According to qthemusic.com, rock band Fishbone announced they have parted ways with Norwood Fisher and Dirty Walt Kibby.

To further explain the situation, Fishbone went on social media to share the following statement: “Being married is hard. Being in a family is hard. Being in a band is being married to several family members at the same time. There have been a lot of changes going on. None have been this difficult… Fishbone has had a revolving door of valued and appreciated members over the last 40+ years. As times change, so must we, and in trying to make the necessary changes, there have been several discussions within this family, some discussions going about as well as family discussions tend to do.”

The post continues with: “At a certain point, adults have to agree to disagree and step away from the table in order to preserve the bonds that brought them together in the first place. As a result, in May, Fishbone may look a little different, and we hope you’ll give it a chance knowing that we did not make any decision lightly or without due process. If anyone who has purchased tickets to see Fishbone this summer and feel you don’t want to give this line up a chance, while bummed, we will absolutely help in making sure you are fully refunded. We will be continuing to support all projects of members of the Fishbone Universe. All shows announced moving forward will be happening. We hope to see you out there with us.”

The short version of the story is the significant lineup change within Fishbone involved the need to split from one of the band’s founding members, Fisher, which effectively led to the departure of another founding member Kibby. The news comes on the heels of drummer John Steward leaving the band in January. Even though guitarist Mark Phillips, who has been in the lineup since 2018, is sticking around, it still put Dowd and frontman Angelo Moore in a tricky situation, where not only would they have to rebuild the band but break the news to the fans.

Photo Credit: Boston Schulz