Q & A with Fishbone Founding Member Norwood Fisher
Tickets on sale for Nov. 24 House of Independents grand opening
Fishbone – the Los Angeles-based performers who seamlessly fuse American Ska, Funk, Punk, Rock and the ‘Black Rock’ sound for over 30 years are kicking off the House of Independents grand opening showcase Nov. 24.
House of Independents, located in downtown district on Cookman Avenue, brings together a mix of theatre, dance, film, comedy, oddities, late night fare, and of course the music that placed Asbury Park on the global radar. Owner Morgan Sackman said the venue will also provide a home for emerging and established artists.
The Grand Opening night featuring Fishbone begins at 7 p.m., with an 8 p.m. show time. Tickets are $20 available via the House of Independents website.
We had the opportunity to speak to Fishbone’s founding member Norwood Fisher via telephone from his west coast home.
Q: Tell be about your relationship with Asbury Park.
A: We’ve played there a bunch of times over the years. We frequent the neighborhood quite a bit. I think the first time we played there was in 1985 or ’86. I remember the first time we played the Stone Pony, our manager was urging us to be on our A game because of the history Bruce Springsteen had with there.
Being on tour, you never really get to know any place truly intimately but ultimately I’m a wanderer. I’ve walked the streets of Asbury Park many times. I’m very prone to love a coastal town but the bottom line it’s about the energy of the audience in Asbury Park. Fishbone is really fortunate to have a good relationship with audiences in the east.
Q: How did you get your start in this business? I hear you swapped a Christmas gift – weights = for your cousin’s bass.
A: It’s true. I was 8 years old. I was kind of going that way because I asked for an acoustic guitar at 6 [-years-old] and I got it. The first thing I did was learn bass lines on that acoustic guitar. Then when my cousin said you aren’t going to use those, you can have my bass, amp and speakers and I’ll throw in my rock collection, I said yes.
I was born in 1965 so this was 1972/73. My cousin had all these great late ‘60s early 70s rock albums. He had a really eclectic collection. Those albums really opened my mind to some other possibilities. Probably the one that affected me the most was the Woodstock II album. I learned how to tune my bass bye ear by listening to Jimi Hendrix tuning up in between sets.
I have my life because of that moment.
Q: How did you the band form?
A: We got together in 1979. Most of the original six members met and became acquainted with each other in 8th grade. A year later Angelo and my little brother came to our school. Those were the very first times we got together to play music. We were 14 years old.
Q: How have you been able to maintain the truth of Fishbone’s voice through the years? I know you’ve had members leave.
A: It is who we are. Just simply we are being honest with ourselves. If I wasn’t feeling it I couldn’t do it. But, it really is about being able to draw from the other influences that are culminated in that original sound.
Q: What music inspires you?
A: The things that I listen to as a child are still the things that I listen to today – Al green, the Funkadelic, Huru or the Fear – those still bring me joy; X, David Bowie or Elvis Costello, Sly and the Family Stone, I still go back to same well. I’ll listen to Kate Bush.
Early on, one of the things we all bonded on was that we liked a lot of different stuff. We shared our records; Angelo [Moore] was the first person that ever played me Bad Brains and Walt [Kibby] brought Ska to the table. We thought we had invented it because we sped up some Reggae to Punk Rock speed.
Q: Is your writing process a solitude experience or one based on collaboration?
A: A little bit of both really. I wrote some by myself, I’ve written compositions with Kendell, and some things just come out of jams.
Q: What do you think about the evolution of the music industry?
A: Hind sight is a very interesting thing. We were 19 [-years-old] when we got signed by Columbia Records and started touring; and it was a monolith of a company. That was big business but it started to change because punk and rock [genres] were bringing in Independent labels. Artist were now label owners. They were creating a new paradigm. It wasn’t until the Internet became possible to marketing and distribution that the monolith companies were taken out of the game – for a time. Hip Hop and Punk Rock created a space where you could have major hits on an Independent label. Now they are just buying up all the Independents. It’s going to change again. There is no standard yet.
Q: Is there anything I didn’t ask that you’d like to add?
A: I’m just grateful to be able to do what I do and have people still care that Fishbone is here doing vibrant music this late in our career. We left the major labels 15 years ago and I appreciate what the Internet makes possible to bands and [new] labels as far as marketing and distribution in concerned. There are tons of bands that I have admired and loved that are not here now but no one is checking for them. I’m grateful that people are still checking for us. I’m actually grateful for the privilege to be able to bring my music to Asbury Park and open up a new venue and hopefully be a part of the flashpoint of what will be…
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