LA Film Fest 4: Everyday Sunshine

The new documentary follows the rise and fall of Fishbone, one of LA’s musical greats.

By Aireka Muse
Published: June 24th, 2010 | 10:30am

Everyday Sunshine: The Story Of Fishbone, the band's lively documentary premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival, showcases the turbulent struggle of the pioneering all-black rock band. Fishbone emerged in the early 1980s, a time when music was still racially segregated. The group had a sound that was hard to categorize, but found a niche in the alternative rock scene—and became a favorite among a mostly white fan base. It was the fusion of all six members's personalities and musical tastes that set them apart from other acts. Unfortunately, it was also the same egalitarian mentality that contributed to their downfall. Without a clear leader or a cohesive direction, Fishbone quickly crumbled. Even though frontman Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood Fisher currently hold the crew together with new members, it is the original six—Chris Dowd, Kendall Jones, Walter Kibby II, and Phillip "Fish" Fisher along with Moore and Norwood that fans will always remember as Fishbone.

Known as much for their live performances as for their sound, Fishbone quickly became a Los Angeles underground music scene favorite. Throughout the years, their eclectic style would evolve, but they never had a strategic plan or even knowledge of the musical hybrid they were creating. Starting off with a base of punk and ska, the band later incorporated hints of funk and soul, and then moved on to mix a heavy metal and alt-rock. Regardless of their fickle identity, for more than ten years Fishbone maintained a solid fan base. They played Lollapalooza, appeared on Saturday Night Live, and even made cameos in films like Back to the Beach and Tapeheads. But it was in 1993, right after the LA Riots, when the gang’s good luck began to run out. Jones, the band's bass player and also the glue that kept the six difficult personalities together, suffered a mental breakdown and left the group to join a religious cult. Norwood, wanting to save his friend, staged an intervention that got them all arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping. After an aggressive court case, Norwood and the team were found not guilty. Regardless of clearing their name, the band never fully recovered from that blow.

The film's co-directors, Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson, embarked on this documentary journey simply because they were die hard fans. Centered around candid and emotion-filled interviews as well as testimonies from other music greats, Everyday Sunshine is, like the men who make up Fishbone, fun, charming, insightful, and at times, inspiring. Gwen Stefani proudly names Moore “one of the best performers to ever take stage." Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame calls Norwood a “musical master” and later admits to stealing from Norwood's bass style. Jane Addiction’s Perry Farrell and George Clinton of The Parliament Funkadelics also appear, testifying to the legendary group's influence.

Regardless of the band's fatal flaws, you can’t help but admire and respect all of them. If you weren’t a fan at the beginning, Everyday Sunshine will no doubt leave you dreaming of a Fishbone reunion.