After 17 years together, Tokyo-based alterna rock band Noodles are still going strong. Kirsty Evans sat down with them during their latest trip to the USA as part of the Japan Nite tour to talk about how they got started, what inspires them and their plans for the future.
Kirsty Evans: Hi, welcome to San Francisco. You’ve been here before, correct?
Yoko: Yes, for the past six years we’ve been here once every year.
KE: I read in an interview that a previous trip here made quite an impression on you – wasn’t that part of the inspiration behind your album “Metropolis,” our skyline at night?
Yoko: When we came to San Francisco three years ago we arrived by car across the bridge, so we could really see the scenery, and we took that image for our album because we thought it was very beautiful.
KE: So are you glad to be back? Have you done anything fun here so far?
Yoko: In April this year when we came we played a show and also recorded a few songs at a local studio.
KE: How long were you here for?
Yoko: Three days. We only recorded three songs.
KE: That’s very fast! Speaking of which, since you travel a lot, what’s your favorite city skyline?
Yoko: I used to like New York the best but now I like San Francisco better.
KE: So you’ve been coming here for six years now. When and where was the first time you performed in America?
Yoko: We came for the first time in 2003 to perform at the CMJ event.
KE: How did that first show go? Were you playing to people who knew who you were and what to expect?
Yoko: We didn’t have many fans at the first show, nobody really knew us.
KE: What kind of response did you get?
Yoko: We really had a good time playing because the crowd really welcomed us.
KE: The last time you were here was opening for The Pillows?
Yoko: Yes
KE: How did you get involved with the guy from The Pillows? You’re on his label, correct?
Yoko: We have the same management company, so that’s how we met.
KE: How many years has Noodles been together now?
Yoko: We started with 4 people 17 years ago, but then one left, so it’s been 5 years with just the three of us.
KE: When you started out did you think this would be your career? Did you think you would still be doing this 17 years later?
Yoko: We started the band as just a fun thing, and we really didn’t plan to play for this long.
KE: So were you in high school together when you started?
Yoko: (Laughs) Yes, about then.
KE: I heard that you opened for the Breeders once, was that here or in Japan?
Yoko: In Japan
KE: Were you fans of theirs when you were younger?
Yoko: Yes, we were fans.
KE: So it was fun to play with them?
Yoko: Yes, we were so happy and excited to play with them.
KE: I’m curious because back then there were very few all women bands. I was wondering if it was influential for you to have bands like The Breeders because they proved that women could rock.
Yoko: We thought they were very cool. We admired them.
KE: What other bands influenced you when you were starting out?
Yoko: The Pixies. Also a Japanese band called VIP. Before the Pixies became big I also listened to a lot of British bands.
KE: Is it fun to be part of an all woman show like today and tomorrow? Other than the Breeders show, is that something you’ve ever done before?
Yoko: In Japan, it’s very rare to have only girl bands. We have more chances to do that in the US.
KE: That’s what I’m curious about – how is it different to being in an all girl band in Japan? Is there still resistance to women being in rock and alternative bands? They don’t segregate the girl bands like they tend to do here?
Yoko: There is a sort of border between girl bands and guy bands, and there are fewer girl-only bands on the scene. It’s true, we have the same issue. But sometimes it’s an advantage, because it’s so rare, so it depends.
KE: So if you’re really good maybe it can actually be an advantage because there are so few girl bands?
Yoko: There are so few girl bands that we’re all unique, since there are so few of us, so in a way we get more exposure.
KE: What kind of fans do you have in Japan? What kind of people go to your shows?
Yoko: Not so much teenagers, more late twenties and early thirties.
KE: Are they fans you’ve had since the beginning that grew up with you?
Yoko: No, most of them are more in their late twenties, adults but not college kids, so not the fans who started out with us.
KE: And what kind of people normally come to see you here?
Yoko: We can’t tell how old they are. American people tend not to change their fashion with age so much so we can’t tell, but what I’d like to see is for more young people to be able to come to our shows. Usually we play at venues that are over 21 only, so I wish we could also play at venues where younger people would be able to come.
KE: Have you looked into that? There are a few venues that are all ages, usually at least one in every city.
Yoko: We have played a few places without an age limit, today is one example.
KE: Do you find that when you do play those venues kids do show up?
Yoko: I think that if the ages weren’t restricted there would be more young fans, and we’re hoping to attract younger fans.
KE: You’ve been around for a while now, how has your sound evolved over that time? Has it changed?
Yoko: We’ve pretty much kept the same style over time.
KE: Since you lost one of your guitar players, how has that affected how you approach your live shows?
Yoko: When we used to have two guitars the sound was louder and more complex. Now that we only have one we’ve had to modify the songs to a simpler version of the melodies, so we did have to adjust a little bit.
KE: Before that did you play guitar while you sang?
Yoko: No.
The Tingler film KE: Has it affected how you compose your songs? Who writes most of your material?
Yoko: Both of us (Yoko/vocals and Ikuno/bass) are involved in writing both the music and the lyrics.
KE: Do you (Ayumi/drums) write music at all? Did you ever want to?
Auymi: It’s very hard to write music with drums, I have to rely on someone to play guitar or some other instrument to write good songs, that’s why I prefer to just focus on practicing drums rather than writing music.
KE: Have any of you ever done any side projects? I heard you were involved in a TV project?
Yoko: They used one of our songs as part of a TV drama but none of us really appeared in it.
KE: Did you write a song specifically for them or did they pick one that was already recorded?
Yoko: They asked us to write a song specifically for them.
KE: I noticed that as far as I could find “Metropolis” was the last album you made. Do you have anything new coming out?
Yoko: Since then we also released a new album, “SNAP,” in October last year.
KE: How fast do you usually work?
Yoko: We try to release one CD a year.
KE: After this trip to America is over, what do you have coming up next?
Yoko: In October, we’ll be releasing the songs we recorded in April in San Francisco, plus a DVD.
KE: This is a live DVD?
Yoko: It includes scenes from the America tour.
KE: And after that are there any plans to come back for another American tour soon?
Yoko: We’re not sure yet, but we’re hoping to come back again next year!