As my musical horizons expanded in high school, I gradually developed an affinity for Punk Rock and New Wave, became obsessed with 2 Tone-era Ska bands like The Specials and The English Beat, found Funk by digging out my dad’s Sly and the Family Stone records and dabbled in Heavy Metal thanks to a metalhead roommate. And then, in the mid ’80s, I discovered a band that took every one of those styles, mixed in healthy doses of humor and social commentary and brilliantly fused it all together to create something that, to this day, sounds like nothing else.
Fishbone’s debut EP only had seven songs, but the kitchen-sink diversity and hyperactive performances made it feel like a dizzying, kooky epic. When I finally saw the band live, I was blown away by the relentless energy — all six members of the group never stopped moving. I knew right then that Fishbone was one of the best live bands on the planet, and the dozens of times I’ve seen the group since — in venues big and small — continually back up that assertion. Read more about Fishbone in this week's Sound Advice.
See Fishbone with Downtown Brown Saturday at Madison Live. More info/tickets: madisontheateronline.com .