Naoko
Knife,” and it means“ Everywhere, Happy— Shonen Knife.“ And it’ s very, very early DIY self-copied cassette, our only one, our only selfcopied cassette. And there were only 40 issues, because I dubbed at home, so I couldn’ t dub so
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Legend has it you were working at a doctor’ s office before forming Shonen Knife? |
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IE: Did you have other day jobs? NY: Yeah! But first, I worked at a machinery company, an office worker for two years and fifteen days. And if I didn’ t play in a band, I wanted to continue to be an office worker, because it was full of very good people for life. But anyway, after the machinery company, I went to work at an imported goods store, and after that, I worked at a doctor’ s office as a receptionist. |
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IE: There’ s a Japanese term for such employment, called Salaryman. Is there a Salarywoman? NY: Yeah— Salaryman! And I think it’ s very, |
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Shonen Knife |
many. But now we have issued from Good Charmel Records a cassette tape, and in Japan, we released it as a vinyl LP, and I am very surprised to listen to our early songs again, because it’ s truly unique and very punk and creative.
IE: Back then, lyrically, you were very concerned about food and sunlight. NY: Umm, yeah. I tend to write about love or … I don’ t like to write about any sort of problems. IE:
umm … I think it must be sometimes very hard, but not so hard like touring. Touring is very, very hard. IE: In film, you always see frustrated Salarymen getting drunk on sake every night after work. NY: Ha! We didn’ t get drunk so much. And there are many Salarymen who don’ t drink sake, but I think with many Japanese companies, Salarymen often go to drink sake and eat
dinner together. But if I had done that, I think I probably must be retired now, because retirement age in Japan is from 60 to 65— it depends on the company. But I could continue to work as a musician, because there’ s no end— it’ s forever, as long as I’ m alive.
IE: Same here. I started writing back in’ 77— first interview: Nazareth. And right after that? The Ramones. NY: The Ramones? Nooo! We supported a Ramones show in Osaka twice! It was 1995, I think, and it was very cool to play with The Ramones. And since then, when we went to Los
Angeles, I saw Joey Ramone, and I went to see Joey Ramone produce a band called maybe The Independents or something, and I went onstage with Joey Ramone and The Independents, so we played together. And Marky Ramone came to our show in New York, and he played the drums for us, and we covered Ramones songs. And after that, we toured with the C. J. Ramone Band, in maybe 2015, all over the United States. And now we have released our Osaka Ramones album, it is a cover album of The Ramones, and it was released in 2011.
IE: Did you get to talk to Joey or Johnny any-
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