MC Piper was born to an American mother, Brazilian father, and learned Portuguese growing up. Vocalist Steve Knight was born in Alabama and did a tour of duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. Guitarist Dave Lopez originally fled to the U.S. from Chile as a kid in search of a better life. In 2003 the guys found each other in Oakland at Soundwave Rehearsal Studios where Dave Lopez was a manager. Piper and Knight had been working on a song called "Someday." When Dave heard it he couldn’t resist grabbing his guitar and turning it into a jam, which turned into a band, which became Flipsyde. Before long, their demo of "Someday" was becoming the talk of West Coast A&R departments and they ultimately signed with Cherrytree/Interscope Records. The group's debut, We the People, set the foundation that would take them around the world countless times with acts such as Snoop Dogg, Akon, the Black Eyed Peas and many others.