Poor Betty! So, I didn't know that you knew Japanese, Paul! Did you pick some up just for the interview? Also, were you surprised that there were 3 of them? I notice that the quote above refers to a "duo"....

Betty is okay! She got hit by the door right at the beginning of the interview. All the other footage of her was taken after that. I took two semesters of Japanese in college, but didn't study well enough to learn anything useful. I wasn't expecting Atsuko to be there. She's Naoko's sister, and an original member of the band. I had heard she retired from the band and that Naoko and Etsuko were the only two official band member now. I believe that's why the Boston Globe referred to them as a...

Tell Betty thanks for taking one for the team! Glad to hear she's ok. I'm a big Shonen Knife fan, so it was really fun to hear what they're up to now. Can't wait for the new album.

I caught up with the Japanese rock sensation Shonen Knife at Chop Suey in Seattle, Washington.  We talked about their new album, explored guitarist Naoko Yamano's love of 70's British metal bands, and attempted to introduce the band to my...