Before No Doubt, Less Than Jake, or Reel Big Fish, there was Fishbone. First started in 1979, the band has never broken up or gone on indefinite hiatus; they remain active playing several shows each year, and have just been announced as a performer at next year’s Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to catch them live, you know the energy and stage presence is nearly second to none. If you have not, well you are luck as these legends are currently on a tour of the West Coast and will be playing the Garden Amp in Garden Grove Saturday, December 17th.
GARDEN AMP
Garden Grove, California
December 17, 2022
Formed by high school students Jon Norwood Fisher on bass, his brother Phillip Fisher on drums, Angelo Moore on vocals and saxophone, Walter Kibby on vocals and trumpet, and Christopher Dowd on keyboard, the band still has four of its founding members in the band (Phillip Fisher recently departed from the band for a second time last year).
Hailing out of Los Angeles, they combined elements of ska, punk, funk, and soul with a sound that the world was not yet ready for. The struggles they faced with radio that did not know what yet to do with them would help pave the way for the third wave of ska that was to follow and ultimately explode into pop culture in the ‘90s.
The band was discovered at a gig in Los Angeles by Brian O’Neal of the BusBoys and eventually signed to Columbia Records. Here, Fishbone would eventually release their first single, “Party at Ground Zero,” which would become their signature hit over the years and received play on local LA station KROQ, as well as receiving moderate rotation on MTV.
Their Garden Amp show will include quite an eclectic lineup that fits the diverse sound Fishbone brings. They will be joined by Son Rompe Pera, a cumbia band out of Naucalpan, a suburb of Mexico City. Led by brothers, Jesús Ángel “Kacho” Gama and Alan “Mongo” Gama who together play the marimba, they bring a punk rock element to traditional cumbia music, as their influences are both Mexican marimba and Chicano music, along with the Misfits, The Clash and the Ramones.
Opening the show will be the immensely talented, Jer, née Jeremy Hunter of We Are the Union. Jer really started going viral under their alternate persona, Skatune Network which began doing ska covers of everything from My Chemical Romance to Blink-182 to Billie Eillish, often playing trombone, guitar, bass, saxophone, and lead vocals in their bedroom. Jer is their solo effort providing a “fresh new take on the sound of ska punk.” Per their Bandcamp website, Jer describes themselves as seeking inspiration from modern “indie” punk bands.
This is guaranteed to be an incredible night of music and tickets are on sale now – do not miss out!
