Shonen Knife - Success

Success

Theoretically, any band that writes songs with lyrics such as "Banana chips for you!/Banana chips for me!/ In the afternoon, banana chips and tea" should have a life span no longer than that of a grasshopper. But something oddly spellbinding occurs when deceivingly silly lyrics are sandwiched between a buoyant guitar and a rapid-fire, pop-punk drum kit. Which perhaps explains why the Japanese female alternative rock /pop punk trio Shonen Knife is still singing songs about cookies, sushi, jelly beans, and, of course, banana chips, nearly 25 years after its inception. - The Boston Globe

Towards the end of the decade and the beginning of the next, Shonen Knife would earn recognition by members of the burgeoning alternative rock scene. By June of the following year, the Burning Farm cassette had made its way from its Kyoto imprint to K Records of Olympia, Washington, who decided to release the cassette in the United States. A year later, on June 20, 1986, Shonen Knife released their third album Pretty Little Baka Guy. Four months later, the album was re-released with three additional live tracks. While their records had previously been available in the U.S. solely through import, in 1986, Shonen Knife managed to strike a chord with the American underground rock scene when one of their tracks, "One Day of the Factory," appeared on a Sub Pop 100 compilation. The album was released on November 1, 1986 by the independent record label Sub Pop. Soon after, Shonen Knife began receiving lucrative offers from a range of US labels. By this time, many alternative rock groups had begun citing Shonen Knife as a favorite of theirs, and the resulting word-of-mouth created significant exposure for the band. On March 26, 1987, the trio's songs begin receiving spins on BBC radio from the legendary English disc jockey John Peel. After spending some time concentrating on their live performances, they had the opportunity to join Sonic Youth as guests at the Muse Hall in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. The two bands even shared a jam session as an encore. They then embarked on their very first gig abroad, playing at 2nd Coming in Los Angeles with the support of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Jeff and Steven McDonald of Redd Kross. Shonen Knife's popularity with alt-rock musicians was perhaps best expressed in 1989, when over twenty different bands came together to record renditions of their favorite Shonen Knife songs for a tribute album entitled Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them.

The trio's cult following by international audiences flourished during the early 1990s. After releasing a self-titled compilation album comprising tracks from their first two albums in the US market, the trio began touring America on a somewhat regular basis and released their fourth album 712 on July 1, 1991 in Japan on Nippon Crown. That same July, Sub Pop released "Neon Zebra" as a single in the US. Shortly after, a slightly different version of 712 was released in America by Rockville Records. In August, Shonen Knife was featured on CNN News during its This Week In Japan special. On September 25, Pretty Little Baka Guy was re-released in the US by Tokuma Japan. The 1991 US re-release of the album was coupled with eight live recordings from 1982 and 1990. The trio performed with Fugazi at the Sun Hall in Shinsaibashi, Osaka on November 14. Days later, the Christmas-themed single "Space Christmas" was released to British and American audiences by Seminal Twang and Rockville Records, respectively.

It was in 1991 that Shonen Knife came to find their biggest fan in the form of Kurt Cobain. Cobain had seen them play in LA and had come to deeply enjoy their music:

"When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert."

Nirvana asked Shonen Knife to serve as their opening act for their UK tour, just prior to the release of their breakthrough album, Nevermind. Yamano later admitted that when Cobain asked them to open for his band, they had no idea what Nirvana was.

"So I went to a record store, and I bought their CD. And when I saw their photograph, I thought they might be scary persons, because their hairstyles and their clothes were very grunge. But once the tour had started, I noticed that all the members were nice, good persons. And because this was our first experience of a long tour, the drummer Dave helped us with setting up the drum kit."

Furthermore, despite Cobain's reputation for being difficult, Yamano states working with him was a friendly experience, describing Cobain as "quiet, but very nice". From November 24 to December 11, Shonen Knife toured with American grunge band Nirvana and Eugenious all over the UK for a total of nine shows and during the tour Naoko taught Cobain how to play “Twist Barbie” which Nirvana covered live at one of their secret shows. On December 6, Shonen Knife headlined at Camden Underworld in London, England. During their stay in the UK, the trio recorded a John Peel Session with BBC radio.

On February 22, 1992, Shonen Knife performed in a Valentine's Day concert sponsored by JA. At the time, Nirvana was touring Japan and was able to come to the venue, much to the delight of their Japanese audience. After touring through the US and signing onto Capitol Records, the trio released their major-label debut, Let's Knife, on August 26. They then embarked on a brief three-show tour through the UK. While on tour, the trio appeared at the 20th Reading Festival alongside bands such as Nirvana and Mudhoney. They also recorded another John Peel Session and filmed a music video for "Riding On The Rocket" in London. On December 2, the group released the mini-album Do The Knife on MCA Victor before going on another, longer UK tour with BMX Bandits as their opening act.

As the early to mid-90s were the peak years for alternative rock, so were they for Shonen Knife's commercial success. After releasing Rock Animals in the UK on Creation-August Records, the trio once again enlisted the BMX Bandits for another eighteen-show tour through the UK. They followed it up by releasing the album in America on Virgin, along with the EP Favorites on March 2, 1994. From March 9 to 16, Shonen Knife shot the music video for "Tomato Head" in LA. The video came to be a quite popular on MTV, eventually landing a spot on the station's hit animated series Beavis & Butthead. Shonen Knife then launched a twenty-nine-gig tour through the United States and Canada spanning April 14 to May 25. Over the course of the tour, the trio appeared on myriad radio programs and television shows, such as MTV's 120 minutes and Conan O'Brien. From August 17 through September 8, Shonen Knife joined in the traveling alternative rock festival Lollapalooza. They ended the year by contributing a cover of "Top of the World" to the Carpenters tribute album, If I Were A Carpenter.