Fishbone (band)

Fishbone
Fishbone performing live in 2007
Background information
Also known as	Fishbone & Familyhood Nextperience
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Alternative rock,funk rock,funk metal,ska punk
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Columbia, DC-Jam Records, Rowdy, Hollywood, High Times Records, Sound In Color, Nuttsactor 5
Associated acts	Year of the Dragon, Dirty Walt & The Columbus Sanitation, Trulio Disgracias, Dr. Madd Vibe, The Seedy Arkhestra, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown
Website	fishbone.net
Members	Angelo Moore John Norwood Fisher Walter A. Kibby II Philip "Fish" Fisher John Bigham Rocky George Jay Armant Paul Hampton
Past members	Kendall Jones Chris Dowd Spacey T Anthony Brewster Dion Murdock Tori Ruffin Andre´ "PaDre" Holmes Curtis Storey John McKnight Dre Gipson Freddie Flint John Steward

Fishbone is an American rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s. With their hyperactive, self-conscious diversity, goofy sense of humor, and sharp social commentary, the group gained a sizable cult following during the late '80s, yet they were never able to earn a mainstream audience."

Fishbone first assembled in 1979 with John Norwood Fisher (bass); his brother Philip "Fish" Fisher (drums); Angelo Moore, who sometimes uses the stage name "Dr. Madd Vibe" (vocals, saxophones ranging from sopranino to bass, theremin); Kendall Jones (guitar); "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, trumpet); and Christopher Dowd, who sometimes uses the pseudonym "Charlie Down" (keyboards, trombone, vocals). Founding members John Norwood Fisher, Angelo Moore, and Walter Kibby remain with the band as of 2016; most recently, Philip "Fish" Fisher and John Bigham rejoined the band.

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 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. 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. They were close friends with Los Angeles bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thelonious Monster. Fishbone were signed to Columbia Records in 1983 after being spotted at a club gig by Brian O'Neal of the The BusBoys. Their first release was the 1985 single "Party at Ground Zero", followed by a self-titled EP, Fishbone produced by David Kahne. In 1987, in support of their first full-length album, In Your Face, the band 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 the Beastie Boys.