Naoko Yamano Talks Kurt Cobain, Deep-Fried Shrimp, and 35 Years of Shonen Knife

Three and a half decades ago, a trio of Ramones-obsessed girls from Osaka called themselves Shonen Knife and started singing stripped-down punk song about cats and chocolate bars. When a cassette copy of their first album, Burning Farm, found its way to an indie label in the U.S., they quickly landed a record deal.

The purity and weirdness of their music turned Shonen Knife into the unlikely darlings of the alternative music scene of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. They nabbed a spot on the hugely influential compilation album Sub Pop 100. They played onstage with Sonic Youth. They opened for Nirvana. Bands like L7 and Redd Kross even came together to make a tribute album, Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them. Sure, there are other Japanese bands out there that have gained a global following, but few have the indie cred of Shonen Knife.

In the years since, the band has undergone several lineup changes, but lead singer Naoko Yamano has remained the constant, and she’s continued to crank out album after album filled with boisterous, catchy songs about cake, tennis, and ramen noodles. While in the past, her songs have been heavily influenced by the Beatles and Buzzcocks, lately she’s drawn inspiration from ‘70s hard rock bands like Black Sabbath.

This year, Shonen Knife are heading back on tour for their 35th anniversary, in support of their latest album, Adventure. I talked the other day with Naoko about her sister (and original band member) Atsuko returning to the lineup, deep-fried shrimp, and a possible 50th anniversary tour. She was also very modest, in a very Japanese sort of way, about her talents as a musician.

Though it was late in the afternoon when I called her from my house in California, it was really early in Osaka.

YAHOO MUSIC: Good morning. I hope I didn’t get you up too early.

NAOKO YAMANO: I usually get up at 7. Not very rock ‘n’ roll.

For this album, I understand that your sister and original band member Atsuko returned to the lineup.

Our former bassist [Ritsuko Taneda] had a baby. So I asked my younger sister Atsuko to come back to the band. She lives in Los Angeles. So it’s hard to do long tours in Japan, but she did in July. Many Japanese fans were very pleased. Also last July, our former drummer Emi [Morimoto] left the band. She played the drums for Shonen Knife for five years, from 2010. The new drummer is named Risa [Kawano]. She played in a band called Brinky with her father and her brother. Shonen Knife played with Brinky once and they did a lot of Shonen Knife covers. And I thought she was a very good, so I asked her to join. She said yes and immediately moved from Oita Prefecture, very far away, to Osaka. So there’s been a lot of changes.

I remember seeing you and Atsuko play in Boston back in 1994.

At T. T. the Bears?

No, the Paradise.

Ah, the Paradise. We enjoyed seafood there. Deep-fried shrimp. I like Boston.

It seems like your two most recent albums have more of a 1970s hard rock sound to them.

I think we are developing musically. It’s very slow, but we are getting a little better than before. When I started Shonen Knife, I was inspired by the Beatles and late-‘70s punk band like Ramones or Buzzcocks. And I hated hard rock. But after many years past, I got to like ‘70s hard rock, like Judas Priest or Black Sabbath. Over the years, I’ve started liking bands like Boston, Doobie Brothers, or Chicago. Their arrangements are great. But recently I went to a concert of Earth, Wind & Fire. Funk. Very funk. Disco. I’m very inspired by them.

When Shonen Knife formed back in 1981, did you think you would still be still playing 35 years later?

When I started the band, I couldn’t imagine anything like that, of course. I just wanted to play. Just in Japan. Just in Osaka. That was enough. But after we released our first album on a very tiny Japanese record label called Zero Record, American people and British people started to listen to our music. And we were invited overseas. It’s a kind of miracle.

What job did you do before Shonen Knife?

I worked as an office lady at a big office for two years and 15 days. Not so long. I worked at the office in daytime, and at night I went to a club and played music. My boss came to see our show. He was a kind person. He had never been to a rock club. He was a little surprised.

Shonen Knife has some big supporters in the U.S., like Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth. Why do you think you’ve been so popular abroad?

I think we are very unique. Kurt Cobain said that Shonen Knife is “one and only.” So that was very special. I’ve just been influenced by other bands, but I never imitate them. Actually, I could try to imitate famous bands, but my musical ability is poor. Shonen Knife is very pure and very unique. I think that that’s the point.

What was touring with Kurt Cobain like?

He was so polite and gentle. Very kind to us. I watched the show from backstage and he did his best very night. I thought that he was so great. And also, I was honored because Kurt Cobain wanted to cover a Shonen Knife song called “Twist Barbie” for a secret show. I taught him the guitar chords for that song. Kurt understood very quickly.

What’s the future of Shonen Knife? Will we be talking during your 50th anniversary?

Fiftieth anniversary? How old will we be during the 50th? Hmm. But I’ll be younger than Sir Paul McCartney. I’d like to continue as long as I can. I have to keep myself healthy and continue to play tennis.