Fishbone first assembled as school students in 1979 with John Norwood Fisher (bass), his brother Philip "Fish" Fisher (drums), Angelo Moore (vocals, saxophones, theremin), Kendall Jones (guitar), "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, trumpet), and Christopher Dowd (keyboards, trombone, vocals). They achieved their greatest commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, after which they went through many personnel changes. From 2003 to 2010, John Norwood Fisher and Angelo Moore were the last remaining original members of the band. In the 2010s, all the other original members except Kendall Jones rejoined the band for various reunion tours and anniversary activities. As of August 2024, the lineup consists of Moore, Dowd, guitarist Tracey "Spacey T" Singleton, bassist Aroyn Day, drummer Hassan Hurd, and trumpeter JS Williams.
History
Early career (1979–1987)
Fishbone got started in 1979 as a "disparate, all-black oddball crew" when the members were in junior high school. The Fisher brothers, Jones, Dowd, and Kibby were all from South Central Los Angeles[7] and were included in a school busing program that sent them daily to the San Fernando Valley, where they met Moore, who was native to the area. After first using the name Megatron with Titus Norris on vocals, the sextet adopted the name Fishbone and formed a unique stew of different styles that became popular in the Los Angeles club scene and was a great influence on several subsequent alternative bands.[8] Their first club date was at Madame Wong's, the influential venue in Los Angeles's Chinatown that had been a showcase for a variety of seminal punk bands in the 1980s.[9] They formed strong friendships with Los Angeles bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thelonious Monster, and Psi Com.[10] Fishbone were signed to Columbia Records in 1983 after being spotted at a club gig by Brian O'Neal of The BusBoys.[9] Their first release was the 1985 single "Party at Ground Zero",[11] followed by a self-titled EP, Fishbone produced by David Kahne.[9] They released their first full-length album In Your Face in 1986, and the following year they performed "Jamaica Ska" in the Annette Funicello/Frankie Avalon reunion movie Back to the Beach. Fishbone's first major international tour was as the opening act for Beastie Boys on the 1987 Licensed to Ill tour.[12]
Rise to fame (1988–1994)
Fishbone was primarily considered a ska and funk band during their early years, but later became more guitar-driven with a focus on rock and soul music.[13] The 1988 album Truth and Soul brought Fishbone wide critical acclaim.[14][15] With this album, the band also added left-leaning social commentary to their lyrics, covering topics such as the breakup of families, contemporary 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 Red Hot Chili Peppers and became nationally known in the burgeoning alternative music scene.[16] Also that year, Fishbone and Little Richard recorded the Lead Belly song "Rock Island Line" for the tribute album Folkways: A Vision Shared.[17]
The band added former Miles Davis sideman John Bigham[11] 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.[18] One month before the album's release, the group played a performance on Saturday Night Live 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 included songs with free jazz, hard rock, punk, and heavy metal elements.[11] 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 was accused of mental instability and quit the band, moving to Northern California. Bassist John Norwood Fisher tracked Jones down in the belief that he needed rescue from a religious cult, only to be charged with attempted kidnapping; Fisher was acquitted at trial.[19] A benefit concert to help with Fisher's legal expenses featured Porno for Pyros, Primus, Tool, and Alice in Chains.[11] Keyboardist Christopher Dowd left Fishbone in 1994 and released an album titled Puzzle in 1997 under the name The Seedy Arkhestra, with various guests including Jeff Buckley and N'Dea Davenport. The album included an anti-Fishbone song called "Flog Your Dead Horse."[20]
Post-Sony years (1995–2002)
Now a five-piece, Fishbone was dropped by Sony Records (formerly Columbia) in 1995, upon presenting their next album. The band added more heavy metal and hardcore punk influences to their sound on the 1996 concept album Chim Chim's Badass Revenge, released by Rowdy Records and produced by Dallas Austin. The album went largely unnoticed by the general public, peaking at just #158 on the Billboard albums chart.[18] In 1996, the band contributed to the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.[21] In 1998 the band lost another founding member, drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher, who became a session drummer and later appeared in the heavy metal band Wicked Wisdom. After brief periods with various drummers, the position was filled definitively by John Steward. John Bigham also left the band during this period 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. Keyboardist and horn player Anthony Brewster (The Untouchables) was a member of the group from 1997 to 1998, while John McKnight (from Ben Harper's band) joined on keyboards, trombone, and guitar. During the latter part of the 1990s, Fishbone was without a recording contract and earned their keep through constant touring.
In late 2003 Fishbone lost another founding member when Walter Kibby left the band. Guitarist Tracy Singleton departed as well. After leaving Fishbone, Kibby released two albums with his band Dirty Walt & The Columbus Sanitation: To Put It Bluntly (2000) and Still Smokin' (2009). Kibby and Singleton also collaborated in the band Year of the Dragon, releasing the albums A Time to Love Is a Time to Bleed (2006) and Blunt Force Karma (2009). Together, they also recorded tracks with Swade G (Kibby's younger brother Wade Antonio Kibby) for the album Ghetto Life (2010).
After the 2003 departure of Kibby and Singleton, the last two 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 PaDre Holmes, Fernando Pullum, Mervin Campbell, and Curtis Storey. The line-up of Fisher, Moore, Steward, George, Gipson, Storey, and McKnight recorded the studio album Still Stuck in Your Throat with producer David Kahne, who had worked on the band's early albums. The album was released in October 2006 in Europe, and in April 2007 in the United States. 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, departed original members Walter Kibby, Christopher Dowd, and Kendall Jones joined Fishbone on stage on various occasions,[citation needed] most notably for the shoot of the Pepsi "Pass" commercial, which aired in January 2009.[citation needed] In April 2008, Stephan Kraemer directed the shoot of a live CD/DVD recorded in Bordeaux, France. The DVD Fishbone Live was released on May 10, 2009.
In January 2010, John McKnight left Fishbone for the second time. During this period original member Walter Kibby returned on trumpet and vocals. During a 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 George, who was unable to tour. After the tour, Jay Armant, a former student of Fernando Pullum, joined as the new trombone player. Fishbone released a seven-track EP titled Crazy Glue on October 11, 2011.
Current and former members of the band were deeply involved in the making of the documentary film Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone,[15] directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne and featuring interviews with Les Claypool, Gwen Stefani, Flea, Branford Marsalis, George Clinton, Ice-T, and Gogol Bordello, the film debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 19, 2010. The film has screened at more than 100 film festivals in twenty countries, winning 12 awards for Best Documentary. One of the top-reviewed documentaries of 2011–2012, the film has a ranking of 100% on RottenTomatoes.com and was nominated for a Golden Tomato Award. The film was rolled out in United States theaters nationwide with bookings in over seventy-five cities, including extended runs in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, plus week-long engagements in 20+ cities including Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Portland, Detroit, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Kansas City. A DVD was released by The Cinema Guild on February 21, 2012, and received a national TV broadcast on the public television series AfroPoP.
In February 2013, keyboardist Dre Gipson left the band after nine years to focus on a new project called Hunter Green. Fishbone was in the midst of a US tour, and reggae musician Freddie Flint filled in temporarily on keyboards. In July 2013, Paul Hampton (formerly of The Skeletones) joined as Fishbone's new keyboardist. In February 2014, federal judge Jan E. DuBois ruled that Fishbone had to pay $1.4 million to a woman who suffered a fractured skull and collarbone during a 2010 concert in Philadelphia when Angelo Moore stage-dove and landed on top of her.[23][24] A five-track EP titled Intrinsically Intertwined was released on April 22, 2014.[25]
Returns of founding members and restructuring (2016–present)
On November 18, 2016, founding member and original drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher played his first show with the band since his departure in 1998. On November 26, Fishbone performed at a Jimi Hendrix tribute concert at Harlem's Apollo Theater, at which time drummer John Steward departed Fishbone after 18 years to make room for the returning Fish.[26] In January 2017 the band announced a tour to commemorate the 1996 album Chim Chim's Badass Revenge. Former guitarist John Bigham returned to the band, after which Rocky George departed after 14 years of service. In late 2017 Moore, Kibby, and John Norwood Fisher were featured in the song "Creatures of Habit" by funk-rock supergroup The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown.[27]
In January 2018, Christopher Dowd made a guest appearance with the band onstage and decided to rejoin, thus replacing both trombonist Jay Armant and keyboardist Paul Hampton.[28] The band's 2018 lineup consisted of Angelo Moore, John Norwood Fisher, Fish, Walter Kibby, Christopher Dowd, and John Bigham, thus recreating the classic Fishbone lineup minus Kendall Jones. In December 2019, John Bigham announced that he was no longer playing with Fishbone to focus on his solo work. Guitarist Mark Phillips joined the band shortly thereafter.[29] In November 2020, Kendall Jones made a rare appearance with the band for a performance of "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains for a tribute to the band arranged by the Museum of Pop Culture. Phillip "Fish" Fisher left the group again in late 2021, after which John Steward rejoined on drums.
On May 26, 2023, Fishbone released a self-titled EP,[30] including one song in collaboration with NOFX.[31] In January 2024, Steward left the band for a second time. On April 25, 2024, Fishbone made a vague post on Facebook, indicating a major lineup change for their upcoming live dates. The following day, Dowd revealed that Fisher and Kibby had left the band due to disagreements over songwriting and recording schedules. Dowd and Moore vowed to continue, alongside new musicians to be announced, as Fishbone. This left Moore as the only member who has been with Fishbone throughout its entire history; Dowd was also a founding member but with a lengthy hiatus before rejoining.[32] New members Aroyn Day, Hassan Hurd, and JS Williams were added. Guitarist Mark Phillips left the band four months later,[33] and was replaced by Tracey "Spacey T" Singleton who had previously left the band in 2003.[34]
In October 2024, the new lineup released the single "Racist Piece of Shit", denouncing Donald Trump.[35][36]
"He's a Fly Guy", with Curtis Mayfield, on I'm Gonna Git You Sucka soundtrack (1988) (Fishbone appear in the film: they are outside the prison when Flyguy gets out)
"Slow Bus Moving" on Tapeheads soundtrack (1988) (Fishbone appear in this film: they are in a bar playing this song)
In 1987, the band has a brief cameo in the Hank Williams Jr. music video "Young Country", appearing on a merry-go-round, raising their cowboy hats as they pass by the camera.
Fishbone appears in the 1988 John Cusack/Tim Robbins film Tapeheads as "Ranchbone" in the bar scene, playing the song "Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party)".[46] They supplied an incidental score for the film as well.
In the 1988 blaxploitation-spoofI'm Gonna Git You Sucka, members of Fishbone appear on the street as hecklers of Antonio Fargas' character Flyguy, and also as a back-up band.
The January 1989 performance at Brixton Academy, London, UK[47] was shown on UK TV in February 1989 in the second episode of Channel 4's Big World Cafe[48][49] introducing the group to a wider UK audience.
Angelo Moore joins Living Colour live on stage for their performance of "Elvis Is Dead" on a 1990 episode of The Arsenio Hall Show. This performance of the song also features a live guest appearance of Little Richard on vocals.
Angelo Moore has several appearances in the music video for the Sublime song, "Wrong Way".
Fishbone is mentioned by Janeane Garofalo as the musical guest on February 12, 1997, episode of The Larry Sanders Show entitled "Pain Equals Funny".
Angelo Moore, John Norwood Fisher, and John Steward appear in the 2006 film Idlewild as members of the band led by Rooster, the character played by Big Boi of OutKast.[52]
Marlon Wayans (in the role of Seymour Stewart) wears a Fishbone T-shirt in Mo' Money (1992).
The characters Freddie and Lena of A Different World were depicted as fans and could be seen wearing Fishbone band shirts.
John Cusack wears a Fishbone shirt in the film Say Anything.... The movie's iconic "boombox" scene originally featured Fishbone's "Turn the Other Way" blaring from the radio. Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" replaced the song during editing.[54]
In the movie Bull Durham, Tim Robbins' character Ebby "Nuke" Laloosh is wearing a Fishbone T-shirt with his suit while giving his first interview after getting called up to the big leagues.
In 2010's Hot Tub Time Machine, Cusack pulls out and clearly advertises a black T-shirt with the band's logo from his character's suitcase.
Early episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 had scenes filmed against a set of lockers that featured a Fishbone sticker in almost every shot.[citation needed]
On November 21, 2011, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann was played on to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to the Fishbone song "Lyin' Ass Bitch". The Roots drummer Questlove later explained that the playing of the song was "tongue in cheek." Fallon and the NBC network later apologized.
In the video for the Ramones song "I Believe in Miracles" the band's name appears as part of the scrolling text on the upper and lower part of the screen. Fishbone members are also seen in a cameo in this music video.
Related Research Articles
Truth and Soul is the second studio album by American rock band Fishbone. It was released on September 13, 1988. As is typical of the band's history of music the album features a wide array of genres including punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, and blues. Additionally, Truth and Soul includes the band's earliest foray into hard rock and heavy metal. The album begins with a cover version of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead", originally from the soundtrack to the film Super Fly.
The Reality of My Surroundings is the third studio album by the American rock band Fishbone, released on April 23, 1991 through Columbia Records. It was their first album to include former Miles Davis music director John Bigham, who joined in 1989 during the Truth and Soul tour.
In Your Face is the debut studio album by American rock band Fishbone, released in November 1986. It is the band's second major label release for Columbia Records following their self-titled EP from the previous year.
Fishbone is the recording debut of alternative group Fishbone. This six-song EP was released in 1985 and captures the band at the height of their early funk/ska era. The track "Party at Ground Zero" remains one of the band's most popular tracks.
It's a Wonderful Life is a four-song Christmas extended play (EP) release by the alternative rock band Fishbone in 1987. The EP quickly went out of print, but its four songs were preserved on the 1996 retrospective Fishbone 101: Nuttasaurusmeg Fossil Fuelin' the Fonkay and the title track was featured on the 2003 greatest hits compilation album The Essential Fishbone.
Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe is the fourth studio album by American rock band Fishbone. It was the last album to feature all six original members, as guitarist Kendall Jones left the band a few months after the album's release, and keyboardist/trombonist Chris Dowd would leave the next year.
Chim Chim's Badass Revenge is the fifth full-length album and concept album from alternative rock band Fishbone. It was Fishbone's first studio album in three years following the departure of founding members Kendall Jones and Chris Dowd and the band being dropped by Sony Records. It was also their last album with founding member Philip "Fish" Fisher, who would leave the band two years later.
Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx is an album by alternative rock band Fishbone, released in 2000. It features a large number of special guests and is the only Fishbone album released on Disney's Hollywood Records.
Live at the Temple Bar and More is the first live album from alternative rock band Fishbone. The album was recorded live in various locations throughout August and September 2001.
Live in Amsterdam is a live combination CD/DVD set from alternative rock band Fishbone. It was shot and recorded in digital 24 track sound at the Melkweg Theatre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands during the infamous High Times Cannabis Cup Festival in 2002 on the last night of a 14-week tour. High Times Creative Director Steven Hager was the director of the video recording, and Aaron Strebs edited the live 4-camera mix. Interviews for the DVD were shot later by Mike Esterson, producer of the CD and DVD.
Set the Booty Up Right is a five-song EP released by the ska/funk metal/rock band Fishbone in 1990. It was recorded shortly after the band hired former Miles Davis music director John Bigham on guitar and keyboard. The EP served as a stopgap release for fans, due to production delays for the full album The Reality of My Surroundings, which was released in 1991. The EP features two alternate versions of the song "Bonin' in the Boneyard" as well as three new studio tracks. It has long been out of print, but the track "Love and Bullshit" was included on the 1996 retrospective Fishbone 101: Nuttasaurusmeg Fossil Fuelin' the Fonkay.
Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Friendliest Psychosis of All is a three-song EP released by alternative rock band Fishbone in 2002. It features original outtakes from their 2000 album Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx, with cameos from funk pioneer George Clinton, Primus bass guitarist Les Claypool and comedic singer Blowfly.
Critical Times – Fishbone's Hen House Sessions is a 2001 DVD release by Fishbone recorded at Hen House Studios, a free community recording studio in Venice, California.
Angelo Christopher Moore is an American musician, best known for his work as lead singer and saxophonist for the Los Angeles ska and funk metal band Fishbone. Moore also performs and records under the stage name Dr. MadVibe, has recorded with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, Murphy's Law, Gwen Stefani, Everlast, Goldfinger, and Bad Brains and has played over 3300 shows in his career. Angelo currently resides in Woodland Hills, CA.
Still Stuck in Your Throat is a 2006 studio album by Fishbone, and their most recent full-length release to date, released in Europe on October 16, 2006, and in the United States on April 24, 2007. It was their first album since Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx had been released six years previously, as well as their first to be released on an independent record label. It is also the first album to feature guitarist Rocky George, keyboardist Dre Gipson and trumpeter Curtis Storey, as well as their first to not feature founding member Walter A. Kibby II, who left the band in 2003, having since returned. Still Stuck in Your Throat was recorded in late 2005 and early 2006 with the support of David Kahne who produced all of Fishbone's recordings during the 1980s and early 1990s. Featuring five songs that were written during the unreleased "Hen House" sessions of 2001, the new album also contains six brand new tracks.
Fishbone 101: Nuttasaurusmeg Fossil Fuelin' the Fonkay is a two-CD 1996 compilation album by the alternative/funk/rock band Fishbone. The first disc contains album tracks from the Fishbone albums up to 1993. The second disc contains B-sides, alternate versions, EP tracks, demos, and other non-album items from the same time period. "The Goose" is a previously unreleased cover of the song by the funk band Parliament. The previously unreleased demo track "Alcoholic" was later rerecorded for the 1996 studio album Chim Chim's Badass Revenge. The previously unreleased demo track "Pink Vapor Stew" was later reworked as "Party at Ground Zero" on the debut Fishbone and another demo recording "Game of Destruction" was also reworked as "Pressure" on their third LP The Reality of My Surroundings.
"Ma and Pa" is a song by American ska and funk metal band Fishbone. It was the second single released from the album Truth and Soul. The song only managed to chart in the UK, but remains a fan favorite and a staple of the band's live shows to the present day.
"The Boldness Of Style EP" is the first single from the American rock band Thelonious Monster's second studio album, Next Saturday Afternoon. The single was officially released in 1987.
Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone is a 2010 American independent documentary film about the U.S. alternative rock band Fishbone. Co-produced and co-directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler, and narrated by actor Laurence Fishburne, The film is listed on the 100 Best Documentaries as ranked by Rotten Tomatoes coming in at #74.
↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Fishbone". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4thed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-1953-1373-4. Funk metal hybrid from Los Angeles, California, USA who never managed to achieve the commercial success their critical reputation deserves.
↑ Episode #1.2 (Music), Fishbone, Mary Kante, New Order, Cecil D. Womack, Spellbound Pictures, Zenith North Ltd., February 26, 1989, retrieved August 27, 2020{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑ "SEASON 16 EPISODE 16 3/23/1991". NBC. Retrieved July 24, 2019. Saturday Night Live Season 16 Episode 16 on March 23, 1991 with host Jeremy Irons and musical guest Fishbone.
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