The Legend of the "Tree People"

Things happen.  Things happen, and people talk and tell stories about those things.  Those stories are then told third- and fourth-hand and so on until the origins of those stories begin to vanish in the haze of time yet the details somehow gain clarity until they strain credulity.  Thus are born the modern-day Urban Legends.

The Legend of the Tree People has yet to attain the status of bona fide Urban Legend.

It is, however, an entertaining story.

Back in “the day” (which, in our case, was a Saturday in July of 2007), FlipSide were performing in front of an intimate yet captive audience at an event we would later christen “CadStock”; an annual gathering of friends and family celebrating the grilling of meat, the sharing of cold beverages (alcoholic and otherwise), the enjoyment of our fellow man (and woman, as the case may be), and, perhaps most importantly, the listening to of loud music in a public setting.

Needless to say this invitation-only event, held at a secretive compound nestled into the surrounding landscape in rural Griswold, CT, was a HIT, and continues to be each successive year.  But I digress…

As the sun (and beverages) went down, the gathered crowd became more and more appreciative of the music FlipSide were “laying down”.  It was at that time that everyone present became aware of other… presences in attendance.  It seemed that, although FlipSide’s performance improved as the evening went on, the applause became disproportionately louder based on the number of visible attendees.  We then realized that there were people beyond the tree line who not only could hear the performance but were also quite thoroughly enjoying it.

This amused the band to no end.

A friendly banter then began between the band and the unseen listeners; shout-outs were exchanged, and good-natured ribbing ensued.  A formal invitation was issued, yet they politely declined for reasons known only to them.  They were obviously enjoying themselves, so who were we to argue.  With each successive request for louder applause made by the band, louder applause was received from the masses… both of them.  At one point, a reference was made to an obscure line from the original Woodstock Festival regarding “people in the trees”; history now indicates that it was in this moment that the first reference to the “tree people” was made.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the term “Tree People” (now properly capitalized to indicate our respect and admiration) came to be a reference to FlipSide’s growing fan base.  It is now a term of endearment; spoken with a reverence that defies its humble origins.  Indeed, it has taken on a life of its own – wherever FlipSide perform, “Tree People” gather; joyous screaming and shouting occur, meat and cold drink are consumed, and all is well and good with the Universe.

The actual “Tree People” have never been located or properly identified; their presence that evening seemingly left no physical evidence at the scene yet was attested to by those “mostly sober” souls that actually remember ANYTHING of that summer night.  To them, should they find this site and read these words, we say “thank you” for being there with us at our first official performance and making it memorable; to you we owe much and are grateful.

…and we hope to at least catch you at the next CadStock!

 They may not be original "Tree People", but they've shown up at their fair share of shows - even when, in some cases, no one else has!

We salute these HONORARY TREE PEOPLE for their contributions to our success:

Cathy, Donna, and Dylan

(for allowing us to do what we do without complaint)

Jim aka “Killer”

 (for TONS of photos and great friendship)

Susan & Andy

(a great couple, great friends,  and great fans)

Stacey & Paul

(for staying when no one else would!)

Tammy

(had to be there, no real choice)

Andi

(had a choice, and stuck around anyway)

Dana & Rich

(for showing up when we least expect it... and for FIREWORKS PARTIES!)