DESPITE having been the backbone of punk band Shonen Knife since 1981, guitarist and singer Naoko Yamano still gets nervous before gigs.

“I always have a lot of fun playing in front of an audience. It’s before the show I always get nervous,” she tells The Guide.

“But once I go onstage I can be very energetic.”

She admits it isn’t as severe when the shows pile up back to back on a long tour. She says, “When I have shows every day it’s not as bad.”

Shonen Knife played their first gig in early 1982 in Osaka, Japan, at a time when all-female bands were a rarity.

The band rose from humble DIY beginnings, crafting idiosyncratic songs and fashioning their own brightly-coloured outfits.

Since then they have toured extensively across the world and released 21 records, developing a cult-like status.

That hasn’t meant staying entirely underground; among their biggest fans was Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain – with them supporting the grunge band on their Nevermind tour.

Their work is seen as trailblazing a path for women in music and inspiring legions of bands.

It’s the fan reaction that matters most.

Naoko says, “We enjoy playing both old and new songs. When we play our older songs it’s very easy for me and our audience can enjoy them. But when I play new songs I like to see the reaction to them and if it’s good I get so happy.”

And then there is the decision to be made over what to play, what to put on the set list.

She says, “I like all the songs on our new album but some songs are very good for live shows and some songs are good for listening at home.

“We practice four or five songs from the new album and can change them if we need to.

“I usually pick a few songs from each album but there are still songs we have never played live before from very old albums.”

It’s a wonder she can remember what to play.

She says, “We have more than 120 songs to play and we still play some songs from the early 1980s and of course new songs.

“I mostly remember more than 100 songs but before the tour I end up having to learn some of them again.”

With Naoko’s younger sister Atsuko Yamano on bass (back after an almost eight-year absence) and Risa Kawano playing drums, they make up the formidable sound that has endured through the ages, combining the thrash of The Ramones and the melodic pleasures of surf rock ‘n’ roll along with influences such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

Naoko says, “When I started Shonen Knife I was influenced by late 1970s punk but recently I have liked hard rock and American rock.”

She says the new album, Adventure, has variety on it but still stays true to the band’s sound.

There is room for a bit of keyboard but Naoko says it is important to be able to replicate the sound live on stage – so don’t expect any grandstanding with full-blown orchestras.

She adds, “The three-piece sound is the minimum number of people you can have in a band but it’s also very rock ‘n’ roll. I just like guitar, bass and drums – I need this sound.

“Saying that, in future I would like to play a bit more keyboard.”

This year represents the band’s 35th anniversary year, looking back on a career that has seen band members come and go.

Naoko says, “I don’t like members to change but since we are female, women have many private and important things to do in life so it’s difficult to them and continue in the band.

“It’s difficult to know how to continue sometimes but many people around me have helped a lot [with private matters] so thanks to them I can go on.”

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