Japanese Pop-Punkers Shonen Knife Are in Their 'Best Place'

"When Shonen Knife broke through to an American audience in 1981, the Japanese trio from Osaka had already been together making albums for nearly a decade, bringing their winning approach-wide-eyed, winsome and fun pop songs delivered in an amped-up, power punk style-to audiences at home. And the all-female group-led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Naoko Yamano-gained worldwide attention when a fan named Kurt Cobain championed them and booked the group as the opening act on Nirvana's 1991 European tour just as Nevermind was taking off."

"Yamano was a rock fan long before she started a band. She recalls attending her first shows when she was 15. "My first concert was Aerosmith, and the second one was Kiss; this was around 1977," she says. A few years later, inspired by music from her favorite groups-the Beatles, the Ramones, the Buzzcocks and the Jam-she picked up the guitar."

Shonen Knife formed in Osaka and had been recording for nearly a decade before breaking through to American audiences in 1981 with wide-eyed, winsome pop delivered in an amped-up power-punk style. Naoko Yamano led the all-female trio with sister Atsuko on drums and Michie Nakatani on bass. Early U.S. exposure came via K Records releasing a cassette and L.A. label Gasatanka bringing them for their first U.S. show in 1989. A cult following expanded when Kurt Cobain championed the band and booked them as Nirvana's opening act on the 1991 European tour as Nevermind rose.

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