I just finished watching the new documentary about Fishbone ("Everyday Sunshine"). If you're a fan, I recommend it. The film chronicles the history of the band and does a pretty good job hypothesizing why they never hit the big time. This was a band that influenced the Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt, and tons of other acts - some of which went on to become multi-millionaires - but Fishbone still struggles to fill small clubs to this day.
That's something I just can't wrap my head around, because Fishbone was probably the most amazing live act I've ever seen - and I've seen a few. The first time I saw them was around 1987 when they opened for the Beastie Boys. I was there to see the Beasties and didn't even know who Fishbone was. But I left that show a fan and have remained so to this day. I saw them several times over the next few years and was more blown away by their live act than each time before.
First, visually they were high-energy - before the first song in their set was done they probably did 3 stage dives, joined the mosh pit, and worked up a major sweat. They never stopped moving, jumping, climbing the lighting rigs, bouncing off each other on stage...all while singing, playing and keeping the groove going. To this day I've never seen a live act with as much energy as those guys put out.
And then their music was something I hadn't heard before: a mixture of ska, funk, rock, punk, and just about any other style you could think of adding. Their songs ranged from all-out party anthems ("Party at Ground Zero") to the more serious ("Ma and Pa", "Change")...and everything in between.
Maybe this is one reason they never caught on as much as their contemporaries: they were impossible to pigeon-hole or label. In the documentary, George Clinton put it best, saying effectively that they were too black for white audiences and too white for black audiences. Today I don't know if that would have been as much of an issue but 20+ years ago I think that mattered more.
But even more than that I think that after a certain point their music lost direction and it was even harder to nail them down. I really liked their first 4 albums but then they started getting more experimental and they sounded less like they were writing complete songs at a certain point...and that's kind of when they lost me, even as much as I loved their earlier stuff.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers lost me, too, when they went much more mainstream and commercial - I enjoyed the Chilis' earlier albums much more. Even though the Chilis ripped Fishbone off, what I liked about both bands was the way they fused multiple styles together on their earlier albums - but at some point their styles really diverged: Fishbone got more unpredictable and lost some of their audience while the Chilis got mroe radio-friendly and became millionaires.
But even as fans we can't expect these guys to remain the same for such a long career and I totally understand their desire to branch off and try new directions. Art has to grow and change to survive. And artists have to be true to themselves while somehow keeping the business of music in mind as well - and this is where I think Fishbone lost their direction. They were dropped by the major label that supported them for their early albums and the film makes it look like they struggled to find their footing after that. And they're still struggling with that to this day. They just recently put out a new album that I haven't yet heard, though after watching the film I'm more interested to check it out.
The film kind of leaves their future up in the air but in a way that's appropriate, since that's how their career has been for some time. I hope this movie gives Fishbone a little more of the attention they deserve and increases their fan base, kind of like how the "Anvil" movie did for that band. I'm glad I was around to see them as much as I did years ago - they were something else entirely.
Here's a link to the movie trailer.
That's something I just can't wrap my head around, because Fishbone was probably the most amazing live act I've ever seen - and I've seen a few. The first time I saw them was around 1987 when they opened for the Beastie Boys. I was there to see the Beasties and didn't even know who Fishbone was. But I left that show a fan and have remained so to this day. I saw them several times over the next few years and was more blown away by their live act than each time before.
First, visually they were high-energy - before the first song in their set was done they probably did 3 stage dives, joined the mosh pit, and worked up a major sweat. They never stopped moving, jumping, climbing the lighting rigs, bouncing off each other on stage...all while singing, playing and keeping the groove going. To this day I've never seen a live act with as much energy as those guys put out.
And then their music was something I hadn't heard before: a mixture of ska, funk, rock, punk, and just about any other style you could think of adding. Their songs ranged from all-out party anthems ("Party at Ground Zero") to the more serious ("Ma and Pa", "Change")...and everything in between.
Maybe this is one reason they never caught on as much as their contemporaries: they were impossible to pigeon-hole or label. In the documentary, George Clinton put it best, saying effectively that they were too black for white audiences and too white for black audiences. Today I don't know if that would have been as much of an issue but 20+ years ago I think that mattered more.
But even more than that I think that after a certain point their music lost direction and it was even harder to nail them down. I really liked their first 4 albums but then they started getting more experimental and they sounded less like they were writing complete songs at a certain point...and that's kind of when they lost me, even as much as I loved their earlier stuff.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers lost me, too, when they went much more mainstream and commercial - I enjoyed the Chilis' earlier albums much more. Even though the Chilis ripped Fishbone off, what I liked about both bands was the way they fused multiple styles together on their earlier albums - but at some point their styles really diverged: Fishbone got more unpredictable and lost some of their audience while the Chilis got mroe radio-friendly and became millionaires.
But even as fans we can't expect these guys to remain the same for such a long career and I totally understand their desire to branch off and try new directions. Art has to grow and change to survive. And artists have to be true to themselves while somehow keeping the business of music in mind as well - and this is where I think Fishbone lost their direction. They were dropped by the major label that supported them for their early albums and the film makes it look like they struggled to find their footing after that. And they're still struggling with that to this day. They just recently put out a new album that I haven't yet heard, though after watching the film I'm more interested to check it out.
The film kind of leaves their future up in the air but in a way that's appropriate, since that's how their career has been for some time. I hope this movie gives Fishbone a little more of the attention they deserve and increases their fan base, kind of like how the "Anvil" movie did for that band. I'm glad I was around to see them as much as I did years ago - they were something else entirely.
Here's a link to the movie trailer.
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