Guitarist Christo Harris started Orange Hat while in high school in 1983 and was joined by David "Zeus" Henderson several years later. The pair, with constantly changing lineups, took advantage of the '80s DIY cassette culture and released a half dozen independent albums on cassette between 1985 and 1995, including Pork! and Pterodactyl Universe. (A long running inside joke demands all Orange Hat album titles begin with the letter P)

Orange Hat reformed in 1995 and Harris and Henderson were joined by keyboardist John Henry and drummer/producer/engineer Jason NeSmith (also known as Casper, from Casper & the Cookies). With the release of the 7" vinyl single "Humpty Dumpty / Entropy" in early 1997, the band began to receive college radio airplay and national press. Keyboardist Kenny Howes joined in 1997, and contributed the distinctive sound of the Vox Continental organ. Howes was already well known for his power pop solo work before joining Orange Hat.The quartet released the CD "Pufferfish" in 1999, the single "13th Floor" in 2000, and a full length film "Psychedelic Elevator" in 2001. This lineup of the band was often noted for wild psychedelic clothing and Squeeze-like pop sound. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.