| Fishbone | |
|---|---|
Fishbone performing live in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Fishbone & Familyhood Nextperience |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genres | Alternative rock, funk metal, ska-punk |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Columbia, Rowdy, Hollywood, High Times Records, Sound In Color, Nuttsactor 5, DC-Jam Records |
| Associated acts | Year of the Dragon, Dirty Walt & The Columbus Sanitation, Trulio Disgracias, Dr. Madd Vibe, The Seedy Arkhestra |
| Website | http://www.fishbone.net/ |
| Members | |
| Angelo Moore John Norwood Fisher Walter A. Kibby II John Steward Rocky George Dre Gipson Jay Armant |
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| Past members | |
| Philip "Fish" Fisher Kendall Jones Chris Dowd John Bigham Spacey T Anthony Brewster Dion Murdock Tori Ruffin Andre´ "PaDre" Holmes Curtis Storey John McKnight |
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Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s. With their hyperactive, self-conscious diversity, goofy sense of humor, and sharp social commentary, the group gained a sizable cult following during the late '80s, yet they were never able to earn a mainstream audience."[1]
Fishbone was assembled by John Norwood Fisher (bass, vocals), with his brother Phillip "Fish" Fisher (drums); Angelo Moore, who sometimes uses the stage name "Dr. Madd Vibe" (vocals, saxophones ranging from sopranino to bass, and theremin); Kendall Jones (guitar); "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, trumpet); and Christopher Dowd, who sometimes uses the pseudonym "Charlie Down" (keyboards, trombone, vocals).
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Fishbone got started in 1979 as a "disparate, all-black oddball crew" when the members were in junior high school in South Central Los Angeles.[2] Their unique stew of different styles was a great influence on several subsequent alternative bands. A single on Columbia Records, "Party at Ground Zero" was their first release,[3] and was followed by a self-titled EP, Fishbone. In 1987, in support of their first full-length album, In Your Face, the band performed "Jamaica Ska" in the Annette Funicello/Frankie Avalon reunion movie Back to the Beach. Fishbone toured with the Beastie Boys across the US and other parts of the world.
Fishbone was mostly considered to be a ska/reggae band in its early years, but later became more guitar-driven with a focus on rock and soul music.[4] The 1988 album Truth and Soul brought Fishbone wide critical acclaim. With this album, the band also added left-leaning social commentary to their lyrics, covering important topics such as the breakup of families, early 1990s racism, fascism, nuclear war, and oppression in lower income housing projects. The album was highlighted by a hard rock-inspired version of Curtis Mayfield's classic "Freddie's Dead" from the film Super Fly. The music video, directed by Douglas Gayeton, became the band's first hit on MTV. That same year, the group toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and became nationally known in the burgeoning alternative music scene. Also that year, Fishbone and Little Richard recorded the Leadbelly song "Rock Island Line" for the tribute album Folkways: A Vision Shared.
The band added former Miles Davis sideman John Bigham[3] on guitar and keyboards in 1989. The 1991 album The Reality of My Surroundings was a critical and commercial success, reaching #49 on the Billboard albums chart.[5] One month before the album's release, the group played a memorable performance on Saturday Night Live, with Moore doing a back flip into the camera pit a mere five seconds into their performance of "Sunless Saturday" (a song which later featured an MTV video directed by Spike Lee). The song "Everyday Sunshine" also became a modest hit on radio and MTV.
While the band retained their roots in funk and ska, the 1993 album Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe it included songs with hard rock, punk, and heavy metal elements.[3] At the time of the album's release, the band began to tear apart internally. Just before Fishbone joined the 1993 Lollapalooza tour, guitarist Kendall Jones, reportedly suffering from mental instability, quit the band; John Norwood Fisher tracked him down and after an attempt to help him was charged with kidnapping.[6] A benefit concert to help with Norwood's legal expenses featured Porno for Pyros, Primus, Tool, and Alice in Chains.[3] Fishbone was then dropped by Sony Records. Around this time, Keyboardist Christopher Dowd left Fishbone and recorded with a band including Jeff Buckley under the name Seedy Arkhestra, releasing the album The Puzzle, which included the anti-Fishbone track "Flog Your Dead Horse."
Now a five-piece, Fishbone added more heavy metal and hardcore punk influences to their sound on the 1996 album Chim Chim's Badass Revenge on Rowdy Records. The album did well in the underground music scene, but went largely unnoticed by the general public, peaking at just #158 on the Billboard albums chart.[7] In 1996, the band contributed to the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization. By 1998, the band lost another founding member, drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher, who was later definitively replaced by John Steward. John Bigham also left the band to pursue his own career, later founding the band The Soul of John Black; Bigham was replaced by former Sound Barrier and Mother's Finest guitarist Tracey "Spacey T" Singleton. John McKnight (from Ben Harper's band) joined on keyboards, trombone, and guitar after a short stint by Anthony Brewster. During the latter part of the 1990s, Fishbone was without a recording contract and earned their keep through constant touring.
Fishbone's maintained their dedicated fan base and achieved another major record deal with Hollywood Records in 2000. They were given the chance to record a new album with several special guests, including Gwen Stefani, George Clinton, Rick James, H.R. of Bad Brains, Donny Osmond, and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. The resulting album, Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx, was a critical success, but saw poor sales. The band was dropped from their label and headed back on the road. John McKnight left the band in 2001, and the group continued on as a five-piece. In 2002, on their own independent record label, they released Live at the Temple Bar and More which contained all brand new original material recorded live throughout 2001 and 2002. This was later complemented by another live CD/DVD, Live in Amsterdam, containing most of their hits and filmed at the 2002 Cannabis Cup Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
In late 2003 Fishbone lost another founding member when Walter Kibby left the band (he returned in 2010). Tracy Singleton departed as well. Kibby and Singleton later formed the band Year Of The Dragon, releasing the albums A Time To Love Is A Time To Bleed (2006) and Blunt Force Karma (2009). Kibby has also released two albums with his band Dirty Walt & The Columbus Sanitation, To Put It Bluntly (2000) and Still Smokin' (2009). All are available on The IBCT, LLC.
In (2009) Walter Kibby and Tracy Singleton both recorded tracks with Swade G aka Wade Antonio Kibby, younger brother of "Dirty Walt". These songs are on the album "Ghetto Life" which was released by Executive Producer Gregory Booth of Framed Records on April 20th, 2010. Walter Kibby recorded vocals and appeared in the video of "How Time Fly's" and Singleton laid down the melodic guitar riffs on "Angels Cry".
Founding members John Norwood Fisher and Angelo Moore, along with drummer John Steward, restarted Fishbone with Rocky George of Suicidal Tendencies and Tori Ruffin of The Time on guitars (though Ruffin left soon thereafter); and Dre Gipson on keyboards. In 2005 John McKnight returned on trombone and guitar. Trumpet players during this period were Andre Holmes, Curtis Storey, Fernando Pullum, and Mervin Campbell. This line-up recorded the first Fishbone studio album in six years, Still Stuck In Your Throat, in April 2007 with producer David Kahne, who worked on the band's early albums. Music videos were recorded for the cover song "Date Rape" by Sublime, and for the song "Let Dem Ho's Fight."
In 2008 and 2009, original members Walter Kibby, Christopher Dowd, and Kendall Jones joined Fishbone on stage on various occasions, most notably for the shoot of the Pepsi "Pass" commercial, which aired in January 2009. In April 2008, Stephan Kraemer directed the shoot of the band's first official live CD/DVD in Bordeaux, France. The DVD Fishbone Live was released on May 10, 2009.
The band was deeply involved in the making of the documentary film, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone,[8] directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler. The film debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 19, 2010 and is currently playing at film festivals around the world. A trailer for the documentary is now on youtube.
According to The Pier Magazine, Fishbone has been in the studio writing and recording a new album, which is due for release sometime in 2011.[9] However, in late January 2011, John McKnight confirmed that he has again left Fishbone. During the Winter 2011 tour, Tom "Tom-Bone" Ralls, formerly of Weapon of Choice, filled in on trombone. Tori Ruffin also briefly returned to play guitar in place of Rocky, who was unable to tour.
After the Winter tour, it has been confirmed that Jay Armant, a former student of Fernando Pullum, has joined as the new trombone player.
Fishbone's new album "Crazy Glue" was released on October 11th, 2011, including new tracks "Flutterbutter" and "Weed,Beer,Cigarettes."
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Main. Rock | US Mod Rock | UK[14] | ||
| 1985 | "? (Modern Industry)" | - | - | - | - |
| 1985 | "Party At Ground Zero" | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | "When Problems Arise" | - | - | - | - |
| 1988 | "Freddie's Dead" | - | - | - | - |
| 1989 | "Ma and Pa" | - | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "Fight the Youth" | - | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "Sunless Saturday" | - | - | 7 | - |
| 1991 | "Everyday Sunshine" | - | - | 14 | 60 |
| 1993 | "Swim" | - | - | - | 54 |
| 1993 | "Unyielding Conditioning" | - | - | - | - |
| 1993 | "Servitude" | - | - | - | - |
| 1996 | "Alcoholic" | - | - | - | - |
| 2000 | "The Suffering" | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | "Party With Saddam" | - | - | - | - |
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