Though Santa Fe’s underground and DIY scenes have certainly been thriving in terms of experimental music and folk, the opportunity to catch punk bands (with a capital P) have become fewer and far between. This week Meow Wolf hosts the venerable Japanese pop-punk trio Shonen Knife, a band that still holds true to the DIY charm and raucous sound of their early days.
Shonen Knife has been at it for four decades, beginning in an era when it was not so easy for a Japanese punk act to make its way into the American milieu. That they crossed over at all is notable. For those growing up in rural or culturally isolated areas of the country pre-internet, there with great hurdles for those of us seeking information about underground music and art. Without much money, nerds across America would make great pilgrimages to the nearest record store, which acted as our meccas of intelligence. We’d spend hours poring over liner notes and music magazines and scribbling obscure details into our pocket-sized notebooks like amateur sleuths before leaving these temples of cool without making a single purchase.
As deficient and full of longing as this experience might sound, the intensity of the search could be full of creativity and imagination rather than simple consumption. Although the modern era of the all-encompassing internet grants seekers an overabundance of instant access, the trade-off in ease often comes with depraved levels of inattention and feelings of connection that can only be described as spiritually empty.
Without a doubt, for many of us in the early ’90s, one of the greatest contributors to musical self-education was Kurt Cobain of the corporate rock band Nirvana. By personally selecting the opening bands on their tours, dropping a brief mention in an interview or simply wearing a band’s t-shirt, off-the-map gumshoes across the world were introduced to the pummeling sludge of the Melvins and the unfettered lyrics fronting Bikini Kill and the riot grrrl movement. The sloppy country-punk of the Meat Puppets, the home-recorded tapes of Daniel Johnston and the angular post-punk stylings of The Raincoats all became players in a musical consciousness that defied the trappings of genre in favor of personal vision and sincerity. it’s arguable Nirvana’s most significant offering to music fans was actually in their promotion of other musical acts. One of those transformative recommendations by Cobain was to look into the work of Shonen Knife.
Formed in 1981 in Osaka by Naoko Yamano, her 17-year-old sister Atsuko Yamano and her college friend Michie Nakatani, Shonen Knife was inspired by late-1970s punk bands like the Ramones and the Buzzcocks, mid-century girl groups and the Beach Boys. On day one, the Yamanos set out to craft their own unique rendition of fun, melodic punk music, and they continue to do so to this very day. Known for their stripped-down, unpretentious sound and lyrics sung in both Japanese and English, the band has consistently held a deep cult following.
US audiences (including Cobain) were first introduced to Shonen Knife in 1985, when Olympia, Washington-based underground indie label K Records (which also released music from Beck and Beat Happening, among others) re-released the band’s Burning Farm on cassette. Previously, the album had only been available in Japan as an 8” record, but by the following year, Seattle’s grunge overlords at Sub Pop Records included the song “One Day Of The Factory” on the breakthrough compilation Sub Pop 100. By 1989, Shonen Knife was making their first American appearance opening for Sonic Youth and Red Kross in Los Angeles.
Thanks to undeniably catchy tunes such as “I Wanna Eat Choco-Bars,” “Insect Collector” and “Cycling is Fun,” by 1991 a deep-seated admiration for the group had become so widespread that it warranted the release of a tribute album titled Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them which included covers by Babes in Toyland, L7, Sonic Youth and the Lunachicks.
Since 2016 the band’s line-up has consisted of Naoko on lead vocals and guitar, Atsuko on bass and vocals and Risa Kawano on drums and vocals. Atsuko is also the fashion designer responsible for the band’s homemade Mondrian-inspired matching stage outfits. And despite Kawano having served only about a decade behind the drums with the group, the knife runs much deeper than that—her first ever concert experience was seeing Shonen Knife live when she was a teenager.
Although the band has toured regularly and released 22 studio albums in their 44 years of existence (in addition to releasing literal armloads of singles, live recordings and compilations), 2025 has proven to be an invigorating belle époque for the trio. In addition to the highly sought-after self-produced 1982 release Minna Tanoshiku (or Everybody Happy) being reissued on LP/CD for the first time ever through P-Vine Records, Shonen Knife is currently touring across the United States for the first time in six years, with a gig slated for this Saturday at Meow Wolf.
Naoko tells SFR her “most favorite part of performing in the USA is the reaction of the audience is so cheerful and energetic. I can get energy from the audience.”
Santa Fe concert-goers can expect to hear deep cuts ranging all the way from the band’s earliest albums through their rollicking latest offerings. 2019’s Sweet Candy Power and 2023’s Our Best Place both overflow with the same high-energy pop punk and positive lyrics upon which Shonen Knife was founded. On the track “Girl’s Rock,” Naoko sings “Throw away your boredom, let’s start girl’s rock/Try to start from just a small thing/Don’t be afraid, you can change the world.”
That’s a sentiment in which Naoko truly believes.
“Make unique music,” she tells SFR, “and do it for as long as you can. I think continuing [a] band is real rock!”
Continuing with their long-running tradition of singing about candy, the title track on Sweet Candy Power serves as an all-out anthem, while “Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches” hits more like a torch song to soundtrack your next sugarcoated adventure on a beautiful summer day. If knowing is half the battle, then now you know, punker. It’s not every day Santa Feans have an opportunity to brush up against international underground deities. So whether you’re a crusty old-head or a bubblegum popper, get ready to strap on a smile and rock out with power pop legends Shonen Knife.
Shonen Knife: 8 pm Saturday, Oct. 11. $33 (add $21.64 for optional exhibit entry). Meow Wolf, 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369
