Steve Knight's grainy vocals betray the gravely road he's tracked from his spiritual roots of Alabama to a tour of duty in the U.S. Coast Guard and through a self-described "chemical" journey from which he emerged more driven and committed to pursue his love of music in the Oakland scene.
A loyal disciple of the Bay Area music community, Dave Lopez originally immigrated to the U.S. from Chile where he was born and raised until his early adolescence. He carried with him - and has always harbored - a passion for the rhythms of South America and the melodic cadences of Chile's bold and deep-rooted musical traditions.
When asked to describe Flipsyde's unique sound, Piper offers the following analogy: "Our music is like water, it has no form but can cover you ... or morph into anything."
Piper and Knight were originally signed to the same Bay Area indie label where they had each been working on separate projects. They often helped one another by trading rhymes or guitar parts on each other's tracks. But, it wasn't until 2003, in Oakland's Soundwave Rehearsal Studios, that Dave - working there at the time - happened to cross the pair's path.
"Steve barged into me," remembers Lopez of their initial meeting, "and it really irked me. But then he started to play 'Someday' and I was in awe. I thought right away that I might have something to contribute to it and we've been jamming ever since that day."
In addition to serendipitous timing, Piper, Knight and Lopez also share a common dedication to unity and political awareness. This message comes across loud and clear in Flipsyde's lyrics.
"It doesn't matter where you come from, how rich or poor you are or what your religion is," says Knight. "You can break down the walls and communicate. You can gain strength from these things and come together."
Flipsyde's debut album on Cherrytree/Interscope Records is aptly titled "We the People." As Piper explains "It's 'We the People ... of the world;' a new declaration of independence without political boundaries. Our music promotes unity, peace and the empowerment of people." Lopez adds with a confident smile: "Our music is a big mess of love."
A little more info on Flipsyde:
''Someday" was a song about dark days and friends' deaths, penned years ago by struggling musicians in Oakland, California. Its mix of rock, hip-hop, and Latin guitar helped to get the band, Flipsyde, a record contract and European tours. But album sales were scant; fame was elusive. Then NBC's Olympic advertising machine turned ''Someday" into a song about perseverance on ice skates. The network filmed the band in a slick music video that doubles as an ad for the Torino games. Suddenly, CD sales -- though still small -- are rising, and Flipsyde seems to be everywhere. They've been on late-night TV, performed at the Winter X Games, and got a plug in ''Fortune," where an essayist marveled that he'd found new music in an NBC house ad
|