is an American ska punk band which was formed in San Diego in 1991. The band has toured internationally and released several albums and e.p.'s, as well as appearing on compilations and film soundtracks. During the mid-to-late 1990s, they experienced mainstream success with the release...

, Dance Hall Crashers

Dance Hall Crashers

Dance Hall Crashers is an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California.-Early years:The original incarnation of the Dance Hall Crashers was formed in 1989 by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, formerly of the seminal Bay Area ska-punk band Operation Ivy, after both musicians...

, Link 80

Link 80

-Band history:Link 80 started in late 1993 in the East Bay of California. In the beginning, original members played around town as Drano, The Rag-Tags, and Mr...

, Save Ferris

Save Ferris

Save Ferris was a ska punk band formed circa 1995 in Orange County, California. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.-History:...

, and The Aquabats

The Aquabats

The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They have released five full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. They are best known for their mythology, in which they claim to be superheroes on a quest to save the world from evil through music...

.

Forget the World

By 1996 the band had attracted the attention of Fueled by Ramen Records and entered the studio to record their first album, Forget the World

Forget the World

Forget the World is the debut album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1997 by Vagrant Records and Fueled by Ramen Records. It was the band's first full-length album and established their presence in the prolific southern California music scene of the mid-1990s...

. Jointly released the following year through Fueled by Ramen and Vagrant Records

Vagrant Records

Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...

, the album was essentially a traditional ska punk

Ska punk

Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...

 effort focusing on upbeat tempos and heavy brass instrumentation. It afforded the band their first national tours at a time when ska and punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 were gaining national attention. The band toured on and off in support of Forget the World for over a year.

Heads Are Gonna Roll

By 1999 the band had signed to major label Interscope Records

Interscope Records

Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

 and released their second album, Heads Are Gonna Roll

Heads Are Gonna Roll

Heads Are Gonna Roll is the second album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1999 by Interscope Records. It was the band's first album for a major record label and was their most successful, with the single "Wasting My Life" receiving some airplay on rock radio stations...

. Musically the album found the band transitioning to a more pop-rock sound, using fewer ska rhythms and instead incorporating synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

s. It was their most successful album and their only major-label release. The song "Wasting My Life" received airplay on some independent radio stations. The band toured the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in support of the album.

Demise

Following tours in support of Heads Are Gonna Roll drummer Kyle Briggs left the group. Over the next few years the band rehearsed and recorded new songs with other drummers, expanding their use of keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

, synthesizers, and programming. However, the members drifted into other projects and it became apparent that the band would not continue on as they once had. They quietly broke up, but released a posthumous self-titled album in 2003 through Olympic Records. The product of several years of recording, the album completed their transition from traditional ska punk to synthpop

Synthpop

Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

, almost completely severing ties to the southern California ska scene from which the band had spawned.

Following the band's breakup the members moved on to other musical projects. Castle and Bairian formed the band Dirty Little Secret. Rechtshaid played with them for a time before forming his own group Foreign Born

Foreign Born

Foreign Born is an American folk rock band. They began in San Francisco during the late summer months of 2003, but soon relocated to Los Angeles. They self-released their first 12" single , and then their debut EP "In the Remote Woods" via StarTime International Records...

, and also became a producer, working with bands such as Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....

 and We Are Scientists

We Are Scientists

We Are Scientists is a New York-based indie rock band that formed in Berkeley, California in 2000. Originally formed of Keith Murray on drums, Chris Cain playing bass guitar and Scott Lamb providing vocals and guitar, before Michael Tapper became drummer and Keith became vocalist and guitarist...

. Rukasin became a band manager, while Zahniser formed the band Southbase. Briggs went on to form the band Tripod, in which he played from 2000 to 2003. In 2006 he relocated to Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 where he released a solo album under the name Long Distance Runner and joined the band Junkface.

Band members

The Hippos lineups
(only official members listed)

(1995–2000) Forget the World Forget the World Forget the World is the debut album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1997 by Vagrant Records and Fueled by Ramen Records. It was the band's first full-length album and established their presence in the prolific southern California music scene of the mid-1990s... Heads Are Gonna Roll Heads Are Gonna Roll Heads Are Gonna Roll is the second album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1999 by Interscope Records. It was the band's first album for a major record label and was their most successful, with the single "Wasting My Life" receiving some airplay on rock radio stations...	Ariel Rechtshaid - vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... , guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... , synthesizer James Bairian - bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... Louis Castle - trumpet Trumpet The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... , vocals Rich Zahniser - trombone Trombone The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... , vocals, moog synthesizer Moog synthesizer Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled... , farfisa Farfisa Farfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy.The Farfisa brand name is commonly associated with a series of compact electronic organs, and later, a series of multi-timbral synthesizers. At the height of its production, Farfisa operated three factories to produce instruments, in... , keyboards Keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... Danny Rukasin - trombone, keyboards Keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... Kyle Briggs - drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... , percussion Percussion instrument A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(2000–2003) The Hippos The Hippos (album) The Hippos is the third and final album by the Los Angeles, California rock band The Hippos, released in 2003 by Olympic Records and Fanscape Music. It was released posthumously after their breakup in 2000...	Ariel Rechtshaid - vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... , guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... , keyboards Keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... , programming, percussion James Bairian - bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... Louis Castle - trumpet Trumpet The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... , vocals, keyboards, programming Rich Zahniser - trombone Trombone The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... , keyboards, programming Danny Rukasin - trombone, Keyboards Blair Sinta - drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... , percussion Percussion instrument A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... Nate Morton - drums, percussion Garrett Ray - drums

• Ariel Rechtshaid – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , programming
• James Bairian - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , vocals
• Louis Castle - trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  , vocals, keyboards, programming
• Rich Zahniser - trombone
  Trombone
  The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
  
  , vocals, keyboards, programming
• Danny Rukasin - trombone, keyboards
• Kyle Briggs - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
   (1995–2000)
• Blair Singa - drums on The Hippos
  The Hippos (album)
  The Hippos is the third and final album by the Los Angeles, California rock band The Hippos, released in 2003 by Olympic Records and Fanscape Music. It was released posthumously after their breakup in 2000...
  
  
• Nate Morton - drums on The Hippos
• Garrett Ray - drums on The Hippos

Albums

Year	Title	Label	Other information
1997	Forget the World Forget the World Forget the World is the debut album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1997 by Vagrant Records and Fueled by Ramen Records. It was the band's first full-length album and established their presence in the prolific southern California music scene of the mid-1990s...	Fueled by Ramen/Vagrant Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...	First album.
1999	Heads Are Gonna Roll Heads Are Gonna Roll Heads Are Gonna Roll is the second album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1999 by Interscope Records. It was the band's first album for a major record label and was their most successful, with the single "Wasting My Life" receiving some airplay on rock radio stations...	Interscope Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...	Last album with drummer Kyle Briggs.
2003	The Hippos The Hippos (album) The Hippos is the third and final album by the Los Angeles, California rock band The Hippos, released in 2003 by Olympic Records and Fanscape Music. It was released posthumously after their breakup in 2000...	Olympic	Final album.

Singles

Year	Song	Label	Other information
1999	"Wasting My Life"	Interscope	Out of print.

Non-album tracks

Year	Album Title	Label	Song(s)	Other information
1996	California Ska-Quake, Vol. 2: The Aftershock California Ska-Quake, Vol. 2: The Aftershock California Ska-Quake, Vol. 2: The Aftershock is a compilation album released by Moon Ska Records on 3 September 1996. The album was created as a follow-up to California Ska-Quake, serving as a snapshot of the active mid-1990s California ska scene....	Caroline Caroline Records Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s. The label originally specialized in putting out budget price LPs by mainly progressive rock and jazz artists generally not considered to have a great deal of 'mainstream' or...	"So What?"
1997	Take Warning: The Songs of Operation Ivy	Glue Factory	"Freeze Up"	Originally performed by Operation Ivy Operation Ivy (band) Operation Ivy was an American ska punk band that formed in Berkeley, California, and was often credited with spurring the 1990s punk revival in California. It is well-known as one of the first bands to "mix" hardcore punk with elements of ska, known as ska-core... .
1998	Five Years on the Streets	Vagrant	"Lost It (Live)"
	The Radiolistener Remixes	Vegas	"Asleep at the Wheel (The Boom Shaka remix)"
1999	Before You Were Punk 2 Before You Were Punk 2 -Album information:*Record label: Vagrant Records*Art direction by Kristin Vanderlip*Recording details:**Track 1 recorded and mixed by Tim Pak at Woodshed Studios**Track 2 produced and mixed by Ryan Green at Motor Studios...	Vagrant	"Our Lips Are Sealed"	Originally performed by The Go-Go's The Go-Go's The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts.... .
	no album	no label	"1999"	Was available as a download from the band's official website Website A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet... .

Demos

Year	Title	Label	Other information
1995	Attack of the Killer Cheese	Self Released	Contained "Get Away", "Asleep At The Wheel", "Rocky Ground", "The Boss" and a untitled instrumental. Only "Asleep At The Wheel" was released on an album. Out of print.
1998	Heads Are Gonna Roll Heads Are Gonna Roll Heads Are Gonna Roll is the second album by the Los Angeles, California ska band The Hippos, released in 1999 by Interscope Records. It was the band's first album for a major record label and was their most successful, with the single "Wasting My Life" receiving some airplay on rock radio stations... demo	self-released, no label	Demos for 1999 album including early versions of "Thinking" and "Pollution."