Fishbone stays afloat

Despite personality clashes, band members going and coming, and problems with its label, the punk-funk pioneer manages to keep its sound intact.

By PHILIP BOOTH

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 20, 2000

The early '90s were the salad days for Fishbone, the merry bunch of musical rabble-rousers known for their outrageous, exuberant blend of funk, punk, ska and metal. The Los Angeles band's sound has survived intact: Check out the bustling beats and off-kilter humor of this year's Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Presents the Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx.

Organized in 1983 by a group of South Central pals, Fishbone, which appears Wednesday at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, released the eclectic The Reality of My Surroundings in 1991 and floated high hopes for the singles Everyday Sunshine and Sunless Saturday.

Spike Lee agreed to direct a video for the latter tune, and the band secured a Saturday Night Live appearance, as well as a berth on the 1993 Lollapalooza tour. To that point, these African-American rockers had missed the critical acclaim given to the likes of Living Colour, and the commercial attention that went the way of white homeboys the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But at last, Fishbone's prospects looked bright.

Then came a series of crises. Guitarist Kendall Jones underwent a sudden religious conversion and was kidnapped by some of his band mates, who wanted to deprogram him. Drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher punched out the band's producer in the studio.

By the time the underpublicized Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe was released in 1993, Jones and keyboardist-trombonist Chris Dowd had left. Columbia Records dropped the band, citing poor sales.

"There was a lot of good things happening, but at the same time we were imploding," says bassist Norwood Fisher, one of three original members still playing in the band (the others are singer-saxophonist Angelo Moore and singer-trumpeter "Dirty Walt" Kibby). "We were imploding and exploding at the same time. "We were really frustrated with our record label, and the industry as a whole, and it showed up as some really bad mistakes on our part," Fisher says.

"In the end, we ended up losing some important members. It's unfortunate, but I'm actually really happy right now. It all might have been for the best."

The late '90s brought a fifth studio release, Chim Chim's Badass Revenge, and a promising gig as headliners on the Warped tour. And then, following a tour with De La Soul and Goodie Mob, "Fish" Fisher quit. His departure, according to an account in the L.A. Weekly, was finalized when he hit his brother Norwood in the face. The loss of Fish's heavy, hyper, super-funky drumming was a blow that might have felled less determined bands.

"He kind of set a high standard," Norwood Fisher says of his brother, now working as a session player and hired gun for traveling bands. "Not everybody can sit in that seat and do it the way he did it. He made it difficult for all the drummers that followed. Right now, my brother is out touring with Hootie and the Blowfish."

Norwood Fisher's cheery post-reorganization spin on the well-being of Fishbone may be more than simple hype. The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx has yielded a press kit full of rave reviews.

The disc, too, has helped spark a renaissance of appreciation for the veteran punk-funkers, superb musicians whose tough grooves and blazing solos have always been topped with messages of racial equality. The CD's sheer ambition, too, has refocused attention on the band, now rounded out by guitarist Spacey T, keyboardist-trumpeter John McKnight and drummer John Steward.

Guests are sprinkled throughout, with George Clinton, Rick James and No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani sitting in on a cover of Sly and the Family Stone's Everybody Is a Star. Members of the Chili Peppers plus guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Donny Osmond, of all people, join the party on Shakey Ground. Also on board for various tracks: H.R. of Bad Brains, Perry Farrell, Charles and Ivan Neville, Lenny Castro, Blowfly and Bronx Style Bob.

What's up with Donny? "He needs a little Mormon relief," Fisher says about the former teen idol, who had invited the band to play the now-canceled The Donny and Marie Show. "He had to come and hang out with Fishbone so he could let his guard down a little bit. We did his TV show, and he recognized what we were about. So we kind of hit him up (to appear on the disc). He was really excited. One of his kids is a huge fan of the band."

Enthusiasm among younger listeners is a major motivation for Fisher, who spent his own formative years reveling in the sounds of punkers X, Fear, the Dead Kennedys, the Clash and Bad Brains, along with the Bus Boys, Jimi Hendrix and Parliament-Funkadelic. Fishbone, in turn, has had a big impact on outfits such as No Doubt, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Mr. Bungle.

"As much as I've performed it and am part of the creation of the music, I'm still a fan of it," Fisher says. "The other side is the relationship with our audience, which makes it exciting. It's kind of nice when there's a gang of kids that have waited to see us for quite a while. I think they recognize that we didn't follow the trend. We kind of set the trend. And they know that we're real about it. We're musically honest, and I think that comes through."

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