Fishbone Celebrate 25 Years Of Music
By: Bear Frazer
Last updated February 3rd , 2010
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fishboneLegendary for pioneering the Third Wave of US Ska/Rock fusion, FISHBONE are set to embark on their 25th Career Anniversary marked by the release of their 1985 self-titled EP that included the classic single "Party At Ground Zero". In celebration of this landmark career milestone, FISHBONE will release their FIRST EVER full-length live concert film, LIVE IN BORDEAUX on Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

Filmed live in Bordeaux, France April 26, 2008, FISHBONE- "LIVE IN BORDEAUX" will be available direct to fans through the band's website on www.fishbone.net utilizing the digital delivery platform technology of digital music fore-runners Topspin Media, and digital distribution partner Ingrooves. For fans purchasing directly through www.fishbone.net, The LIVE IN BORDEAUX offering will be bundled exclusively with a limited edition FISHBONE skateboard deck, a double 12-inch picture disc vinyl set of the release, t-shirt, and digital download of the full length CD and video! The release will also be available through Itunes, Amazon, and other digital outlets on February 2, 2010!.

FISHBONE first gained attention in the mid-eighties with their live concerts, earning a reputation as one of the most diverse bands in the alternative rock genre. Their unique stew of different styles, mixed with hectic energy and pounding rhythms, was a huge influence on the funk/rock/new wave/metal/rap hybrid that would become popular in the 1990s. The base of Third Wave Ska, of course, having been largely defined by three bands: L.A.'s Fishbone, N.Y.C.'s The Toasters, and Hollywood's The Untouchables. Fishbone, the junkyard ska, punk, funk, metal outfit, got its start at Chinatown's Madame Wong's in the summer of '79. As singer Angelo Moore explains:

"I lived in the Valley and bussed to L.A. after school. It was on the bus that Walt let me listen to The Selecter. I said what are they playing? He said they're playin' the ska. I said fuck, yeah. I've been gettin' down and gettin' funky with it ever since."

Outside of the immense talent and musical diversity, the band's influence on pop-culture permeates to this day as some music icons and historians even credit frenetic frontman Angelo Moore as one of the first performers to "stage dive" and "crowd surf" during legendary performances in early eighties garage punk clubs, as the band and their chaotic and colorful energy would incite some of the very first crowd surfing episodes in LA clubs, antics which have since become embedded as a staple of punk rock subculture.

FISHBONE's legacy as one of the best live bands in rock n' roll history is undeniable; their influence on some of the biggest bands in contemporary music such as No Doubt, Sublime, Jane's Addiction and The Red Hot Chili Peppers is a well-documented fact. Through 25 groundbreaking years of music history, this the first official live DVD of the bands career, inevitably raises the questions: what went wrong that we had to wait a good 20 years before this finally happened when FISHBONE has always been labeled as the ultimate live act whose records never really matched their stage energy? And isn't it too late now that the glorious lineup of the early 90s has mostly disbanded and the two remaining original members, Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher are well into their 40s? Is this live concert film still relevant? Of course, the FISHBONE of 2009 is no longer the same as in 1991, but it has matured and has remained fresh, without diluting the sound, energy, or musical relevancy. To the fans left behind in the mid 90s, this live concert film is a great testimony that not only is FISHBONE not dead, but it's still as red hot as ever. For those who have stuck with the band and all the musical paths they followed in the last 25 years, this live video is a must. The whole audio mix is perfect, well balanced without being too clean. This is a live recording of FISHBONE without nets. The editing is nervous and generous. It makes you feel right in the center of the Rock School Barbey in Bordeaux, France, where it was shot in April 2008. The video is true to the general mayhem that Fishbone produces on and off stage.

Live in Bordeaux album art

The song selection is a best of piece spanning FISHBONE's career, and all the songs here deserve on their own right their presence on the video. The performance showcases the bands ability to STILL offer their fans an incredible, frenzied, high energy, fan engaging performance led by who Gwen Stefani of No Doubt credits as "one of the greatest front men of all time," Angelo Moore, who is still stage diving and crowd surfing like it was 1985! With this, only one small spoiler: the Flamenco-Punk "Servitude" finale is incredible!

In addition to this release, tickets are flying for the highly anticipated "SPRING SKAWARD" national tour with fellow Ska pioneers THE ENGLISH BEAT from February 12 to March 7 (press release and dates here), and later in the year the release of the full length career retrospective documentary Fishbone- "Everyday Sunshine", which spans the bands historic and storied career, and is anticipated to hit the film festival circuit this spring, with its possible debut this March at SXSW Film Festival.

Always a group to embrace change, and in keeping up with the current music business landscape, Fishbone has created an alliance with digital delivery fore-runners Ingrooves and Topspin Media because of their much lauded and highly anticipated digital delivery system that gives artists the tools to manage their catalog and their fans, generate demand for their music, and retain control of their own intellectual property, while giving fans a direct to band relationship with viral capabilities. Topspin's main product, the Topspin Manager, was introduced to a select group of artists and managers in January 2008, and Fishbone is embracing the technology in their 25th year of making great music for loyal fans!

CD Track List:
1. Unyielding Condition
2. The Suffering
3. Behind Closed Doors
4. Bonin' In the Boneyard
5. Sunless Saturday
6. Date Rape
7. Ma & Pa
8. Hide Behind My Glasses
9. Give It Up
10. Party at Ground Zero
11. Everyday Sunshine
12. Freddie's Dead

Video Track List:
1. Unyielding Condition
2. The Suffering
3. Behind Closed Doors
4. Bonin' In the Boneyard
5. Sunless Saturday
6. Date Rape
7. Ma & Pa
8. Hide Behind My Glasses
9. Alcoholic
10. Give It Up
11. Party at Ground Zero
12. Spoken Word
13. Everyday Sunshine
14. Lyin' Ass Bitch
15. Freddie's Dead
16. Servitude

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