Fishbone is without a doubt one of the greatest tragedies in the last 40 years of the American music industry. Their rise and fall is the best example ever of how to mishandle a band. It is a story of failure from the record company, the live promotors, and most importantly, of the consumer. The public failed to recognise the importance of Fishbone, failed to see what they are and what they meant.
Two quotes stick in my mind immediately from the new documentary about the band, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. The first being "musicians get it." This might be one of the worst labels a band can receive. Even with the success of a band like Rush, they are a "musicians get it" band and remain relatively obscure to the general public. Musicians love Fishbone, Flea admits to stealing ideas from Norwood in this film, and they spawned so many bands from their existence it would be a pretty long list to try and recreate here or anywhere. The music world owes Fishbone, big time.
The second quote comes from Ice-T who said, "there was no pre-Fishbone. There wasn't Fishbone and then there was Fishbone." Truly, this band is a complete original, a collection of all they know that refused labels and limitations. Everyday Sunshine attempts to explain this frustrating musical puzzle.
Narrated by Laurence Fishbourne, the movie infuses new interviews with classic concert footage, animation, photos, interviews with fellow musicians, and a see all behind the scenes of the working of Fishbone the band as it exists today. It is not an unfamiliar set-up, but I will say the use of the animation (Fat Albert style) in the beginning is inspired. You get to hear from some of the bands that drew inspiration from Fishbone like No Doubt, Living Color, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Gogol Bordello. There is a tremendously candid retelling of the attempted kidnapping case of Kendall by Norwood in my hometown of Novato, CA and a look into the artist minds of Angelo and Norwood. It is comprehensive and compelling. It also opens with footage from a show I was at!!
Gauging audience reactions, I think some might see the story of Fishbone as a sad tale, but in a way, it is an example of how to stick to your values and be true. Fishbone never sold out, they never let some big time producer come in and change them, they never agreed to be anything other than what they wanted to be. I find it inspirational. Yes, they deserve to be millionaires, they deserve to be in the rock and roll hall of fame, they deserve to be the biggest of the big, but they're not and that is okay. What I took away was it is okay that Angelo lives with his mom. It is okay that they are making music in Norwood's tiny ass apartment in Santa Monica, because above all, they are still making music. The music has always been the most important member of the band. That has cost them to some degree, but it also lifts them above so many.
Technically speaking, it wasn't the best musical doc I've seen. The editing was "loose" with black outs between scenes and awkward moments of silence where a shot goes on too long. Additionally, there is a great animated sequence in the second reel showing Los Angeles with Laurence Fishbourne narrating and setting up the time and conditions of the birth of Fishbone. It belongs a lot closer to the beginning of the movie than it falls. A lot. Like, all the way in the beginning. You're launched into a certain documentary style and meeting the band and watching old footage and then *bam*, you're in a whole new movie with slick animation and that first 10 or 15 minutes just doesn't fit as well as it should. Switch those first two sequences around, and I believe the movie would feel a lot more cohesive.
I also would have liked to see more discussion on the topic of Fishbone and their relationship to "black" music and radio. They were treated pretty horribly by the so-called black section of the industry, as are all black rock bands to be honest, and I would've liked to have seen more of how that treatment affected them because as much as their uniqueness made them a hard sell musically, I think their virtual banishment from their community had a lot more to do with, as Angelo puts it, them being "famous but not rich."
After the film there was the requisite filmmaker Q&A, and while Anderson and Metzler seemed like compitent and likeable guys, I was kind of shocked to hear them talk about starting the project. It seems like it was more of a hunch than because they were fans. Now, I can see the need to approach a documentary subject with an objective eye, but with a band as powerful as Fishbone, it would be interesting to know how big time fanatics would approach a movie. It's a capable enough effort, but if there was a little more passion, maybe it could've really shot over the top like a Some Kind of Monster.
Other questions from the audience were your standard film fest fare. The room was small and I'd say less than a handful were actual Fishbone fans. One dude had a Fishbone shirt on ("Fuck Racism" which Angelo actually wears in the movie so you know that guy was stoked) and I would venture to say I was easily the youngest male there. There were a couple of girls who probably bested me towards their 20s, but for the most part it was a pretty old crowd which surprised and disappointed me. So you got questions like "well, why hasn't anyone ever recorded them live if that is their strong suit?" Um, because A) they have and B) you are totally missing the point. No matter how great a live recording is, it will never be a tenth of what it is like to actually be at a show. Never. Fishbone or any other band, it is never the same. Then some chick asked why they didn't interview more punk musicians..... because all the talking heads with Mike Watt were confusing? It would have been a lot more fun in a room of Fishbone soldiers as I'd hoped would be there.
Clearly headed to home video, hopefully soon, a keen eye in the "Thank Yous" list spotted some really interesting names that I can't wait to see in bonus feature interviews. Names like Chuck D and Fat Mike. If that stuff makes it on the DVD, I'll be in heaven. As it stands, the interview moments (they kept them brief, letting Fishbone tell the story more than an all-star cast of Grammy winners) are pretty good and unusually insightful.
All in all, as a bigtime Fishbone fan, I really enjoyed myself and my grade will reflect that. But as an armchair critic, I think the film could be tighter. Just a smidge. If you have a chance to go see it, absolutely do, support movies about bands like this because they need us. Fishbone needs us. The Mill Valley Film Festival has one more screening and the movie's website has more dates, so head out and learn something or just celebrate one of the greatest bands of the last few decades.
Screened: Mill Valley Film Fest, Rafael Theater, Screen 3 (film)
Director(s): Lev Anderson, Chris Metzler
Script: n/a
Cast: Fishbone, Vernon Reid, Gwen Stefani, Ice-T, Flea, Perry Ferrel, Mike Watt
Fav. Quote: "If there were 12 levels, they're on the 13th."
Snacks: Pre-show In and Out
Grade: A -
Recent Comments