INTERVIEW: Spacey T returns to his loving family of Fishbone

Photo: Fishbone’s new album is called Stockholm Syndrome. Photo courtesy of Matt Dessner / Provided by Indie Music Media with permission.

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This summer, concertgoers can rejoice because Spacey T, aka Tracey Singleton, is back with the ska-rock band Fishbone. The guitarist was originally with the group more than 20 years ago, and he’s been playing the frets ever since he returned to the band in October 2024. Audiences can catch the reunited group on tour this summer with Less Than Jake, The Suicide Machines and Catbite. The band will be bringing tunes from its new album, Stockholm Syndrome, which was recently released.

Joining Spacey T in Fishbone are Angelo Moore (vocals, saxophones), Christopher Dowd (keyboards, trombone, vocals), James Jones (bass), Hassan Hurd (drums) and John “JS” Williams II (trumpet, vocals), according to press notes.

“The name of the record is Stockholm Syndrome, and it’s all the elements that people are known to expect from Fishbone,” Spacey T said in a recent phone interview. “But there are a few surprises, which is really cool. I love it. We kind of went there. There’s a song on there that reminds you of Tears for Fears or David Bowie a little bit on there, which is really great. That’s the ‘Secret Police.’ … The thing I love about this record more than anything is that it’s great songs.”

Spacey T called this new album a “therapy album” for Moore and Dowd. When the guitarist returned to the band, the songs for this recording were already done. All they needed from him was to add in the guitar parts.

“What I did was I came in and told them, ‘Hey, I want to play guitar like you’re playing guitar, Chris, or like you’re playing guitar, Angelo,’ so all the parts, they directed me on what they wanted to hear,” he said. “And I had a ball doing that because I’ve never done that before. Every single guitar part on the record on Angelo’s songs, it’s what he wanted me to play, and on Chris’ songs, it’s what he wanted me to play. I had freedom on the solos, but I wanted to do what they needed me to do to make this record happen. They’re going to turn us loose on the next record.”

The last time Spacey T was in Fishbone, he worked with Moore, a legendary vocalist, but the guitarist had never worked with Dowd because their paths had never crossed professionally before. “So this is a whole new thing,” Spacey T said. “I call it the new Fishbone trinity because Angelo, Chris and I, we really bonded really intensely, and it’s nothing but love. There’s nothing negative at all. It’s just the most loving band situation I’ve ever been in.”

When Spacey T talked with Hollywood Soapbox, he had just finished a European run of shows where Fishbone played three of the new tunes. He said the gigs went spectacularly well, with every show sold out.

“I had no idea the fans would remember me as much as they did,” he said. “It was kind of overwhelming. I was almost brought to tears actually every show, so it’s been a success. … I had to relearn some of the stuff [from the new album]. I recorded it, and then it was about a month or so before we started touring. So, yeah, I had to go back and relearn some of the stuff. What we’re at the point of doing now is working on the stuff so we can eventually do the album in its entirety.”

Spacey T, who grew up in the Long Branch area of New Jersey, was only 8 years old when he started playing guitar. His grandmother walked up to him one day and simply said, “You’re going to play the guitar.”

“I was like, ‘OK,’ because I love my grandmother so much,” Spacey T said. “That’s when I learned the true meaning of the matriarch of the family. She knew what we all were going to do, and all the things she told my siblings, we’re doing all what she said to do. And my thing was to play the guitar. … There were these really super cheap guitars back then that you could buy from Sears, and my first guitar was from Sears, my first two actually. And then my third guitar was a Silvertone, the old ones that have the amplifier in the case. … I’ve been playing guitar now for almost 59-60 years.”

And now that he has reunited with Fishbone, that guitar playing will surely continue into the future.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Fishbone’s new album is called Stockholm Syndrome, and the band is currently touring the United States. Click here for more information and tickets.