Shonen Knife Bring Sweets

As incredible as it sounds, Shonen Knife have been making their brand of exuberant punk-pop for more than twenty years now. The recent reissue of the Japanese all-girl group's first four albums -- and the twenty-eight-city tour of North America which kicks off this week -- give indie rock fans a chance to revisit the beginnings of a band that made fans of acts from Nirvana to Sonic Youth.

"I feel these twenty years have been very short," says singer/songwriter/guitarist Naoko Yamano in her proficient English. "I listened to our first albums again when the reissue was decided, and I feel they are still new, fresh. I'd like twenty-first-century people to listen to them, because maybe they will make many people happy."

Formed in 1981 in Osaka, Shonen Knife -- Yamano, drummer (and sister) Atsuko Yamano and bassist Michie Nakatani -- were an anomaly on the Japanese rock scene. "When we started, there were not so many all-female bands," says Yamano. "But for me at that time, I thought playing rock music would just be my hobby: I had a job at a machinery company as an assistant of a male worker, just making photo-copies and serving tea. It was boring. I liked to listen to punk/New Wave music, like the Ramones, the Buzzcocks, the Jam and XTC -- only American or British rock music -- but I did not imagine I could be a professional musician."

The stripped-down sound and simple, punchy lyrics of early punk are very evident on the reissues: 1983's Burning Farm; 1984's Yama-no Attchan; 1986's Pretty Little Baka Guy and 1988's 712. On the reggae-tinged "Miracles," off their debut, Burning Farm, Yamano sings, "The time to use secret power has come at last!/Woo, whoa!," with a sing-song chorus of "Meow meow meow meow." And on "Twist Barbie," she chants, "Bang bang bang/Twist Barbie/Oh sexy girl."

One of the major differences between the Shonen girls and the Ramones, however, is their obsession with sweets. The predominantly Japanese-language Yama-no sports "Flying Jelly Attack," an insistent tune about eating jellybeans. On Baka Guy, Yamano sings, "I like chocobars/Any kind of chocobars/I eat chocobars/Every day two bars per day" ("I Wanna Eat Chocobars"); and "If I meet the king of ice cream I'd tell my wishes/I'm sure that the soft cream king has a smile with white" ("Ice Cream City"). Nevermind the ditties about man-eating papayas and Fruit Loops mascot Tucan Sam. "I'm very shy about writing love songs, and I like sweets very much," explains Yamano. "They make me happy, like music."

These early Shonen Knife records earned the band a following, and groups such as L7, Lunachicks and Sonic Youth covered their songs for a 1989 tribute album. But their biggest fan may have been Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

"Kurt said he had been to our show in Los Angeles in 1991," explains Yamano. "And he said he liked our music a lot." (Cobain later said, "When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert.") Shortly afterwards, Nirvana offered the trio the opening slot on their U.K. tour leading up to the release of their breakthrough album, Nevermind.

"When Nirvana asked us to open, I didn't know what Nirvana was," confesses Yamano. "So I went to a record store, and I bought their CD. And when I saw their photograph, I thought they might be scary persons, because their hairstyles and their clothes were very grunge. But once the tour had started, I noticed that all the members were nice, good persons. And because this was our first experience of a long tour, the drummer Dave [Grohl] helped us with setting up the drum kit."

Shonen Knife released their major-label debut, Let's Knife, on Capitol Records in 1992. The follow-up, 1993's Rock Animals, featured the cult hit "Tomato Head," whose video broke through on MTV, and the band soon found itself playing the Lollapalooza festival.

More than ten years down the line now, the Yamanos (Nakatani left in 1999) are excited to play the States in support of their early recordings. They'll also be previewing material from their new album, Genki Shock ("genki" means "cheerful"), set for summer release in Japan and possible fall release in the U.S.

Don't expect the latest songs to tread old ground. "I write about social topics on our new album," announces Yamano. "I wrote a song about SPAM emails, and about the anime phenomenon. In that song, Atsuko and I become anime characters and speak in anime talk [speaks rapidly in high-pitched Japanese]." She also counts tennis as a more recent source of inspiration. "If I have time, I can play tennis three or four times a week -- and I can play for hours without break. I like Serena Williams, and I'd like to go see a Grand Slam -- but I have only been to a super-junior tournament in Osaka."

The Shonen sound may also be evolving: Heavy metal is the duo's latest musical fix. "Now I listen to Motorhead and Black Sabbath and Kiss," Yamano says. "When we played in L.A. in 1993, Gene Simmons came to our show with a very beautiful woman. I like him a lot."

Shonen Knife tour dates:

3/1: Detroit, Majestic Theater
3/2: Cleveland, Beachland
3/3: Rochester, NY, Bug Jar
3/4: Hoboken, NJ, Maxwell's
3/5: New York, Knitting Factory
3/7: Washington DC, Black Cat
3/8: Philadelphia, North Star
3/9: Boston, Middle East Upstairs
3/10: Montreal, Petite Campus
3/11: Ottawa, Babylon
3/12: Toronto, Lee's Palace
3/13: Hamilton, ONT, Cork Town Tavern
3/16: Fort Worth, TX, The Wreck Room
3/17: Dallas, Granada Theatre
3/18: Austin, TX, SXSW Music Festival
3/19: Oklahoma City, OK, The Conservatory
3/21: Albuquerque, NM, Launch Pad
3/22: Tucson, AZ, Plus
3/23: San Diego, Brick by Brick
3/24: Santa Ana, CA, The Galaxy
3/25: Los Angeles, Spaceland
3/26: San Francisco, Slim's
3/27: San Jose, CA, Blank Club
3/29: Portland, OR, Dante's
3/31: Seattle, Chop Suey
4/1: Vancouver, Brickyard
4/2: Victoria, BC, Lucky Bar