Norwood Fisher and Fishbone Signature Single Dreadlock, but Not His Salt-And-Pep- Would Be Superstars, a Shining Example of What Can Per Goatee and Big Grin
CRAZY GLUE! BY E.E. BRADMAN PHOTOS BY SAYRE JOAN BERMAN It shouldn’t haVE BEEN THIS WAY. shades, baggy jeans and T-shirt, and fedora—hides his In a perfect world, Norwood Fisher and Fishbone signature single dreadlock, but not his salt-and-pep- would be superstars, a shining example of what can per goatee and big grin. happen when smart lyrics, pop songwriting, stellar Fisher’s smiles—and his struggles—are a central ele- musicianship, a once-in-a-lifetime frontman, and a ment of Everyday Sunshine, the Fishbone documen- ridiculously badass rhythm section come together in tary released just as the band celebrates the 25th anni- a spicy, pan-genre gumbo. Norwood’s versary of its debut, In Your Face. The hyperactive thumb and inventive lines HOW film shows how Fishbone’s high-energy should’ve made him a multi-platinum blend of ska, funk, punk, rock, gospel, success like his peers Flea and Les NorWooD and soul brought them right to the brink Claypool. Fishbone’s bass-tastic 1991 of mainstream success, and how a nasty masterwork, The Reality of My Sur- FIsher cocktail of music-business shenanigans, roundings, should’ve been the break- nervous breakdowns, and interpersonal through that propelled them into the HolDS IT All tensions dashed that dream, dooming mainstream. In fact, it’s become all too them to a future of half-empty clubs common to think of Fishbone as the ToGETher and barely paying gigs. band that should’ve but didn’t. The truth, however, is that although On this mellow Sunday in October, depressing finales make for good film however, 46-year-old Norwood is anything but bitter (and good copy), Norwood is anything but struggling.
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