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Rockas From Osaka Shonen Knife's rising sun shines by RUPERT BOTTENBERG
"Are we cool? I don't know," demurs bassist Michie Nakatani. "There are many cool American and Canadian female bands. I recently saw The Muffs and they were great. I don't think Japanese women are anything special." Nakatani feels that the creative vibe prevalent in her cherished hometown of Osaka is what transformed her teenage Ramones fixation into an actual career in rock. Differentiating between Osaka and Tokyo, Nakatani spins a yarn that will strike a familiar chord in many Montrealers. "Tokyo is the centre of Japan. Tokyo gets everything... the media, the music business people. So if a person wants to become a professional musician, they usually go there to get a chance." Anyone need a lift to Toronto? After name-dropping studio mates The Boredoms as an example of Osakan quirkiness, Nakatani continues: "People who want to have their own style stay in Osaka because we don't want to be controlled. That's why Osaka has very original music and arts." In Japan, as elsewhere, creative integrity is often commercial poison. What with the exorbitant cost of entertainment (50 bucks a concert ticket, according to Nakatani), standing one's ground in Japan can be tantamount to financial hara-kiri. Fortunately, Shonen Knife's unpretentious ruckus has translated to a loyal following on North American shores. What was once a hobby, purely for teenage kicks, is now a full-blown career for Nakatani and her bandmates, the Yamano sisters (drummer Atsuko and guitarist/singer Naoko). The stereotypical Japanese work ethic, with its attendant ant-colony mentality, hardly seems conducive to this kind of rash behaviour. Nakatani says that ditching the security of secretarial work for a world of sound checks and duct tape wasn't such a complicated decision. "It was very simple. I had this opportunity to become a professional musician. I didn't want to miss it. I'm very happy. Now my former boss sees me in the magazines and on TV." Shonen Knife perform with Pluto and Splitsville at Foufounes Eléctriques on Wednesday, April 30 at 8 p.m. $15.50 |
It's always fascinating for us as Westerners to have our pop culture absorbed, dissected and thrown back at us by foreigners. From Pizzicato Five's stylish lounge kitsch to Cibo Matto's funky food hop to The 5.6.7.8.'s retro sleaze, Japanese women are increasingly at the forefront of pre-millenial pop culture's self-referential meltdown. And the starting point of this wave of feminine deconstructionism is, without argument, Shonen Knife.