GZA and The Phunky Nomads and Fishbone — Truth and Swords Tour — with special guest Beau Young Prince live at The Vogue in Indianapolis on Saturday, November 11, 2023!

GZA

GZA/The Genius is a founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. GZA boasted some high-profile appearances on the group's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), including one of only two solo tracks, "Clan in da Front."

GZA's 1995 solo effort, Liquid Swords, produced entirely by RZA, met with critical and commercial acclaim, and is largely considered one of the best albums to come out of the Wu-Tang camp. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums of all time. Steve Huey of Allmusic called him "one of the best lyricists of the 1990s," while the editors of About.com ranked him #17 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007), making him the highest-ranking Wu-Tang Clan member on the list.

GZA’s subsequent solo projects were all received to great critical acclaim: Beneath the Surface (1999); Legend of the Liquid Sword (2002); Grandmasters (2005) with DJ Muggs (the producer for hip-hop group Cypress Hill) which saw GZA using chess as a metaphor for the rap game; and finally, Pro Tools

(2008) featured production from past collaborators RZA, Mathematics, and True Master.

GZA made an appearance with RZA in Jim Jarmusch’s film Coffee & Cigarettes, opposite Bill Murray. The two also appeared on the Chappelle Show’s in the now legendary skits “Wu Tang Financial” and “Racial Draft.”

GZA has been working on a Wu Tang documentary for the better part of the last decade, which will prove to be the ultimate statement about the super group. He also has TV shows and graphic novel ideas in development.

GZA has recently lectured at Harvard, Oxford, USC, MIT, NYU and Cornell. While at MIT he also visited with marine biologists, geneticists, and quantum physicists to seek inspiration for his forthcoming projects.

GZA’s next album entitled DARK MATTER will be released on BabyGrande in 2012. The project is a natural extension of his longtime fascination with the cosmos and further inspired by his recent meetings with quantum physicists at MIT and in London. "I will take a quantum leap and discuss the universe while taking us on a journey through deep space. Traveling at lightspeed from the galactic center of one galaxy to the farthest corners of another. I hope my listeners will enjoy this cosmic adventure within a world of colossal planets, gas giants, meteorites, comets, and asteroids in the most extreme conditions."

Fishbone

Funk metal hybrid band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA, which has never managed to achieve the commercial success its critical reputation deserves. Five of the original members met through the Los Angeles School Bussing Program, a scheme that encouraged black and white children to visit each other’s schools. Although their recorded output is sparse given their longevity, Fishbone’s hard political edge and high-octane rhythmic onslaught is every bit as deserving of mass attention as the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Living Colour.

The original line-up of the band featured Chris ‘Maverick Meat’ Dowd (Christopher Gordon Dowd, 20 September 1965, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; trombone/keyboards), ‘Dirty’ Walter Kibby (b. Walter Adam Kibby II, 13 November 1964, Columbus, Ohio, USA; trumpet, horn, vocals), Kendall Jones (b. Kendall Rey Jones, USA; guitar), Philip ‘Fish’ Fisher (b. 16 July 1967, El Camino, Los Angeles, California, USA; drums), John Fisher (b. John Norwood Fisher, 12 September 1965, El Camino, Los Angeles, California, USA; bass) and Angelo Moore aka Dr. Maddvibe (b. Angelo Christopher Moore, 5 November 1965, USA; vocals/saxophone). Norwood was stabbed on stage early in their career when Fishbone played alongside hardcore bands such as the Dead Kennedys (the influence of Bad Brains is obvious in their output).

After a debut mini-album in 1985, featuring live favourite ‘Party At Ground Zero’, the production expertise of David Kahne saw Fishbone graduate from ska towards alternative rock and heavy metal, exposing their true talents for the first time on 1988’s Truth And Soul. This was helped in no small part by the airplay success of a cover version of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Freddie’s Dead’. Former Miles Davis associate John Bigham (b. 3 March 1969, Lidsville, USA) joined the line-up in 1990, contributing additional guitar and keyboards. Subsequent recordings saw Fishbone branching out and working with rap artists such as the Jungle Brothers, although 1991’s The Reality Of My Own Surroundings had more in common with the hard-spined funk of Sly Stone. ‘Fight The Youth’ and ‘Sunless Saturday’ demonstrated a serious angle with socio-political, anti-racist and anti-drug lyrics, in contrast to their lighter side on the humorous ‘Naz-Tee May’en’. The album was the first Fishbone release to broach the mainstream Top 50.

Fishbone’s live shows continued to sell out without a hit to be seen, and Moore caused a minor sensation by ending a London show naked but for his saxophone. However, just as transatlantic commercial success beckoned with 1993’s hard rocking Give A Monkey A Brain And He’ll Swear He’s The Center Of The Universe set, bizarre press stories began to circulate concerning the activities of Jones, who, at the instigation of his father, had left the flock to join a religious cult. The band, which he had renounced, was accused of attempted kidnap in their attempts to retrieve him. Appearing on 1993’s Lollapalooza tour failed to restore their diminishing reputation, and keyboardist Chris Dowd left the band the following year shortly before they were dropped by Columbia Records. A lacklustre new album followed in 1996, although they continued to be a popular live draw.

A new line-up comprising Moore, Fisher and Kibby and new members John Steward (drums), Spacey T. (guitar) and John McKnight (keyboards, trombone, guitar), resurfaced on the Hollywood label in March 2000 with the album The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerk. The band was dropped from the label shortly afterwards, prompting them to set up their own imprint for subsequent releases. McKnight left the line-up in 2001 and Spacey T. and Walter Kibby two years later. Moore and Fisher, the sole remaining founding members, have continued to tour and record with a new line-up of Fishbone.

GZA and The Phunky Nomads and Fishbone with special guest Beau Young Prince

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2023

21+

THE VOGUE THEATRE

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

TICKETS AT THEVOGUE.COM

PLEASE NOTE:

THIS SHOW IS GENERAL ADMISSION AND SEATING IS NOT PROVIDED. YOU MUST BE 21+ TO ENTER THE VENUE WITH A VALID FORM OF IDENTIFICATION. ALL TICKETS ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE AND NON-REFUNDABLE. TWO FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION MAY BE REQUIRED FOR ENTRY.