Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2011)
From the shifting fault lines 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.
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Pretty Good
One of my all time favorites.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Blistering performances.
Fans will appreciate the look inside the band, but even those outside the Fishbone community will enjoy this well-crafted story. Great vintage footage and insightful current interviews that illustrates the band's current struggles. Sure, there's an element of love note to the band in this - I'm not sure a documentary film crew would have tackled such an eclectic topic, even in the post-"Behind the Music" world. But Fishbone's music and struggle deserves to live on, and this documentary takes it all in and presents an excellent package.I caught this film at a film festival, so you're going to have to look and keep in touch with the filmmakers to find out where you can catch this.
This is a highly enjoyable film which takes its subject matter and art form seriously without getting over sentimental. Whether you're a fan of the band or not, you should see this. It charts the very brief flirtation with commercial success of one of the most influential but overlooked bands of the last 25 or more years and deals with the often humorous, sometimes painful but overall highly endearing and optimistic efforts of the two main driving forces in the band as they try to keep the show on the road and remain true to their art and mission.Few music fans ever really get to see what really happens inside a working band apart from the carefully scripted press pieces and PR releases, which as bands move further away from mainstream commercial success, get fewer and father between. Also, folk often say that it's a bad idea to meet your heroes as they rarely live up to your expectations, but through this film, you get to meet the characters vicariously through the eyes and ears of the directors and take a really good long look at what makes a working band tick. The fact that the characters are so completely human, with all the dysfunctional frailties this includes, often writ very large, makes for a fascinating couple of hours.Many well know musician 'talking heads' eulogise about the influence this band have had on them both musically and through their live performances, which ensure that in spite of all the infighting, members dropping out, dropping back in, drama's, kidnappings and so forth, the band still remain heroes of the day for their uncompromising attitude to play their music on their terms.This coupled with some great live footage, both old and new to show the viewer what everyone else who's ever seen them knows: this is probably the best, craziest live band in the world, then and now.Hopefully this film will win the band a bunch of new fans. It should definitely open up a whole load of opportunities for the directors who've tackled a subject with great skill and heart, ensuring that a great story is well told.Seen at the London Open City Documentary Film Festival – June 2011
Such a treat to learn more about one of the greatest bands ever. The comments from their contemporaries are priceless - and getting to know Angelo and Norwood on such a personal level was so insightful. My only complaint about the movie is it tended to paint a rather bleak picture of the band's existence and didn't focus enough on the great things they've continued to accomplish like their continued success touring in Europe or their album "Still Stuck in your Throat". In fact - this album was skipped altogether - which is sad - as it is a "later career" record - and is surely one of their top 3 of all time. Nonetheless - Fishbone certainly deserves far greater praise and success than they enjoy today. Let us hope this film helps push them higher, as there is no band on the planet more deserving.
This is a must see for fans of the band. I found out a lot about things that went on with the band I hadn't heard about previously. Very insightful into the the music industry and how fickle it can be. This film touches on everything from personal infighting to race relations in America during the late 70's and 80's. Why does one band make it big while others are left by the roadside or still struggling after 30 years? This film won't exactly answer that, as there's so many factors that contribute, but it does explore many of the facets of one of the hardest working bands of the last 30 years. Go see it if it's playing near you. Bring a friend or three, even if they aren't fans, they may become one after.