Whatever happened to Fishbone? I still like to listen to their old albums -- the music was fun, the style was funky, and the members of the group were absolutely crazed.

Their early stuff rocked -- lots of ska, lots of energy. Even then, their live performances were raucous. Or so I'm told -- I never made it to one myself (my live music in those days consisted of the Toasters, NY Citizens, and Bop Harvey). But Guido's sister described being at one and finding the environment... scary. Even Daman Wayans included concert commentary in one of his comedy routines back then: describing how the singer dived off the stage and had himself carried to the back of the room, over people's heads, with audience members "passing him like a joint."

Yeah, that stuff was fun. Guido made me a tape right after we got out of school: "In Your Face" on one side, "Truth and Soul" on the other. I played it incessantly on the tape deck in my 1973 VW Beetle (on the cheap Clarion tape deck I had installed in the glove compartment -- I didn't have the heart or the nerve to yank the Sapphire XVI AM radio from the dash).

Later, around the time I was applying to law school, they came out with "Reality of My Surroundings," and their style took a turn. But I still liked the output. I bought it and listened to it repeatedly.

Then came "Give the Monkey a Brain." It was hard to listen to. By the time they came out with "Chim Chim's Bad-Ass Revenge" their material was completely... without merit.

And it's all a shame, because I'd love to add some new tunes to my Metro-North playlist.

I was reminded of Fishbone when I passed a billboard in Times Square today. Joey is, of course, headlining Little Shop of Horrors so they've plastered his adorable face on posters everywhere. Seeing it, I thought back to a Fishbone concert that was on HBO well over 10 years ago. I had asked Steve to tape it for me. He did. And he watched it while the tape ran.

"John," he said afterward, a tone of concern in his voice, "Those guys are nuts."

I nodded my head. I already knew.

"There's one guy playing a little trumpet, another guy jumping into the crowd, and an interview where the lead singer describes what they do before a show -- he said they take Tiger Balm and smear it behind their nutsacks!"

And so, as my cab passed under Joey's giant face, a mere hours before he was scheduled to take the stage to start his nightly performance, I thought of calling him up with a bit of advice.

"Hey Joey. Wanna put on a helluva show tonight? I've heard of this great technique..."