Everyday Sunshine - A História do Fishbone

Watching Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone at 14 Pews in Houston, you get the feeling you're in the right place to watch this particular movie. The church-converted movie theater is a beautiful venue with warm, red planks of wood lining the walls and ceiling as well as artwork displaying oil spills in vibrant contrasting colors.

Five minutes prior to screen time, though, the venue is less than quarter-full and on the same day the media were falling over themselves singing the praises of the soon-to-be-open Sundance Theater downtown, you also get the feeling that more people really ought be here to appreciate a fine independent film and local art house. You can't help feel the same about Fishbone.

The film is essentially a tribute to unfulfilled promises, or as Angelo Moore characterizes in the film, "famous but not rich." On some level, this film could have been about any brilliant, genre-challenged African- American band pre-2K, like Living Colour or Bad Brains. It just happened to be about the craziest.

Central to the film is the relationship between Moore and Norwood Fisher, with Fisher at times debating between Moore's hyper-creativity and sometimes overbearing disruptive behavior, and Moore talking about every damn single thing he can. While the film mostly portrays the two separately in interviews, it's when the two are together fighting over the future direction of the band that you get a true sense of how much admiration and enmity exist between the two. It's a scene virtually every band or family plays out, but the shared history and stature of the two make the familiar argument more significant. It's like the first time you realize your father is human after all.

However, the arc of the movie hinges on Kendall Jones. The events surrounding his tenure in and out of the band as well as the band's efforts to reach out to their friend bring an unexpected emotional pull from a seemingly care-free, everyone-else-be-damned band. It's here where I have my only criticism of the film in that Jones's account of events feels unfinished and unresolved.

Still, as the film closes with the title song of the film, you get an understanding of what makes this band really great. It is and always has been in the performance. Sitting in the pews of the once-church with the gospel-inspired coda of the song bouncing against the walls, I could imagine a history of what this former place of worship might have been and what it could be with just a little promotion and recognition. In seeing the band on screen performing one of its best known, you could say the same for this collection of individuals both blessed and cursed by their unwillingness to do anything less than what they want for themselves and their art. And in leaving that night under a slight rainfall, I found myself rooting and hoping that a little sunshine would fall both on Fishbone and the neighborhood movie house.

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

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.

Someone said this is a must see film for the fans of the band. I respectfully disagree. It is a must see film, period. I saw it during SXSW and I didn't know anything about the band (shame on me!) and I LOVED the movie. The characters are engaging, the story develops as if it was a narrative film, and of course the music is great. Racial issues are presented in a very refreshing tone. It has a great sense of humor that reflects the band's sense of humor and critique. Summing it up: it is a fun, moving and informative film. And then yes, I became a fan of the band. If you have a chance, don't miss it. You will be glad you didn't.

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.