Thursday, September 25, 2014
Erica Rivera Profiles BH Button Company
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Erica Rivera Interviews Shonen Knife
Q&A: Shonen
Knife
Since Shonen Knife’s first rehearsal in 1981, the Japanese punk
trio has endured decades of recording and touring the globe. While the
threesome’s lineup has changed over the years, its fun, danceable brand of songs
about food (“Banana Chips,” “Broccoli Man”) and cats (“Giant Kitty”) garnered
the band a cult following and heavyweight fans like Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and
Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.
Known for its energetic live show, coordinating outfits, and
upbeat attitude, Shonen Knife is a shameless aural indulgence. The band’s
latest release, this year’s “Overdrive,” was inspired less by punk and more by
‘70s rock but still contains the edible and animal influences that longtime
listeners love.
Naoko Yamano, the only remaining member from the original
Shonen Knife lineup, spoke to Vita.mn in anticipation of the band’s 1000th
performance at the Turf Club.
Q: Shonen Knife has been around for over 30 years.
How have you and the music changed over time?
A: I’ve never changed. My ability to play the guitar has
progressed. My skill of writing songs has progressed, too. But my spirit, my
rogue spirit, is forever the same. I never look back. I just look forward. I
can’t believe that so many years have passed.
Q: Did you ever desire to do a solo project?
A: If I had enough time, I’d like to try to do a solo
project, but I’m very busy with Shonen Knife and my own life so I can’t do
that. Also, I’m very lazy. Shonen Knife is enough.
Q: What kind of music inspires you?
A: At the beginning, I was inspired by late ‘70s
pop-punk music like the Ramones or the Buzzcocks, but I like to listen to
various music, even death metal or disco or classical music. In the past five,
six years, I like to listen to ‘70s American rock or British hard rock like
Judas Priest or Black Sabbath. I’m very flexible.
Q: A lot of your songs are about food. What is it
about food that you find so fascinating?
A: I just love to eat. I especially like sweets—chocolate
or cake. I’m so ashamed to write about love and I think songs about political
things are sad or hard. I like to make people happy through our music so I pick
happy topics like food or animals.
Q: You seem to have an optimistic outlook. Where does
that come from?
A: It’s not conscious. I’m not sure.
Q: What’s your favorite place that you’ve toured?
A: If I pick one city, the other cities will get sad,
so I can’t choose.
Q: Okay, then tell me what your favorite thing about
living in Japan
is.
A: Living in Japan ,
we have tons of delicious food. Japanese food is very healthy and tasty, very
light and not so greasy. Also, living in Osaka ,
the public transportation is very convenient. We have the subway, and I can go
downtown very easily.
Q: Tell me about the band’s fashion sense. Who decides
on the outfits?
A: We always wear matching costumes and our costumes
are inspired by ‘60s and ‘70s designers. My younger sister, Atsuko, our
original drummer, was a professional clothing designer and designed our stage
costumes and made them by herself.
Q: If you hadn’t been a musician, what career would
you have pursued?
A: Pro tennis player. [Laughs.] I like to
watch tennis. I’m watching the U.S. Open.
Q: What do you foresee as the future of the band?
Will you still be playing 30 years from now?
A: As long as I’m alive. I don’t know how long I can
keep my health or go abroad but I am fine so far. I cannot imagine but I’d like
to keep playing, keep on rocking, as long as I can.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Sept. 2014.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Sept. 2014.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Erica Rivera Interviews The Buzzcocks
Q&A: Buzzcocks
The Buzzcocks are legendary for their role in launching the British
punk movement. Formed in 1976, the Manchester
foursome’s ageless sound is marked by heavy riffs and classic melodies. Initially
independent, the Buzzcocks signed to United Artists in 1977, then promptly incited
controversy with the release of their single “Orgasm Addict.” Deemed too
explicit for BBC radio, the “godfathers of pop-punk” didn’t let censorship stop
them. They’ve since released nine studio albums, inspired bands like REM,
Nirvana, and Green Day, and continue to tour the world.
Longtime guitarist and vocalist Steve Diggle spoke to
Vita.mn from his room at the Hotel Rouge in Washington D.C.
Q: Your new album “The Way” has been called the
Buzzcocks’ “White Album.” How do you feel about that comparison?
A: It kind of makes sense in some ways. It’s a
similar theme. Catchy songs but not necessarily “That’s the hit. That’s the
album track.” It has that sense of flavor.
Q: How do you think has the punk movement changed
since the Buzzcocks started in the ‘70s?
A: Essentially punk was about attitude, so anyone who
got into punk rock had the attitude before getting into the songs. When we
started, there was The Clash, the Sex Pistols—there were about five bands in England —and in
the States there were Talking Heads and Blondie and things. There weren’t that
many punk rock bands around in ’76. [Punk is] like the Bible, it’s been
interpreted many different ways since when we started.
Q: Isn’t punk also about rebellion? What do you think
young people rebel against today?
A: Lots of things, even if they’re rebelling against
themselves for not rebelling! That’s part of the job of being young, to
question things like that.
It’s difficult in music now because of the financial thing.
It’s like anybody coming from the underground don’t get a break like the
commercial kind of stuff. The music business is run by accountants now, not
artistic people. That’s what ruined it. It’s finance over art. You’re not getting
as many wacky or inventive things. You’re getting more conveyor belt stuff
that’s going to sell. That’s the whole system of it. That’s the thing to
rebel against.
Q: Is there anything you haven’t done yet that you
would still like to do, musically?
A: Yes, I feel like I only just started. Always along
the way, you’re discovering yourself each day, like we all are, whatever we do.
If I knew what there was left to be discovered, there would be no future. I
could live my life in 10 minutes. There’s still a lot of spirit inside me that thinks
there are things coming around the corner, artistically. It don’t have to be a
million miles different, you know?
It’s like having sex. When you’re having sex with someone
the first time, it’s great. Then it gets into one phase and another. Then
you’ve got to look into taking it to different levels on a daily basis. That’s
the kind of thing married people will tell you. [Laughs]
There’s many albums I want to do. I don’t think I’ll live
long enough to do so many albums I’d like to do.
Q: Do you have any regrets about your career?
A: No, it’s all been fantastic, really. There
probably are bits and pieces you think you’d like to do again, but they’re not
really regrets. You can’t go to the grave thinking, “I really should have done
this and that.” I’ve been fortunate to be one of those people who figured that
out early on and thought, “Jump in and go for it because you might never get a
chance to do whatever again.” That goes from songwriting to partying to getting
in all kinds of streaks and situations and wild things.
Q: Speaking of wild things, what is touring like now
that you’re older?
A: It’s a little bit tamer on the partying front only
because the recovery time is harder. After the shows, we used to do a lot of
partying. It’s kind of part of it: meeting people and having a few drinks and
having crazy bits of fun on the road. But that’s a little bit less now because
I kinda like to wake up and make breakfast in the hotel rather than sleep in
and miss it all. It’s still great to do the actual shows. We’ve been doing it
that long that we are attuned to this way of life, that almighty life of
wandering the planet.
There are bands that can’t handle being on the road after a
while, dealing with the psychology of living with yourself on the road. There’s
a lot of time in hotel rooms when you have to come to terms with yourself. A
lot of folks can’t do that. All kinds of things can come into their minds that
disrupt them. They have to have escapism. It’s a big problem. That’s why bands
split up.
Q: To what do you attribute the Buzzcocks’ longevity?
A: It’s still the songs. They sound like they was
made last week. They’re timeless. You always feel current and in the now rather
than just playing as if you’re reviving the past.
We stuck to our guns, too. We didn’t play the game of
commercialism. We made the songs we wanted to make, songs of realism and the
human condition, which people relate to. We ain’t bullshittin’ them. And we
ain’t writing songs that we were hoping were going to be hits.
And the pleasure of playing. The band’s just gotten better
over the years. The interaction between us, the spirituality of the band, it’s
like, “We’re generating electricity up here!” When the crowd comes alive and we
come alive, the magic happens in the middle. That’s the whole reason for doing
it.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Sept. 2014.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Sept. 2014.
Labels:
Buzzcocks,
Interviews,
Music,
Musicians,
Online Content,
Q and A,
Steve Diggle,
Vita MN,
Web Writing
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Erica Rivera Featured in St. Paul Almanac 2015
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Erica Rivera Profiles The Beez Kneez
Erica Rivera profiled The Beez Kneez, a honey delivery service that also educates about, and advocates on the behalf of, bees. Read the feature in the September issue of Minnesota Business magazine.
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