Rechtshaid would help form The Hippos in 1995, while he and other members were still in high school.[5] He fronted the band as the singer and guitarist with friends James Bairian on bass, Louis Castle on trumpet, Brandon Bairian on percussion, Roman Fleysher on saxophone, Danny Rukasin on trombone, and Kyle Briggs on drums. They began to play shows around southern California, and recorded and self-released cassette demos titled Spreading the Cheese and Attack of the Killer Cheese. Shortly after this they were joined by Rich Zahniser on trombone. Despite their proximity to the Orange County ska scene, they found themselves shut out since they were from Los Angeles. Still, through perseverance and talent, they established themselves among a ska scene including bands such as Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, Dance Hall Crashers, and The Aquabats. The band would go on to release two full-length albums on Fueled By Ramen/Vagrant Records and Interscope, as well as a self-released third full-length consisting of demos produced by Rechtshaid from their later years.[12]
"By the time [Rechtshaid] was 18/19, [he] knew [he] wasn't happy – and [he] quit. Part of the problem was benchmarking his efforts against his heroes".[5] He later wrote the music in different genres for commercials.[5]
Rechtshaid joined the band as a bassist and producer in Los Angeles in late 2003. They self-released their first 12" single ("We Had Pleasure" b/w "Escape"), followed by their debut EP "In the Remote Woods" via StarTime International Records. While touring the US and UK with St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Rogue Wave, Jason Collett, Cold War Kids, Giant Drag, and We Are Scientists, they recorded their first full-length album, On the Wing Now, in the fall/winter of 2005, and officially released the album with Dim Mak on August 21, 2007. They released their second album, Person to Person, on Secretly Canadian on June 23, 2009.
Production, writing, and mixing
After Plain White T's' 2006 single "Hey There Delilah", which Rechtshaid recorded and produced, eventually reached number 1 on the US and number 2 on the UK charts, he started getting approached by labels and managers.[5]
