Music

interview: catching up with fishbone in indianapolis

September 22, 2014

Meeting Fishbone front man Angelo Moore and bass player Norwood Fisher on a Thursday in Indianapolis, Indiana was an opportunity that doesn’t come too often. And to top it all off, the place where they played on September 18th was tucked away just 5 minutes from where I went to high school on the Northside of the city. Yet it was a chance for me to speak with two guys from Los Angeles who have played great music for almost 30 years, who have been credited as influences of Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and No Doubt. Norwood greeted me around 7pm to conduct the interview and Angelo showed up 10 minutes later after a quick sound check for the show.

By Brandon Jackson, AFROPUNK Contributor

Can you guys talk about what you’ve been doing in the last couple of years as far as touring and any new music you’re working on?

NF: We put together a 5 song EP called Intrinsically Intertwined that came out during the spring of this year. We’ve also started playing big festivals like Coachella and some other big shows. We’ve just been having a really fun spring and summer. We are putting together a 5 episode web show that is based on the 5 songs on Intrinsically Intertwined.

I know you mentioned the Coachella Festival and other big name shows you guys have performed at this year. I understand you’ll be performing with Outkast and Foo Fighters during a festival in New Orleans on 10/31. How did you link up with those guys?

We’re very fortunate enough to make some level of acquaintance with Outkast going back to when we were in the movie Idlewild. We’ve been cool with those guys for years. I remember knowing Dave Grohl going back to when he was in a band called Scream, which was before Nirvana. Scream had opened up for us during a show way back in the day.

I know your audience has changed from when you guys first started out compared to today. How different are your fans now vs. back then?

What happened was is that they all became adults! And now they have grandkids. The cool thing is that since our documentary came out “Everyday Sunshine,” we see a lot of our fans show up with their kids and grandkids. They’re introducing Fishbone to a new generation.

How do you feel about how your fans outside of America have embraced you?

It feels that we still get love from all over the world. We just got back from Columbia and Chile. We had a great time. We also would like to travel to Africa and Jamaica, which are two places we’ve never been too. I heard they have an audience for what we do, so we really want to make it a point go travel there one day.

What has been your guys’ secret to your staying power after all these years?

You have to be in it for the art and the love of the art of creating music. I think you should always remain humble and never take for granted that this music thing will last forever.

What do you want people to say about you 30 years from now?

I want people to say that Fishbone came and expressed a profound relationship to artistic freedom in music and inspired a generation to do what they feel.

Photo above by Sly Vegas Photography

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