Hungry Hungry Hippos (band)
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Hungry Hungry Hippos (formerly Hungry Hungry Hippeaux) are a post-geekcore band formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California named after the game Hungry Hungry Hippos. They played the San Francisco and Oakland nightclub circuit in 1997-1998 and continue to perform intermittently throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in live karaoke shows.
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[edit] History
The founding members were John Byrd (electric guitar/keys/banjo), Kerwin So (drums), and Eric Hsu (vocals/acoustic guitar). Hsu previously played in The Hope Bombs along with Robert Eggplant, formerly of the band Blatz which emerged from the same East Bay punk scene that gave birth to bands like Operation Ivy and Green Day. Bassist Chris (Fuchs) Mitra joined the band in 1998.
Their first performance was the legendarily painful Lodoga show commemorating the first anniversary of Geekfest.[1] Their songs consisted of earnest, thoughtful pop -- a sound which was both a conscious rejection of the orthodoxy of the punk scene and the self-conscious absurdity of geekcore. However, their live shows still incorporated geeky elements such as anagram contests, instant song requests, random prizes, and silly costumes.
The band appeared to break up when Hsu left for Austin in 1999. They have since re-formed to play concerts at special occasions, incorporating an innovative live karaoke format wherein audience members interact with the music and hence become their own stars. This style hearkens back to the populist ideals of both punk and geekcore.
[edit] Discography
- All Your Hippo Fantasies Realized, cassette single, 1997.
- Various demos, 1997-1999.
[edit] References
- ^ "Geekfest one year anniversary show.", 1997-07-20. Retrieved on March 1, 2007.
