While the concept of an all-female rock band doesn’t (or shouldn’t) raise an eyebrow these days, back in the early ‘80s punk scene it wasn’t so common.
“When I started Shonen Knife there were only some all female bands,” reflects Yamano, the only remaining member of the original lineup. “Japan is very conservative, as you know, but many people in the music scene welcomed all female bands. My parents were conservative and a little against us doing a rock band, but after Shonen Knife had their major debut they understood and they supported us a lot.”
As did the rest of the indie industry. Kurt Cobain was so enamoured of them, he insisted they support Nirvana on tour, although at that point of time, Yamano wasn’t aware of who he was or how big a deal Nirvana had become.
It’s really no coincidence Shonen Knife are aurally akin to The Ramones (they even moonlight as a Ramones tribute band – The Osaka Ramones). Yamano was a fan when she was a kid and had the gratifying experience of becoming mates with the band when Shonen Knife supported them for the first time in 1998.
“When I was 15 years old, I listened to the first album of The Ramones through the radio,” she recalls. “I was very shocked and inspired by their music and went straight to the record shop to buy their albums. So, I was very happy to play with The Ramones. When we toured with Nirvana in the ‘90s I didn’t know them until the tour was starting, but for The Ramones, I was listening to them from when I was a teenager.”
From the outset, it was important for Yamano that the band brought a bit of glee to its audiences. Fittingly, while their lyrics are not going to change your life, they’re funny and bring something shiny and happy to punk rock. “I’m still enjoying writing songs about food and cute animals,” Yamano laughs. “For our new album Overdrive, I wrote songs about fortune cookies, cats and green tea. I like green tea and cats are my favourite animal. I enjoy writing songs about cats. And for human beings, eating food is the most important thing. Eating delicious food – it’s the purpose for all people on this planet. It’s the best thing, eating delicious food. So, I picked this important theme for myself.”
But does she ever wish that she could write a sad rock song? “I’m so ashamed to show my weak points to people, so I usually write happy songs,” she admits. “If I listen to sad songs I can be sad, but I want Shonen Knife fans to get happy, so I write happy songs. I can be happy when our fans get happy. That’s why I do it.”
It becomes clear Yamano is obsessed with food. In fact, her favourite recollections about Nirvana end with a tale about food. “I was so scared to tour with Nirvana,” Yamano recalls. “Their appearance was very wild, but actually they were very kind gentleman and very friendly. During the tour, Kurt wanted to cover a Shonen Knife song called Twist Barbie for their secret gig and I taught him how to play it. He was so smart and he understood the guitar chords very, very quickly. Also, other members were so kind. Dave [Grohl] helped to set up our drum kit because there was a screw that was too tight and the bassist Krist [Novoselic] gave me his pasta when we went to a restaurant. I wanted to try it because his pasta looked so tasty.”
Shonen Knife’s lineup changes have been in place for ages – it’s not like Yamano fronts some kind of nostalgia act – and under the new lineup, they’ve produced some of their best work: 2014’s Overdrive for instance, which was probably one of the year’s best albums. “Our original bassist Michie [Nakatani] left the band 16 or 17 years ago and at that point Michie had already been in Shonen Knife for 17 years,” Yamano explains. “The band’s got half and half – the first half with original members and then it continued. Our most recent lineup started from 2010 and five years have passed since then. Time flies. For me though, the present lineup is very strong. The bassist Ritsuko [Taneda] and the drummer Emi [Morimoto] are very talented musicians and they can sing. I’m very happy about that. I promise that people in Australia will enjoy our show with the new lineup.”
As for coming here, naturally, talk turns to food. “First, I’m looking forward to seeing the fans,” she says. “But for the second, I’d like to eat delicious food in Australia and enjoy the summer season.”
BY MEG CRAWFORD
