We chat to Shonen Knife founder Naoko Yamano about the importance of women in rock
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We chat to Shonen Knife founder Naoko Yamano about the importance of women in rock

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With over 35 years of experience, Naoko Yamano, of legendary Japanese band Shonen Knife, knows a thing or two about how to survive in a band. The secret to her fulfilment after all this time is a combination of seeing the positive side of just about everything, expanding her musical inspirations and most importantly, nourishing herself with food from all over the world.

 

As Yamano explains, touring for Shonen Knife serves not only as an opportunity to see their fans and perform, but also as a clever guise to eat food on the road. The band have even gone as far as plan a whole tour around expanding their palate. “We did an American tour in April and May which was a type of ramen adventure. We visited a ramen restaurant in every city where we played a show. I’m looking forward to eating all the delicious food in Australia. The last time we were there we went to a restaurant in Perth that only serves cold food and everything is made with natural vegetables.”

 

When it comes to local Australian delicacies, Yamano admits that while she’s always looking to try new things she’d never dare try kangaroo meat. “I cannot eat kangaroo,” she says. “I remember seeing kangaroo meat in a soup one time and the colour was very red. I was really surprised.”

 

Yamano has fond memories of touring Australia and is quick to recall the enthusiastic reception Shonen Knife have received on previous tours. “I’m looking forward to seeing our fans in Australia. People over there are very cheerful and because I always like to see the reactions of the crowd it’s great when everyone is energetic. I’m definitely going to talk with the fans after the shows, everyone is so friendly.”

 

The upcoming tour will also be the first time Shonen Knife play in Australia with their new drummer Risa Kawano. “I discovered Risa through her family band Brinky,” says Yamano. “When I saw her playing the drums I thought her playing was very good and powerful so I asked her to join the band. I’m excited for her to see Australia, she’s only 22.”

 

Yamano has maintained an impressive archive of landmarks and food on her travels around the world, keeping a blog about her journeys alongside posting photos on the band’s social media. “I’m actually lazy and don’t like to upload things on my social network sites,” she admits. “Many of the Shonen Knife fans look forward to my posts so I try to upload photos whenever I can. If I get a good reaction from people, I’m happy about that.”

 

Shonen Knife have always worn their influences on their sleeve, something that Yamano proudly states when she details the band’s changing influences over the years. “When I started Shonen Knife, I was inspired by late ‘70s punk rock bands like The Buzzcocks and The Ramones. My songs have gotten a little harder over the years because I also listen to ‘70s hard rock music like Judas Priest, Motörhead and Black Sabbath. But then I always return to bands like The Beatles as well. I love them for their harmonies.”

 

When asked to reflect on how Shonen Knife have influenced women in music Yamano acknowledges that impact they’ve had in their home of Japan. “There are many girl bands in Japan, especially in the underground scene. Many of them are inspired by Shonen Knife and that makes me very happy,” she says proudly.

 

“I hope for more women to play rock music, even though being a woman playing in a band can sometimes be very hard. For instance, our former bassist had to leave the band to care for her child but has started to play music again recently. Women playing music is such a fantastic thing.”

For Yamano making music is a default way of life for her, something that she gains immense satisfaction from even this far into her career. “I’ll continue to make fun, interesting music and continue touring as long as I can. I don’t have many good skills outside of music so I don’t think I could do another job.”