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The BoneFish
Story
In 1988, a bunch of guys got together on Edisto Island, and formed a musical
group / men's club. Darel, who had performed there professionally, became a resident. Not long after, he met a
guy named Ben. A telephone man who played guitar, Ben always had the dream to be a musical performer, and he had even
been in a few garage bands. The two became very good friends, and soon thereafter... along came another well-known local
guy... named Dan... who could sing, and play bass. The three of them started jamming together. Not long after,
Jack Broome, a local real estate agent, joined up as a vocalist, and local Islander Chuck Roper joined in on drums. During
the year of Hurricane Hugo, 1989, the original group was born - Indigo. The guys used that particular name because of
where they rehearsed - in a barn loft. The property, then owned by George & Mary Smith, was named Indigo Farm.
The original white barn is still there on the property, off of Hwy. 174 on your left, heading to the beach. They performed
many private parties before Hugo struck that year, and Darel - who was playing at Dockside as a soloist - dragged the boys
into the venue with him one night, reportedly, against their will. They became a local hit. The band finally got
their name at the 1990 Lion's Club New Year's Eve Party. They started a "Name The Band Contest" shortly before
the engagement, and many names were turned in - some were silly, like "Five Guys That Sing (And One That Won't)";
some were really off-color, like "The Shrimp Dicks". "Hooking Flipper" was submitted by a well-known
local shrimp boat captain, and was actually considered... for about five seconds, after Darel & Ben consulted the Crown
Royal Oracle. A new addition to the band at that time, David S. (rhythm guitarist and vocals) - actually won the
contest, with the name "The BoneFish". Edisto Island's First Home Grown Band was born. Eric White, a
one-time member of "The BoneFish", was also a graphic artist for the local newspaper at that time - he came up with
the "fish" logo, and all the artwork - that is still used now on all of our BoneFish products (thank you, Eric -
we miss you). Norman Fox replaced Chuck Roper on drums before the 1990 New Year's Eve gig, and that version of the band
remained for almost 17 years. Darel left the band in '93 to take care of family business in Virginia, and returned in
2000 (though he showed up for at least one gig every summer during his absence). Jack Broome left in '93, also - he
and his family are in Oregon now (we miss you, Jack!). Dale Hall - another local guitarist and guitar builder, played
guitar for a time (thanks, bro!), and Bob Sesco played and sang with the band for several years (BoneBrother - 4ever!). Vera
Lynn Bush, a lady who could pull off some great Janis and Melissa Etheridge - graced the band's stage for awhile (thank ya,
honey! - we love your new album - check it out at v-rocks.com). Other people the band would like to thank: Paul
Nance (he filled in for Norman on drums in 2006); Everett Smith of Edisto Gumbo (when David S. left the band in 2008, he filled
in when needed); Keith Windham filled in for Norman during his Italian honeymoon in 2008. Now that Norman and
Dan are officially retired from The BoneFish, they've been replaced by Jim on drums (known as 'Jimmy Kleb', or 'Sonic Jim')
and David C. on 5-string and upright bass. We are grateful to have these guys, as their presence makes the band really
sparkle. The two remaining original members, Darel & Ben - are still making the famous 'BoneFish vibe' that everyone
remembers for over the last twenty years. That's our history, as best as we can remember - and thank you for reading. Oh,
and, by the way... we must pay homage to our roadies: Brian, Ray & Erika, who left us recently... and our original
roadies, who are all grown up: Rob, Chris, Ben, Will, Eric, and Cory. Also, to our original sound man, Wayne Slagle
- who was called "Cooky" when he worked for another group, The Collard Peoples - and "Tweaky" when he
worked for us (he's now a professional sound engineer). To our fans - thank you for all of your support over the years,
and come see us rock the house !!
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| Around 1991 |
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