If any city in America knows about the amalgamation of different musical styles to form a wholly original style of its own, it is New Orleans – the birthplace of jazz.
Every once in a while, a band comes along that adheres to that schizophrenic melodic scheme – a harmonious convergence of vastly different sounds that when played together, creates something unique. Like all groundbreaking bands, the right people must come together at the right place and the right time to form a cohesive whole. And like so many bands, that miraculous convergence can often only last a short time before it all falls apart. Greatness is not meant last, its brevity is what often makes it so great.
A new music documentary opens this weekend in New Orleans, coincidentally the same weekend at the Voodoo Music Experience, the city’s second biggest annual music festival (behind the legendary Jazz Fest). Playing this year’s Voodoo Fest, amongst the headliners like The Raconteurs, Soundgarden, and Blink-182, is the highly influential and much beloved punk rock/funk/ska/hard rock/soul band FISHBONE. And the documentary, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, which also plays this weekend in NOLA, unravels their winding tale of rise and fall and reemergence.
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“With dreadlocks and Mohawks, Fishbone united the divided communities of America. They made it okay for black kids to slam dance and brought the funk to punk.”
Fishbone was originally comprised of six members – Kendall Jones, Norwood Fisher, Chris Dowd, Phillip “Fish” Fisher, “Dirty” Walt Kibby II, and the always grinning, Angelo Moore. Formed in 1979, Fishbone was in many ways a mixture of South Central LA black youth culture and the rebellious suburban middle-class – a byproduct of the “bussing” of inner city students to suburban schools. This “collision of cultures” is an integral part of the Fishbone story, as narrated by Laurence Fishburne (who as we know as Morpheus and Furious Styles as a man who knows his shit). Through Fishburne’s authoritative voice and Fat Albert-style animation, the audience meets the members of the band and sees its formation.
The first part of the doc is told chronologically and in typical documentary-style by revisiting meaningful old locations (school, homes, rehearsal space, first gig, etc.) and hearing nostalgic reflections from the band members themselves. Quickly the band starts to get attention by crashing the white-dominated punk rock scene of the 1980s and caught the underground music scene of LA completely off-guard. No one knew what make of odd, but infectious convergence of sound, which really did not fit into either so-called black music (R&B, hip-hop) or white music (punk rock, heavy metal) – a hindering theme that runs throughout Fishbone’s history.
Despite this and the band’s overall lack of organization, hectic performance style, and lack of focus, Fishbone is signed to major record deal. Their first albums were a hit with ciritcs and audiences, but the band struggled to really break it big – their music was just not simple enough for the masses. In the end, they had the nororiety and respect, just not the mainstream popularity or the money that comes along with it.
The documentary’s second component is the band’s present day configuration, full of ups and downs, fights and revelations. Through the years, disagreements and animosity within the band saw most of the founding members leave the group. They have no real record company backing, play in front of noticeable smaller crowds, and life on the road is more arduous than in their carefree youth. I
n the decades since their peak, Fishbone has soldiered on mainly through the perseverance of Norwood Fisher and Angelo Moore combined with various replacement members. Moore explains it as, “We’re like an old married couple. We wanna be divorced, but we can’t, we’re fucking married. We gotta stay and work it out, we got kids . . . that’s the music.”
The intercut juxtaposition of those past and present Fishbone incarnations is striking and effective framework for the film. The filmmakers also had access to great archival footage, including home movies and performances from the band’s past. But the documentary is, of course, highlighted by the music. It is interesting to watch the band evolve over the years, and although Fishbone never lost their legendary hyper-active live shows and their social message effectively evolved, their popularity never recovered after losing so many of its founders. Fishbone is a band that should have made it big, but for one reason or another, just did not quite make it. Overall, the documentary is a fantastic look a time when music was rapidly changing and no band reflected that shift more than Fishbone.
The film also features appearances by fellow musicians like Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal of No Doubt, Keith Morris of Circle Jerks, Les Claypool of Primus, Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, Questlove of The Roots, Eugene Hutz, George Clinton, Ice-T, and New Orleans’ own Branford Marsalis, plus various fans like Tim Robbins and Jason Lee and several music industry insiders.
Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone is written and directed by Chris Metzler and Levi Anderson.
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Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone opens Friday, October 28 for a week long run at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center with a daily showing at 7:30 pm.
The filmmakers, along with the band themselves, will be in attendance for the FRI, SAT, and SUN night screenings and participate in a Q&A session after the film.
As stated before, the band is also in town this weekend playing Voodoo Fest – Sunday, OCT 30 at 1:45 pm on the Le Carnival stage.
Fishbone will also play a special show with New Orleans’ own Dumpstaphunk on Friday, Oct 28 at Tipitina’s, with guests The Pimps of Joytime. Doors open at 10 pm and the show starts at 11 pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online now.
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For more information on the band and documentary, please visit the film’s website and the band’s official page.
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