Fishbone is one of those cult bands you only think you haven’t heard of. One of the true pioneers of ska and alternative music, Fishbone rarely got radio airplay outside of their Southern California homebase, but you’ve likely encountered them in other ways. John Cusack has worn Fishbone t-shirts in several of his movies (most notably in “Say Anything” and “Hot Tub Time Machine”), and the band made an unforgettable cameo in the ‘80s movie classic “Back to the Beach,” singing a duet with Annette Funicello. Fishbone never really got their due, but if you like the ska/pop sounds of No Doubt or the rap/funk of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, you had damn well pay attention to these guys because they did it first.
Toledo City Paper spoke to Fishbone bassist and founding member Norwood Fisher during a static-filled phone conversation in anticipation of Fishbone’s concert at Mickey Finn’s on Friday, September 14.
You and (co-founding member) Angelo Moore formed Fishbone in 1979. Does it feel like you’ve been doing this for more than 30 years?
Yeah, man. I mean, it’s not the easiest ride, but I don’t look at it like it’s been promised to me. But it’s definitely still interesting and it’s still fun.
What has kept you going all these years?
Well, I just genuinely love what I do and I appreciate that I get to do it. It’d be easy to complain about some things, but it ain’t so bad. I get to do what I love to do. I’m an integral part of the writing of most the songs. At the end of the day, I can look at it, own it—good, bad, ugly. Whatever. I’m just happy to do it.
The first time I saw you guys was in the ‘80s movie “Back To The Beach” when you did that “Jamaica Ska” song with Annette Funicello (best known as a Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer from the 1950’s kids TV show). What was it like working on that film?
It was bizarre but it was incredible too. At the time we shot that stuff we were right in the middle of doing the Beastie Boys’ “Licensed to Ill” tour. We came off that tour to shoot those scenes, so here we are in one of the most notorious tours of that year—we were getting chased out of towns, parents were up in arms, police were hassling us—and then we go from that to making a movie with America’s sweetheart, Annette Funicello. We were fighting for our right to party—and party hard—on the “Licensed to Ill” tour. But it was incredible. Annette was not only America’s sweetheart, but she was actually the person that really put ska music in the mainstream because she did that “Jamaica Ska” song.
When (Beastie Boy) MCA passed away, did you attend his funeral?
No, I wasn’t able to attend his funeral, but I can honestly say those guys were incredibly gracious. What that tour did for my career was invaluable. After that tour, we engaged with them even more than we did when we were on the road. They really embraced us. I used to go to Ad Rock and Ione Skye’s house all the time and we’d have them over to our studio. I used to periodically run into MCA in L.A. and New York. He always showed me a lot of love.
The Fishbone documentary “Everyday Sunshine” indicates that over the years there’s been a bit of friction between you and (band co-founder/singer/saxophonist) Angelo. Are you guys genuine friends or are you just business partners?
At this stage in our lives, he’s a business partner first and a friend second. When we’re offstage, we’re not going to the same parties and we don’t just shoot the shit. But I surf and my daughter surfs and so sometimes I’ll invite him and his daughter over to go surfing with us. We are friends, but it’s more of a business relationship.
Recently Michele Bachmann was on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and ?uestlove played your song “Lying Ass Bitch” when she walked onto the set. What did you think of that?
I thought, 'Hooray for political satire.' That was a total Saturday Night Live stunt. That’s the kind of shit John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin would have pulled. So I recognized it for the National Lampoon moment it was and I thought it was incredible and I was grateful and flattered that they would choose a Fishbone song—a non-political song—and put it in that context. It made a huge statement.
Fishbone is performing on Friday, September 14 at Mickey Finn’s Pub, 602 Lagrange. 9 p.m. $12 (advance)/$15 (door). Tickets available at local record stores and via Ticketmaster.
