Fishbone Documentary to Feature Famous Fans

What do Chuck D, George Clinton and Tim Robbins have in common? The same thing that would keep Flea, Gwen Stefani and Ice-T engaged in conversation, were the three ever to find themselves trapped in an elevator: Fishbone, the long-running California band that's the subject of a new documentary due out this spring.

The film, 'Everyday Sunshine,' will feature interviews with all of the aforementioned stars, as well as a handful of other famous fans. Laurence Fishburne -- selected, one hopes, not just because his last name sounds a bit like Fishbone -- provides narration.

"When I was a kid, I liked their stuff, and I always figured if I was going to do a music documentary, it would be Fishbone," director Lev Anderson tells Spinner. He says the film will likely debut at SXSW in March and then see wider release later this year.

The film traces the band's entire 30-year history, telling the story of six kids from South Central Los Angeles that dared to mix ska, punk, funk, metal, hip-hop and virtually any other genre they could think of, creating a sound no one had heard before. The final scenes focus on singer Angelo Moore and bassist John Norwood Fisher, the only two original members still part of the band. In addition to celebrity interviews, 'Everyday Sunshine' will include rare live footage from throughout the band's run.

"We've got one show that must be before they signed to Columbia, 1984, maybe," Anderson says. "There's a lot of footage we've gotten from fans of Fishbone that have shot stuff, [plus] great Fishbone shows in '87 that were on public TV, one in Minneapolis, one in St. Louis."

Anderson says the diverse list of luminaries he was able to interview for the project proves what a unique group Fishbone was and continues to be.

"All of these people you can bring in, and I don't think you can do that for too many other bands," he says.