Interview de John Norwood Fisher de Fishbone

• 
  Warning: Use of undefined constant   - assumed ' ' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /home/clients/0f8bcf4e9ea7de3ac6519c0679a4fb84/web/dossier.php on line 76
  Introduction
  Warning: Use of undefined constant   - assumed ' ' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /home/clients/0f8bcf4e9ea7de3ac6519c0679a4fb84/web/dossier.php on line 76
  
• version française
• english version

english version

 

AR: Your last gig was in a Las Vegas festival last week-end and you will play at Hellfest later on, today you start your french tour in a rather small venue : how do you cope with that audience change ? Does it change something on the concert ?

 

 

JNF: I don't know, I don't think so... Well eventually in a big festival you got a bigger stage and more room, but otherwise , you know, there is a part of it where we just do what we do. You know Fishbone started to play for nobody, in my bedroom, we just did what we do, we were aggressive in our music and with our instruments but in front of nobody at all (laughs).

 

 

 

AR: Is it the same time you were rehearsing in that same romm with Flea and Hillel Slovak from Red Hot Chili Peppers ?

 

JNF: Yeah yeah they came to that same room !

 

 

 

AR: What a lot of inspiration in that room...

 

JNF: Yeah, it's still there, I don't know who lives there now (laugh).

 

 

 

AR: You just released an EP, can we expect an LP soon ?

 

JNF: Well I don't know now, but that's what was in my heart. I'd love to follow and be more productive thatn in the past, recent years... maybe more productive than ever ! But we'll see, we wrote a lot of songs and I guess everybody is still writing, it's just the nature of who we are.

 

 

 

AR: You worked with Fat Mike from NOFX for the EP, did you read the biography of NOFX?

 

JNF: No I didn't

 

 

 

AR: Man you should ! You know them for a long time right ?

 

JNF: Yeah we took the on tour in the early 90's, that's how we got to know each other

 

 

 

AR: You had a lot of movement with band members, do you think that, in the end, it turned out into something positive, that improv the creativity ? Or on the contrary that was not easing the life of the band on a long term ?

 

JNF: You know what, what matters is right now, and actually, you know, each of the original members that left, it was a void, and with me and Angelo being the only guys that didn't, I experience the comings and goings of everyone and you know, nobody living was ever an easy replacement. You know, we were fortunate that other people could show up and do the job in any capacity. But my thought is it brings us to now and I wouldn't trade the world for right now, I love where I am, I love where the band is at. You know, even if it's not perfect I believe the potential is great, and overtime we had and we are having incredible experiences right now. We're here !!!

 

 

 

AR: Are you able to pick any song from your discography, or maybe you don't want or can't play some, maybe due to some members that left ?

 

JNF: I have things that I don't want to do. It's not an absolutely no, but, you know it's like the band learning this new EP, writing the future... You know there are songs that we don't play and I'd like to play, but Angelo has a looong list of them (laughs) but I'm more really at home with forward thinking, towards the future...

 

 

 

AR: That leads us to the setlist : how do you create them ?

 

JNF: We change it everyday. And in fact thank you for saying that 'cause that something we're supposed to do very quickly but I got to do it now so please keep asking questions I'll do it now

 

(John picks his phone and exchange messages with Angelo in order to create the setlist).

 

 

 

AR: Is there one song that is difficult for you to play ?

 

JNF: Well you know the song that I like the least to play is 'Fight to Youth', that one is a hard one.

 

 

 

AR: Do you have any a self ritual before the show, or with the band ?

 

JNF: No

 

 

 

AR: What would come to your mind if I ask about a crazy moment you saw from the stage ?

 

JNF: Oh I got a good story for you. There was this kid named Arthur, we didn't know him, that was the first time we met him. We played Rutgers University in New Jersey and this prosthetic leg came flying from the audience onto the stage and there was stuff written on it by those medical students in there, that was hilarious ! And it started to be kind of violent audience, like flying fish, the intensity and the moshing was just insane. But two or three songs later, there is this kid that launch from the audience over the barricade and onto the stage and he got up and start to jump on one leg towards the prosthetic leg, but our tour manager didn't see he had one leg and attacked him ! So I'm in tears and I go there and say : « Craig the kid has only one leg he just came up for his prosthetic leg ! So he let him go and the kid grabs his leg and shows it as a trophy, the audience went crazy and he dove in the audience. We knew that kid until he died afterwards.

 

 

 

AR: Is there any show that would pop in your mind as your best ?

 

JNF: No no... tonight ! (laughs)

 

 

 

AR: What would be the album you've listened the most over the time ?

 

JNF: I kind of listen to the same thing over and over again. Let's say Funkadelic.

 

 

 

AR: So it must be exciting for you to play soon with them once back in the US

 

JNF: Oh yeah !

 

 

 

AR: Do you remember why you picked the bass ?

 

JNF: Well I wanted to be a musician at a very young age, like I was sitting with a guitar when I was 6 and I actually got to see Larry Graham's 'Graham Central Station' and it kind of set my course.

 

 

 

AR: What would be the best song ever written, for you ?

 

JNF: I'm the Walrus from The Beatles.

 

 

 

AR: Who's the most known person in your phonebook ?

 

JNF: Lawrence Fishburn

 

 

 

 

AR: What would be your five guests in your dream dinner ?

 

JNF: Tina Turner, Grace Jones, Aldous Huxley, Jimi Hendrix and Malcolm X