Fishbone is an American rock band formed in 1979 with John Norwood Fisher (bass), his brother Philip "Fish" Fisher (drums), Angelo Moore (vocals, saxophones and theremin), Kendall Jones (guitar), "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, trumpet), and Christopher Dowd (keyboards, trombone, vocals). The band's current line-up consists of Moore and Dowd (who was absent between 1994 and 2018), with several new members added in 2024.
Fishbone was founded when all the members were in junior high school in 1979.[1] After releasing two albums and two EPs, the band were joined by John Bigham on guitar and keyboards in 1989.[2] Guitarist Kendall Jones left the band in 1993,[3] soon followed by Christopher Dowd in 1994.[4] Bigham left in 1997,[5] and was replaced by Tracey "Spacey T" Singleton.[6] Drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher also left later in 1998, he was briefly replaced by Clint Cameron and Dion Murdock before John Steward joined in 1999. Dowd was replaced by Anthony Brewster from 1997 to 1998, before John McKnight joined, who stayed until 2001
Walter Kibby and Singleton both departed in 2003. Fisher, Moore and Steward rebuilt the band with Rocky George of Suicidal Tendencies and Tori Ruffin of The Time on guitars (though Ruffin left soon thereafter), and Dre Gipson on keyboards. McKnight returned in 2005, the band also had various trumpet players, who were PaDre Holmes, Fernando Pullum, Mervin Campbell, and Curtis Storey. McKnight again left in 2010, the band were re-joined by Kibby around the same time. In 2011 the band were joined by Tom "Tom-Bone" Ralls on trombone and Tori Ruffin briefly returning a substitute for George. After touring the band were joined by Jay Armant as full time trombonist.
In February 2013, keyboardist Dre Gipson left the band after nine years, reggae musician Freddie Flint filled in temporarily on keyboards, before Paul Hampton joined in July. Original drummer Philip "Fish" Fisher re-joined in November 2016, replacing Steward.[7] John Bigham returned to the band in 2017, replacing George. Keyboardist and trombonist Christopher Dowd returned in January 2018, replacing both Hampton and Armant.[8] Making a reunion of the bands classic line-up, minus Kendall Jones.
Bigham again departed in December 2019, he was replaced by Mark Phillips.[9] In November 2020, the band were re-joined by Kendall Jones for a one of performance. Phillip "Fish" Fisher left the group again in late 2021, after which John Steward rejoined on drums. In January 2024, Steward left the band for a second time. In April 2024, original members Norwood Fisher and Walter Kibby quit the band as well.[10] In mid-2024, Aroyn Day (bass), Hassan Hurd (drums), and JS Williams (trumpet) joined as their replacements. Mark Phillips also departed in August 2024,[11] Tracey Singleton returned as his replacement in November 2024.[12]