Flippomusic gave its first performance at At The Tracks in Chicago and continued performing at area clubs, including the Bop Shop, Jazz Bulls, the Hothouse, Morseland, the Underground Wonderbar, and the Heartland Cafe. The original members of the band included Dave Flippo (keyboards), Dan Hesler (saxophone), Steve Hashimoto (electric bass), Steve Strunk (drums) and John McLean (guitar).The instrumentation was reconfigured in 1993 and the guitar position was replaced by Hamid Drake on percussion with Aras Biskis taking over the drum chair. The band recorded its first CD, Tendril of Light, on the Southport label in 1994 and also won first place in Winterbreak-Cruise to Chicago contest, a City of Chicago-sponsored event which won them a booking at the Taste of Chicago in the same year. Guest artists on Tendrils of Light include Michael Zerang and Ken Gueno on percussion and Donn De Santo on bass.
