Low Hanging Fruit’s Soup De’Jour, Trip, and Dirty Harry

After Rye
For Brendan Tripodi, the Band Was Mightier Than Rounding the Bases
By Georgetta L. Morque
At the Gramercy Theatre in the city last month, a large Rye crowd cheered loudly and sang along as Low Hanging Fruit, a hip-hop group, commanded the stage. One of the singers, “Trip”, was none other than Brendan Tripodi, Rye High School graduate and former baseball star. Up next was the much-loved band, Juice, featuring another RHS grad, drummer Miles Clyatt. It was a Rye night in Manhattan.

Low Hanging Fruit originated three years ago at the University of Colorado Boulder, where Tripodi, De’Jour Plunkett-Elliott, “Soup De’Jour”, from Denver, and Harry Trump, “Dirty Harry”, from San Francisco, also former athletes with a passion for hip-hop, began producing songs “with a fresh and new sound.”

After gaining popularity on local and college stages in Colorado, Low Hanging Fruit went on tour across the country and made a couple of stops in Europe, cultivating devoted fans along the way. Their first album, “Way Up”, had 500,000 total streams in just six months, and their official music video, “Giraffe”, filmed in Paris, generated over 50,000 views on YouTube.

“We believe in our music and our artistry,” said Tripodi.

In Rye, Tripodi enjoyed playing the drums in band, and he always loved hip-hop. “I had headphones in my ears five times as much as anyone else,” recalled the 2014 grad. But baseball, not music, was the path laid out for him. A top player at Rye High, and, for a time, Iona Prep, Tripodi was offered a spot in the Division I program at Elon University in North Carolina. Deep down, however, he felt the need to self-reflect and question his direction in life. Although he had never set foot in Colorado, he dreamed about mountains and transferred to University of Colorado Boulder where he was grateful for the chance to reinvent himself.

It was at Boulder that he met up with RHS graduates Lucy Weld, a singer-songwriter, and guitarist Will Oberlander. Jam sessions in Oberlander’s studio enabled Tripodi and his fellow creative artists to realize their potential. But they needed a name. It was Weld who suggested Low Hanging Fruit. “It has a growing meaning,” said Tripodi, who explained that low-hanging fruit, which has the most nutrients, is reflective of the group’s desire to promote a healthy lifestyle. Their mission? Peace, love, fun.

The members of Low Hanging Fruit now work out of a studio in their Boulder home writing songs – their new album, “751”, will be out next month — marketing their merchandise, and finding new performance opportunities. Tripodi believes their strong work ethic comes from their days as athletes.

Excited about their new material and upcoming shows, Tripodi said he’s learning about the business and, most importantly, learning about himself — happy about the road he chose.