When Fishbone emerged in the 1980's, America's melting pot was being stirred by a mosh-pit of disenfranchised youth confronted with lingering racial and economic issues left unresolved by previous generations. Ronald Reagan's "New Morning in America" had a polarizing effect on the social welfare and progressive movements of the 1960's, reordering a hopeful generation into a social majority geared more towards Wall Street than the dwindling imaginations of the counterculture and the aging Civil Rights movement.”
“My Co-producer/director, Lev Anderson, suggested this film as an interesting story – a story of more than a band, but almost a movement. He went over history and what struck me was that they are African American rock musicians who play all these different kinds of music. They were at ease switching back and forth between speedy Metal guitar riffs, horn infused Ska, and smooth riding P-Funk grooves with a language of subversive politics and redemptive church choir-like vocals,” said Metzler. “But they are also a bi-product of desegregation in Los Angeles in the late 1970s. They were five black kids bussed to school from the predominately Black communities of South Central to the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley as part of the controversial desegregation efforts of the time. But, then the fans embraced the music and made it their own based around their mutual love of music.”
In Los Angeles, where the American dream and Hollywood fantasies collide with the realities of racial and economic tension, there was a widening gulf between Rodeo Drive and Crenshaw Boulevard, the emergence of designer boutiques and crack cocaine, and the violent rise of the Crips and Bloods street gangs. Fishbone was born from these chaotic contradictions and constantly searched for common ground between their Rock star ambitions and the realities of being Black in America.
At the heart of the film's story are lead singer Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood Fisher who show how they keep the band rolling out of pride, desperation and love for their art.
“It is a testament to the talent of these musicians that they started out in 1979 in junior high in one of their bedrooms and 25 years later, they are still going. They fought to overcome money woes, family strife, and the strain of being aging Punk rockers on the road. They keep on making their music and are brimming with creativity. As filmmakers that is something that we wanted to show,” said Metzler.
Even if you have seen the film before, the proximity of their story to their performance made that first appearance at DOCUTAH so mind-blowing, which is why DOCUTAH is so excited to bring these two art forms together again. This evening is more than a movie, more than a concert. The two together are a living, breathing expression of their art, of their lives, of their passion and their dedication to what they’ve chosen to do with their lives. And they are just so cool!
If you don’t know FISHBONE’S music, you’re in for an eye-opening experience. If you do, just come and jam with them.
“We always wanted DOCUTAH to offer our audience something unique - a window on the world, a global experience in the high desert, never sugar coated or censored, allowing the filmmakers to express their vision of the people and topics they cover,” said Phil Tuckett. “There is no doubt that Everyday Sunshine fulfills all of those criteria and bringing both the film and the band back, now that DOCUTAH has grown and succeeded, it seemed the perfect time to honor the film and the band which helped to put us on the map. This experience is not happening at Sundance, not happening in Cannes. If you want to understand how DOCUTAH is different from your garden variety film festival, this event is a pretty good example.”
