Fishbone

Here's something for a future episode of Behind the Music: the alt-scene diehards of Fishbone. The band's certainly followed the show's patented "career roller coaster": At SoCal's Hale Junior High in 1979, spastic saxophonist Angelo Moore joined five cohorts and began pumping out a concoction of funk, metal-laced punk, and...

By Benjamin Leatherman

April 14, 2005

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Here's something for a future episode of Behind the Music: the alt-scene diehards of Fishbone. The band's certainly followed the show's patented "career roller coaster": At SoCal's Hale Junior High in 1979, spastic saxophonist Angelo Moore joined five cohorts and began pumping out a concoction of funk, metal-laced punk, and ska. They dropped a "one mega nuttbomb" on the same early-'80s L.A. scene that produced Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, providing hip whiteboyz with tee shirts to prove they were down with urban culture. Singles like "Party at Ground Zero" and "Freddie's Dead" helped propel them to prominence and a spot in 1993's Lollapalooza, but after original guitarist Kendall Jones quit to join a cult, and former bassist Norwoord Fisher attempted to abduct his former bandmate with a stun gun, only to be arrested, it was downhill for the 'Boners from there. They've been dumped by a host of labels, endured multiple lineup changes, and have ridden the music periphery ever since. Still, their live shows are frenetic freak fests, as Moore and company provide an all-out aural assault. Stay tuned.

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Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music, and nightlife. He began writing for New Times in 2003 and joined the staff full-time in 2005. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Benjamin Leatherman

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