Upon being reminded that this year marks rock band Shonen Knife¡¯s 35th anniversary, singer and guitarist Naoko Yamano just smiles and shrugs.
¡°It has been so many years now, I can¡¯t keep count,¡± she says with a laugh. ¡°Fixating on anniversaries isn¡¯t very rock ¡®n¡¯ roll, so I try not to. We made short-term plans, worked day by day and didn¡¯t plan too much and before we knew it, 30-plus years had gone by. It never crossed our minds when we started that we¡¯d be doing this for a long time ... or quitting.¡±
The ease with which Naoko talks about being a rock star is perhaps Shonen Knife¡¯s most endearing quality. There has always been an effortless quality to the band¡¯s music. Naoko and her bandmates, bassist and sister Atsuko Yamano and new drummer Risa Kawano, aren¡¯t into rock ¡®n¡¯ roll for fame and fortune; they¡¯re a band because that¡¯s just what they do.
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