Naoko Yamano
Encyclopedia
is a member and founder of the Japan
ese rock
trio Shonen Knife
.
, Japan
with her sister Atsuko Yamano
and her friend Michie Nakatani
. Naoko and Michie had developed a friendship while attending college together. After they graduated, they began working at different companies but soon came to be bored with the mundaneness of corporate life. Since they all deeply loved music, the three decided to play music together just for the fun of it. Naoko sang lead and played guitar
, Nakatani was also a lead singer and played bass
and keyboards
, and Atsuko sang backup, played drums
, and designed their stage outfits. With the departure of Nakatani and Atsuko relegated to part-time duty due to marriage, Naoko stands as the only remaining member of the original lineup. Her musical preference leans towards 1970s hard rock
and heavy metal
such as Kiss
, Judas Priest
, Iron Maiden
, Motörhead, and Black Sabbath
as well as 1960s pop
groups and punk rock
bands such as The Beatles
, Strawberry Alarm Clock
, Buzzcocks
, and The Ramones.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
trio Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife, written in Japanese characters as 少年ナイフ, which transliterates as Shōnen Naifu, literally "Boy Knife," is an all-female Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka, Japan, in 1981...
.
Biography
Naoko formed Shonen Knife in the December of 1981 in OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with her sister Atsuko Yamano
Atsuko Yamano
is a founding member of the Japanese rock trio Shonen Knife. When the band was first started, Atsuko played drums and provided backup vocals. A former fashion designer, she was also responsible for designing the band's stage outfits...
and her friend Michie Nakatani
Michie Nakatani
is a Japanese musician, singer, and songwriter and was one of the founding members of the rock group Shonen Knife.- Early years :Michie was born October 8, 1961 in Osaka, Japan. She was an only child...
. Naoko and Michie had developed a friendship while attending college together. After they graduated, they began working at different companies but soon came to be bored with the mundaneness of corporate life. Since they all deeply loved music, the three decided to play music together just for the fun of it. Naoko sang lead and played guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, Nakatani was also a lead singer and played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, and Atsuko sang backup, played drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, and designed their stage outfits. With the departure of Nakatani and Atsuko relegated to part-time duty due to marriage, Naoko stands as the only remaining member of the original lineup. Her musical preference leans towards 1970s hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
such as Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Motörhead, and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
as well as 1960s pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
groups and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Strawberry Alarm Clock
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles best known for their 1967 hit "Incense and Peppermints". The group took its name as an homage to the Beatles' psychedelic hit "Strawberry Fields Forever", reportedly, at the suggestion of their record company Uni Records.They are...
, Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, and The Ramones.