Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day Five - Live Knife!

November 13th, 2009 was the day that Shonen Knife, one of my favorite bands of all time, came to my town and delivered a night of blistering rock n' roll that left me an even bigger fan than I already was. What an awesome night!


Answering the call to rawk....


As you can see, the little point & shoot camera I brought along wasn't really up to the task of taking pics of the action. Oh well, I guess you could argue that my blurry photography fit the spirit of the moment anyway...


Naoko may always be a humble music fan in her heart, but years of touring and recording have made her a true rock star. She really engages the crowd and clearly loves to play music. She was terrific to watch.



Bass player Ritsko and drummer Etskuo really do carry the Shonen Knife torch proudly. They absolutely fit into the band perfectly and really captivated the crowd with an infectious enthusiasm! Plus, they're top-notch musicians.


For us old-school fans, there was a very special treat. Atsuko, Naoko's sister, and Shonen Knife's original drummer (later bassist) was there! She joined the band on the last leg of the tour, and came up on stage for the encore!


The show went by so fast! It was a great night of good vibes, positive energy, and rock n' roll!


My friend Chip had the foresight to take a photo of the set-list. Thanks Chip!


It was a good feeling to see the band signing the posters I made! The posters were a big hit it seems. I had several people approach me and tell me they liked them, and that was very gratifying. Just before the show, Shonen Knife's super-cool tour manager, (and a multi-media whiz in her own right), invited me behind the scenes and the band thanked me too!

I gave the band members some candy, including Jujuy Fruits, Whoppers & Swedish Fish, and then proceeded to forget everything I intended to say to them. I mostly just smiled and nodded. :)

The band, Atsuko, and their tour manger were wonderfully nice and friendly people. Truly the most sincerely kind rock stars I've ever met.


My loot from the night, including a broken drumstick and an official Shonen Knife workout towel! (Everybody needs one) I also brought along the CD insert from one of Shonen Knife's early USA releases specifically for Atsuko to sign.


All in all, an amazing night that I'll never forget. I spent the evening with some true icons, and it was a gloriously satisfying experience I have to say. I don't know when they'll tour North America again, but I can tell you that I will definitely go wherever they play next time around.

Thank you Shonen Knife, for renewing my faith in rock n' roll.

Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day Four - Why Do We Love Shonen Knife?

Shonen Knife was a pet project imagined by two office ladies that originally met in college. They started out with a quickly recorded cassette tape and highly rudimentary musicianship. They didn't even quit their day jobs until the mid-nineties. So how did Shonen Knife become a beloved phenomenon that's lasted for 27 years?


It's simple, really.

Shonen Knife is still loved today because they tapped into something the world needs badly. A wonderfully positive vision that never turned a cynical eye onto the world. To see a band that sings about jellybeans, cookies, and the joy of bicycling without a hint of sarcasm and irony makes them a true breath of fresh air. Shonen Knife frequently experiments with new styles and sounds, but they never changed the vision. They're the Ramones on a sunny day.


Shonen Knife is still loved today because of the bond they've formed with their fans. Everything I've heard is that all of them have always been very approachable, friendly, and kind to their fans. It makes sense when you think about it, after all this is a band made by fans of music themselves. Shonen Knife exists purely out of a love for music, and it shows.


Shonen Knife is still loved today because they understand exactly what rock n' roll is supposed to be. Their music is simple, but wonderfully catchy. They've recorded songs that are up there with the best pop-nugget classics.

One day listening to their music, I realized that I knew all the words without ever trying to memorize them. Their music gently became embedded in my head, and now I find myself humming their songs all the time. I don't mind it one bit. :)



So you see, it's easy to love Shonen Knife, and it's no mystery how they've managed to continuing rocking after 27 years. They have one of the best formulas for musical longevity I've ever seen, and I hope they're around for another 27 years.

If you're fellow fan, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Why do you love these ladies from Osaka so much?

Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day Three - Knife Collector Link-O-Rama...

So in this installment of Five Days of Shonen Knife, I thought I'd make an attempt at gathering a bunch of links and resources for all you Shonen Knife freaks.

By no means can I say that this is an exhaustive list. If you know of something online that's too good to not be included here, then feel free to share it in the comments!


I pretty much have to start with the THE SHONEN KNIFE NEXUS! This easily to most through place on the web for all your Shonen Knife needs. Here you'll find band history, an overview of their recordings, new and old tour info, and reports from fans all over the world. I love this site!


There's also of course their official web site! A fine place to get a glimpse into the SK universe. There's mostly Japanese content here though, so your mileage may vary.


This well-written FAQ was last updated in '97, but is still is quite helpful, and it also explains what happened to the Knife Collectors Fan Club...


Yeah, I know MySpace is kind of gaudy and spammy, but when you visit Shonen Knife's MySpace Page, it's a lot more bearable. There's always the music samples!


Unfortunately, a busy band like Shonen Knife just doesn't get enough time to maintain their Twitter account, but thankfully their new American record label Good Charamel is helping out. Their Twitter is full of mostly daily tour updates and fun tidbits. I'd follow both for good measure. :) UPDATE: SInce this was written, Naoko has been tweeting much more frequently, and often shares tour info, as well as tennis updates! Follow her!


Speaking of Good Charamel, Shonen Knife's western label has done a heck of a job promoting the new album and offering tour support. Their Shonen Knife webpage will be handy for following up on future releases.


Panache Booking is the band's booking agency here. You can download some nice resolution promo photos, and their stage plot diagram. (Hey, why not?) I sort of doubt you can just call and book SK for your birthday party, though...



If you're an LJ user, here's a community for you!
The Journal for Shonen Knife Fans


I know I just dissed MySpace for being crass and tacky, but once it's redeemed by 712 Boneyards excellent blog, The Naoko Zone! Pete makes no secret of his Shonen Knife devotion, and it shows in every post. The man is a true Knife Collector. Tons of fresh YouTube links too!


Alright, so how about music n' interviews...


Jenny Woolworth's Women In Punk Blog is full of neat stuff, and you'll going to especially love this. She's got MP3s of "Minna Tanoshiku", Shonen Knife's first cassette tape! Only 70 total copies of this ever existed, so unless you've got some dough, you're not getting this rarity any other way! It's available right here!


Youpidou's terrific blog Gle-Gle has got five, count em' FIVE fan recordings of Shonen Knife shows ranging from 1992 to 2005, and they all rock! Get em' here!


A 1997 interview with the band here!

A phone interview with Naoko and Michie, also from 1997, right here!

An interview with most recent incarnation of the band is available at J-Pop World. Now you can find out their blood-types!

And Style Invasion has a very recent interview with Shonen Knife, focusing on their fashion sense!


Photos And Other Stuff...

J-Blogger Mallocup has some nice photos from a Tokyo show back in March over at I Rub Your Brog.

A cool and very recent set of pics from Flickr user letsmakeart...

Also a rockin' set from the current tour by photographer Erik Hess...

A nice group portrait from Steve Hopson. What a charming trio!

Flickr user Ventolin sums it up well: "Shonen Knife, Period!"

Flickr user jcbehm serves up some freaky psychedelic images from a show at the The Entry.

And hellokitty2399 has some groovy shots from a recent show at a club called Mangos.

Whew! After all that, what do we do next for Day Four & Five? I'll figure it out tomorrow!

Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day Two - The Redd Kross Connection...

One more reason to love punk rock/power pop legends Redd Kross is that they were instrumental in helping Shonen Knife reach across the pond and find a larger audience.

少年ナイフ had already been together for a few years when Jeff and Steve McDonald of Redd Kross, (along with Thurston Moore) helped them them get a series of gigs in the USA, thus spreading word of the cult-band to new heights. Jeff McDonald and drummer Victor Indrizzo also lent a hand on Shonen Knife's first official full-length album in America, the must-have classic 712.



On 712, the ladies from Osaka decided to record a tribute to Redd Kross. The song is an awesome little gold nugget on an album of wonderful gems...



The mutual admiration didn't end there. Redd Kross returned the favor on their underrated album Third Eye with a song appropriately titled "Shonen Knife"...

"Come right in now, enjoy a choco bar
With the Shonen Knife
Yes, the rock and roll stars
Then wash your face at the public bath
Just around the corner, down the bamboo path, uh-huh"

Alright, more Shonen Knife goodness tomorrow. See ya later!

Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day One....

As I've said before, I'm very eagerly anticipating the the Shonen Knife show coming to my town this November 13th!

I'm finally going to see one of my favorite bands of all time, a band I've loved since I first got to hear their recordings in the 90s!


In celebration of the big event, I'm going to share Shonen Knife goodness for the next five days!

Let's kick it off with some terrific early Knife footage, courtesy of YouTube user rolltammy! This clip is just the encore, but if you click through, you'll see that the entire concert has been uploaded!



Tomorrow, I'll post some more video, and some cool links as well, see ya then!