If It's Too Loud...

Last Thursday saw the announcement of a major line up change with Fishbone, which included the departure of founding member Norwood Fisher. On Friday, a new project of Fisher's was announced: The Familyhood Nextperience. It's a musical collective that also features musicians who have played with bands such as The Skeletones, Social Distortion, The English Beat, Suicidal Tendencies, and more. The project's debut single is "To the Hilt," which is a blend of reggae, rock, and ska in a delightful mixture. If you ever went through a ska or reggae phase at any point in your life (or never stopped having one), "To the Hilt" is going to appeal to you. It's a laid back but intense song. It may not have the high energy of Fishbone's ska-core, but this is an addictive song that is in no way the guilty pleasure a lot of modern ska can be. The Familyhood Nextperience is making great music, no matter if you've moved past your ska phase or not. You can list...

Like most people my generation, I discovered the music of George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic through Dr. Dre samples and the movie PCU. The 90's provided a rebirth for the funk legend, and I was lucky to see a performance of George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars many years ago at what was then Roxy. I have been meaning to see him again, but it just had never worked out. I thought I had missed my chance for good when he did a farewell tour a few years back, but luckily I was able to catch the farewell tour the third time it rolled through Boston. Ska-punk legends Fishbone were a perfect bonus for me. Currently touring as Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, the band was referred to as Third Generation P-Funk. It makes sense considering the multi-generational band ranges from eighty-two year old Clinton to members in their twenties. The musicians and singers were a revolving group of fifteen to twenty (maybe more!) that seemed to meander on and off stage when neede...

Photo by Pablo Mathiason Fishbone is currently celebrating their (delayed by the pandemic) fortieth anniversary, and have a new EP coming out that was recorded and produced by Fat Mike of NOFX. The current incarnation also includes four out of six original members, including Chris Dowd who left in 1994. The newest single off that EP, "Estranged Fruit," is an obvious reference to Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" in title, subject matter, and sound. This new song sees the ska legends going mostly jazz on this one, and with lyrics that are somehow still timely in 2023. Towards the end of the song, it erupts into a burst of skacore, and I think we all need that release on this one. Chris Dowd says of the new song: “‘ Estranged Fruit’ is a timeless composition merging the past and present embodied by the irony of us repeating what should be in the rear view mirror of a so called evolved society that still has far to go .”   You can listen to "Estranged Fruit...

It's been a long, long time since we've heard from ska lifers Fishbone . It's been six years since we had a new song from them, but Fishbone just released a new song, and their first with Charlie Down in nearly thirty years! "All We Have is Now" might be a bit more mellow than classics like "Bonin' in the Boneyard" and "Party at Ground Zero," but aren't we all these days? This new song seems to be a bit more traditional ska than ska-punk or ska-core. It's a fun and positive single, and a wonderful return for one of the most influential bands in ska. You can watch the video for "All We Have is Now" below. The song is part of the Bottle Music for Broken People compilation available now on Bottles to the Ground. You can find the compilation here . For more on Fishbone check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo via Facebook The word "epic" doesn't usually apply to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but their latest single is epic in both length and scale. Coming in just shy of eight minutes long, "The Final Parade" is about three to four times the length of the ordinary Bosstones song. Dicky Barrett has called this new song "a love letter to ska music and the people that make ska music," and "The Final Parade" is certainly more ska than anything else the Bosstones have ever put out. This isn't ska-punk, and it's certainly not ska-core. And then there's the amount of guest stars involved in this song. It's a tired joke that ska bands consist of huge amounts of musicians, and the Bosstones alone have nine members ordinarily. How many guest stars could "The Final Parade" possibly have? If my count is correct, it's thirty one: Tim Armstrong (Rancid) Aimee Interrupter & The Interrupters Stranger Cole Angelo Moore (Fishbo...

Back in May we brought you a handful of some of the smaller music festivals you should be checking out. It's been a couple of months, so we have some updates for you! Here are three late summer/early fall festivals that should be worth your time! The Cranking and Skanking Fest August 25, Worcester, MA If you're like me, you spent many years attending the Warped Tour, only to quit as you seemed to age out. My last year was 2002 (?), when I realized I was only there to see four bands (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, The Damned). When they announced that this would be the final year of the tour, I hoped they'd reach out to some of the more classic bands that have played in the past, and maybe they did, but you'd never know it by looking at it. This might be why I'm so excited about The Cranking and Skanking Fest. Sure, it's in the parking lot of the Palladium in Worcester which isn't the most glamorous location, and I prefer when ...

For what has become an annual trek for me, the day after Christmas I headed into Boston for the 17th Hometown Throwdown put on by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones . I am pretty much guaranteed to go every year at this point, choosing which date solely based on the openers. This year's winner was Fishbone. Fishbone opened unbelievably strong, with their first song being "Party at Ground Zero." It's always a bold move to open with your most well known song, but since I have a feeling a good chunk of the crowd was unfamiliar with the ska-punk pioneers, it made sense. They tore into "Ugly" next, followed by "Lyin' Ass Bitch." From there, the show seemed to tone down quite a bit. Some youths behind me remarked that Fishbone wasn't bad, but they were ready for them to be done. Since they only played 8 songs total, I hate to admit I agreed. I'm sure a full headlining set would be a better choice instead of an abbreviated opening set. They clos...

If you had asked me yesterday if Fishbone and Bad Brains had recorded together, I would have responded with a hearty "Yes." Unbelievably, "Ragga Dub" marks the first time these punk legends have, which makes this track a must hear for virtually everyone. Off the recently released Dub Rockers Vol. 1  collection, which presumably pairs Jamaican reggae acts with American and British ones. I say presumably since Bad Brains is from D.C. and Fishbone is from California. Also, Slightly Stoopid is on it. But who truly cares, when we get a pairing from two of the most important bands of the past 30 years? "Ragga Dub" is much more chill than what I would expect/hope for from this pairing, but it's still a must listen.