Shallow Gravy

The band practicing on the Venture twins' beds

Once known briefly as Lip Glossary/Goat Blood Sacrifice, this trio appears in several episodes of The Venture Bros. Their first appearance was in the "Tears of a Sea Cow" episode (first aired 20 July 2008). Their first performance was at the Venture compound's home school prom in the show's season-four finale "Operation P.R.O.M." They got the full behind-the-music treatment in a 15-minute mockumentary, "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Shallow Gravy Story" (first aired 28 Aug. 2011).

The band features Hank Venture on bass, Dermott Fictel (Doc Venture's illegitimate son) on vocals, and H.E.L.P.eR. the robot on drums. Well, "drums" is a bit much; it's more just Casiotone-esque tinny percussion. Hank identifies the band as "the next big thing since Eddie and the Cruisers—my boy band good looks, Dermott's bizarre anger...and a robot on drums." Hank likes "Lip Glossary," while Dermott goes for "Goat Blood Sacrifice." Dean Venture suggests they let the readers of Venture Home News decide, but apparently they decided to go a different way with the name.

Interestingly, they seem to be following the same career path as their once-fake, now-sorta-real Adult Swim compatriots Dethklok. An EP containing five versions of Shallow Gravy's lone song, "Jacket," is now for sale. (Sadly, it does not seem like there are plans to release a digital version of their first cassingle, "Pernicious Steed (My Insanity)," which one fan described as "like thirty minutes of one song that sounded like an exploding car made out of basses. Awesome!" and another as "patchy at best.")