Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2010)

A career retrospective of Fishbone, an all African-American rock band from Los Angeles who created a high energy blend of funk, metal, ska, and punk and experienced a career as chaotic and unique as the music they created.

Directors:

Lev Anderson, Chris Metzler

Writers:

Lev Anderson, Chris Metzler

Stars:

Norwood Fisher, Angelo Moore, Chris Dowd

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Norwood Fisher	...	Himself
Angelo Moore	...	Himself
Chris Dowd	...	Himself
Walter A. Kibby II	...	Himself (as 'Dirty' Walt Kibby II)
Kendall Jones	...	Himself
Phillip Fisher	...	Himself (as Phillip 'Fish' Fisher)
John Bigham	...	Himself
Tracey Singleton	...	Himself (as Tracey 'Spacey T' Singleton)
Rocky George	...	Himself
DeAndre Gipson	...	Himself (as Dre Gipson)
John McKnight	...	Himself
John Steward	...	Himself
Curtis L. Storey Jr.	...	Himself (as Curtis Storey)
André 'PaDre' Holmes	...	Himself (as PaDre Holmes)
Elaine Fisher	...	Herself - Norwood and Fish's Mother (as Elaine 'Mama Fish' Fisher)

Storyline

From the shifting faultlines of Hollywood fantasies and the economic and racial tensions of Reagan's America, Fishbone rose and became one of the most original bands of the last 25 years. With a blistering combination of punk and funk they demolished the walls of genre and challenged the racial stereotypes and the political order of the music industry and of the nation. EVERYDAY SUNSHINE is about music, history, fear, courage and funking on the one.

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Plot Keywords:

fishbone | band | singing | punk rock | song | 

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Taglines:

The story of California's legendary Black punk sons still funking on the one.

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Back to the Beach (1987)

User Reviews

a lively, energetic and entertaining film about a ground breaking band

I finally got to see the documentary last night the Riverside Film Festival in California. Let me just start by saying I've been a fan of the band since day one... I've seen every incarnation live and pretty much loved them all. The filmmakers had the daunting task of encapsulating their massive history it into a compelling movie under 2 hours.

For the most part they did a great job. They covered the early years perfectly, including touching interviews with both Angelo and Norwood's mothers. Norwood gave a tour of the school where they all met and told the story about their initial formation which was inter cut with Angelo's interview in an occasionally hilarious fashion.

Dirty Walt's interviews were a highlight as well. I've seen him as more of a silent serious type for years. He's always been a great presence in the band. A firm and confident, yet slightly menacing anchor to the mayhem on stage. His interview showed a whole different side of him. A confident, humorous and charismatic story teller.

They also handled Kendall's breakdown and ensuing band turmoil perfectly. The Berkley reunion was touching and heartfelt as well as the subsequent Chris and Kendall meet up.

Technically, as a documentary, the movie did a great job presenting LA history. It touched on a wide range of subjects: the Black Panther movement, integrated school busing, the LA riots, the crack epidemic ... all the way to the rise and fall of the 90's Alterna-rock scene.

I would have liked to see more included on the creation of the music itself. See the band at work writing, their actual creative process. So much mention was made of their music being a groundbreaking mash up of styles, but not enough was actually shown.

As well I felt the end portion of the movie seemed overly dire. I know they had to focus on one story so they chose the initial lineup, but I think the current band is much better off than it seemed. Yes, their greatest successes with publicity and sales were with the original lineup ... but half of their career has been with other players. The current members have been performing together since 2003 to rave reviews.

I'm not saying it should have been a "love letter" to the band, ... I just feel it wasn't exactly accurate. Maybe a few extra minutes of live footage clearly mentioning that it is from the current lineup should have been highlighted. One of the reasons that they continue to persist is that they still put on an intense and passionate live show.

Anyway, glad to see that someone put the time and effort into getting the almighty Fishbone the extra attention they truly deserve.