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Discover One of Music’s Most Influential (Unappreciated) Bands
June 5, 2014 Leave a Comment
This week on Director’s Cut, I have the pleasure of talking to director Lev Anderson about his documentary, “Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.” This is an insightful look at a fascinating band that burst onto the L.A. punk scene in the early ’80’s and is one of my favorite films of this season.
I had pretty much forgotten about this band and wasn’t all that familiar with their work to begin with, other than a couple of their hits. Although they never reached mega stardom, Fishbone influenced other bands including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt and Ice-T. Anderson and co-director Chris Metzler nabbed interviews with all of them. See how Lev got these A-List musicians to talk in this quick clip from the interview.
What I was most impressed with was this directing duo rose to the challenge of creating a doc that matches the energy of the subject. Fishbone was a high intensity live act and, as Lev confirms in the interview, one never knew what to expect at one of their concerts.
“Everyday Sunshine” uses animation reminiscent of Fat Albert to tell the story of how these impressionable musicians were exposed to punk when they were bussed to school in the San Fernando Valley during a racially turbulent time in L.A. Anderson and Metzler pepper in the perfect amount of interviews with band members to compliment some high octane concert footage. Laurence Fishburne narrates the documentary and nails it.
Before making the leap into the movie biz, Southern California native Anderson worked in urban planning. He also has a Wisconsin connection, having attended Beloit College. He’s an even-keeled guy whom I suspect brought the perfect temperament for shooting a film with an energetic yet chaotic band like Fishbone. You don’t want to miss this interview or the movie in its entirety that follows. So bring some sunshine to your Friday night on Wisconsin Public Television!
