My favorite songs on the album include but not limited to the song you've heard if you've been watching NBC and the Olympics "Someday," "US History" (pay attention the lyrics on this one) and "Flipsyde."
When I caught up with Flipsyde, they were on tour in Germany. According to Piper, they’ve been there 6 times in the last year. They are popular overseas and are finally making a name for themselves in the States.
Shelia Goss: Please introduce yourself and tell what you bring to the group.
Flipsyde: (Piper)… I’m the Piper – the MC from west Oakland. I’m back and forth from Brazil. My father’s Brazilian. I was doing sports before. I knew early on that I wanted to rap. Steve Knight is the singer. He’s from Alabama. He sings and plays acoustic guitar. He came out to Cali about 6 years ago with the Coast Guard. We met up about 5 years ago and been riding every since. Dave Lopez is the lead guitarist. He came to America as a young boy and has been playing the guitar his whole life. He grew up in Richmond. D-Sharp was an underground deejay. He was touring with Blackalicious and we picked him up a year ago. The four of us make up Flipsyde.
Shelia: Who came up with the name FLYPSIDE?
Flipsyde: (Piper)… Steve did.
Shelia: How would you categorize your music?
Flipsyde: (Piper)… We call it slash music because every time someone asks us what kind of music we play, we end up going on forever: hip-hop/eclustic/latin/ slash music. We have so many influences individually that when we come together the influences go into our music. We try to honor everybody that influenced our musical style/
Shelia: What were you doing when you found out that your song had been chosen as the official song by NBC for the Olympics?
Flipsyde: (Piper)… I think we were on tour with the Blackeyed Peas like in Portugal or something. It was cool. When we came home, we shot the commercial. It was a beautiful thing. It was an honor because we’re relatively a small band as far as being known in the U S. Everybody wants that spot—to be the anthem for the winter Olympics and they picked our music to represent it. It was a glorious thing..
Shelia: It’s the Perfect song for it. I think you guys will take off here in the States.
Flipsyde: (Piper)… A lot of people are behind it. We’ve been growing by word of mouth. Fans don’t care as long as it sounds good and it’s what they want to hear.
Shelia: How does your family deal with your new found success?
Flipsyde: (Piper)… My family is very proud. They’ve seen me struggle very hard. All of our families have seen us struggling and trying to get to this point. Finally we’re at this point and it’s bigger than what any of us could have imagined. You have your hopes and dreams and when you start seeing them come true, it’s a wonderful thing.
Shelia: So you guys are in Germany touring with Blackeyed Peas or someone else?
Flipsyde: (Piper)…We came off that tour on Dec 22nd. We started doing the states, being on Jay Leno and other late night shows. Now we’re back over here (Germany). There’s a song called “Happy Birthday” that was on our mixed tape that got a good response overseas, so we decided to re-release the album with the song on it.
Shelia: What can your fans expect from you next?
Flipsyde: (Piper)… To see a whole lot of us face to face. When our fans come to our concerts and buy t-shirts they get the 23 song mix tape free. Expect nothing from us but love. We got a big responsibility to a lot of people out there.
Shelia: What is your website?
Flipsyde: (Piper)… www.flipsyde.com and www.myspace.com/flipsyde
Interview by Shelia M Goss a freelance writer and the Essence Bestselling author of My Invisible Husband, Roses are thorns, Violets are true, and My Three Beaus. To find out more, visit her website at www.sheliagoss.com.
