“What’s the deal with ‘Rachel’s Hippo?’”

Without failure we get asked that question at every gig.  It is such a Frequently Asked Question, that it deserves official clarification on the World Wide Web, which is, as we all know the end all-be all source for answers to Frequently Asked Questions.  So without further adieu, I present to the World the Rachel’s Hippo FAQ.

Q: Is our singer named Rachel?
A: No. Our singer is named Eric.  Our drummer is named “Erich.” Yes, with an “h.”  The hot girl that sings the girly songs… we call her: “Jen.” If you’d like to get her attention at a gig, we suggest you do the same.

Q: Who is Rachel?
A: Rachel is our friend from PALS.  She’s super hot… she’s super taken.  So, sorry guys… anything you’ve got to offer her now is too little, too late.

Q: Did you name the band after her?
A: No. Rachel’s Hippo was originally formed in 1994.  I don’t know if our hot Rachel was even in High School then.

Q: Who is the band named after?
A: We don’t know.

Q: Well then, how did you come up with the name Rachel’s Hippo?
A:  Grab a cold drink and a pencil and paper for a Venn Diagram then come back.  It’s a long answer…OK.  Here goes.

In 1992, Erich was introduced to John through a mutual friend, Ben Rhodes.  Ben and John worked together and found a common interest in music.   They got Erich to sing and John’s friends’, Scott and Shane to round out the line up with guitar and drums (respectfully).  We played grunge and lots of hacky sack.  When it came time to get a name we were stuck. 

Scott was a student at ICC at the time.  For those of you who attend(ed) Harvard on the Hill, you might know there is an on-site child care facility there.  One day Scott came into band practice with a poster.  Actually, it was a child’s art project made on an 11x17 sheet of construction paper.  It was a drawing made with  pudding (yes pudding) of a cow that read, “Rachel The Cow.”  Scott threw it down and said, “I took this off the wall of the ICC daycare.  Here’s a name for the band, ‘Rachel The Cow.’” 

Ben thought it was a stupid name.  It is.  The rest of us thought is was stupid too, but unique enough that people would remember it.  Also, the bonus was: with that name on a billboard people don’t know what to expect.  Totally different than, say, Krankenstein.

Rachel The Cow played a total of ONE show in front of people.  It was at Doc Rocks.  Docs was in the old building that used to be next door to World Famous Big Al's.  Great White (band with the Pyro tragedy in Rhode Island) recorded a kick ass live version of  “Save Your Love” there.   Anyway, we ended up getting booted out because we were using borrowed drums and the drum’s owner thought Shane hit too hard – he didn’t… and we had a mosh pit going.  This was 1992 folks, people in Peoria NEVER MOSHED UNTIL Rachel The Cow played Doc Rocks in 1992.  This is historical fact – because you’re reading it on the internet.  Long story short: Rachel The Cow broke up, like all bands do.

In 1993, Erich was working at River Station Restaurant, and there, he met his future bride Sherri.  For a Christmas gift, Erich decided to go into a recording studio and record “Something” by The Beatles (Harrison) for her.  In passing conversation, the happy couple’s future Brother In Law, Jim Potts, said “I know a guy who has a studio.  He loves the Beatles.  He’d probably record it for you.  I’ll play guitar on it too.”

 Erich replied, “Great! But, are you a good player?”

“I’m stellar,” was Jim’s confident reply.

With that confidence, Erich and Jim went to Brian Combs’ basement studio to record.  Erich laid down, what he thought would be “scratch” drum tracks in one take and the three of them proceeded to record Something.  As a follow up, Erich decided to record a stripped down acoustic version of  The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.”

The day recording  for  “Just Like Heaven” was scheduled, Brian’s former band mate songwriting/recording partner Eric Richrath was in the studio.  Erich, unable to play ANYTHING melodic on guitar had Eric sit in with him.  And together they strummed out the final bits for Sherri’s Christmas gift.

Apparently impressed, Eric and Brian called Erich back shortly thereafter and invited him into the studio to record drums for some of their quirky original music (which is quite good).  As the recording sessions progressed they decided to form a band, and recruited Tom Bergerhouse to play bass.  The band continued to record under the names: Shag, Deep Shag, and finally played it’s first gig at One World Coffee and Cargo as “The Shagnasties.”

The Shagnasties continued to record and as young people will do: fantasized about a recording contract that would gain  them fame and fortune.  However, there already was a group of  recording artists known as “Shagnasties.”

The band needed a new name.  We somehow came upon “Hippo.”  We liked Hippo.  We liked the way it sounded.  It was hip.  It said, “Hip.”  But, it needed something else.  Through a week or two of deliberation, we came up with the plan to amalgamate the names: “Hippo” and “Rachel The Cow.”  Thus was born: “Rachel’s Hippo.”