interview & live photos by Morgan Y. Evans
LINKS:
I was very pleased to be invited by band founder and bassist/co-vocalist Nonlee Boogie (ex-CUNT55) to a killer Highteen show at Otto’s Shrunken Head recently, one of several New York rock bars that still truly carry the torch and have great shows all the time. I made sure I stayed in town an extra day to catch the act. I don’t live in the city anymore but was more than thrilled to stay extra so I could walk around New York more and catch a band that really knows what they want to say and how to convey it. These girls are smart, talented, beautiful and rock n’ roll to the core.
After a dynamite set to a packed room at Otto’s, I chilled out at the front of house bar with Nonlee and she explained an important point that separates Highteen from being lumped into Japanese Girl Punk, all the same category. “Shonen Knife is a good band, but many people think Japanese girls and it means sexy and that’s it. They are a good band, but they are Pussy. We are Cunt!”
Working on a full-length record with producer David Iseley currently,
this is an indie band who are not to be missed . Highteen live are a dynamic
and forceful tornado of shouting punk yelps, forget-me-not ‘60s
pop melody and high octane, set your feet on fire riffs and backbeat.
Nonlee and guitarist Yuka own the front of the stage like they have something
to teach you, and the feel and presence to back it up, while drummer Hitomi
is hard to take your eyes off of, not only because of her very good looks
but because she is beating the crap out of a drum kit and it rules so
much! If only every moment of my life was as good as a Highteen Boogie
show I would never, ever complain!
MORGAN Y. EVANS: So, Nonlee, your band started in 1997 and then you went back to Japan for a while but came back to rock some more! How did the band start and why did you leave and then return from Japan? You used to play in a band, CUNT55, right?
NONLEE: Yeah,
I was in the band called CUNT55. When the other members were going back
to Japan, I decided to stay in NY. I met Yuka at Sushi party in my friend’s
house in ‘97. Then we made this band! I went back to Japan to eat
more Sushi. Then I came back last year, because now I want to have some
Pizza!
NONLEE: I love this town because so many interesting things keep happening. Good things and even bad things. I'm having fun making songs!!! Cosmopolitan feeling is the best in this city.
MYE: The band has a sound that is fun and punk and rude/sassy. Not every note is perfect but it sounds better that way! Nonlee, tell me about how seeing Joey Ramone play when you came to New York in the ‘90s helped you decide to stay here.
NONLEE: When I saw him at The Continental in ‘96, he was just hanging out there. Unfortunately, there was some Japanese groupie flirting all over him, so I didn't say hi to him. (He had a hard time....... got really annoyed looking.) But it felt like I was in that movie, Rock'n'Roll High School! Real Joey Ramone! What else could be better!?
MYE: As a band, how did you get into playing rock’n'roll music and what was your first favorite record when you were a kid? You used to live above a Karaoke Bar in the ‘80s, Nonlee, right?
YUKA: My first experience of playing Rock was in High School. One of my friends who plays bass asked me to sing two songs with her band. One was a Japanese pop song and the other one was Joan Jett's “I Love Rock ’n Roll”. That was fun but was hard to remember the lyrics, so I wrote lyrics on my palm. I sing Enka (Japanese soul music) with Karaoke.
HITOMI: "London Calling" by The Clash was my first favorite...I love CLASH! We formed band when I was middle school, played punk rock. And, biggest influence is my father for a drummer. He gave me a lot of passion for Rock. He had many records of British rock, like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Queen and The Who. But I love to listen to punk rock. I learned 8 beats from my dad when I was 8.
NONLEE: When I was a kid, huge Karaoke boom had come. My house was surrounded by bars, and Karaoke was full volume booming by dawn.
MYE: That sounds great!
NONLEE: I was hearing bass notes by sleeping in it. I just love the rock’n'roll sound since I was baby. My favorite album is by Dead Kennedys, Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death. It reminds me of teenage passion a lot. I've listened to this many, many, many times.
NONLEE: It's a song about the busy pet shop in holiday season.
MYE: [laughing]"Romantic" is very catchy. I love that your songs are so catchy but dirty punk. The melody sounds like the 1960's. I was singing this after I heard it and made me happy even while washing dishes and doing things that are a pain in the ass around the house! Is "Romantic" about any crushes or just about love in general?
NONLEE: It fell into my head from heaven! Since then, this song is always staying in my head.
MYE: So, you are releasing an album soon? What is it going to be called and what can we look forward to? Will it have a lot of songs like the Ramones used to do?
NONLEE: We are working hard now. We are not sure about title yet but soon we will let you guys know!
MYE: How long did it take to record your album and where did you do it? You seem to be a band that knows what you like and want to do, but maybe do it in a punk way that is more relaxed and fun. There are cool rock’n’roll solos but, it seems like you would blast out the songs kind of fast when recording and they would be good. What does producer David Iseley do for the band?
YUKA: We knocked out 17 songs right away, and recorded each song 3 times. So that’s about 50 songs we recorded within a 3 hour period. The engineers at AM Studio said impossible. But with an organized producer like David Iseley, we were able to be ourselves and fly through the recording without any major nightmares, and that enabled us to cut a lot of corners.
NONLEE: Three hours. David Iseley is our good friend, and he is very nice & cool.
MYE: That’s incredible and great! How did Hitomi come into the band as the new drummer? Did you know her a long time and what happened?
YUKA: I heard through the grapevine that there was a hot drummer playing at The Delancey Lounge next to the Williamsburg Bridge. She wasn’t just hot, she was powerful. First rehearsal was magic.
NONLEE: Yuka
found her. We met the end of last year. And we're having such a fun here
and now.
MYE: What are some of your favorite other bands to play
with or things you like about the rock’n'roll nightlife in New York
nowadays?
YUKA: My favorite band is CUNT55, Nonlee’s former band. One day, about 10 years ago, one of my friends took me for their show at The Continental. That was the first time I ever saw the CUNT55. They shocked me. This experience made me decide to start to play guitar. CUNT55 and me became friend instantly. After that, Nonlee decided to stay in NYC, not going back to Japan. A few months later, she called me and asked me to play together as a new band. Can you imagine how happy I was? Then she found the first drummer for us and we started to play music as Highteen Boogie.
HITOMI: I don't really care about partying. I love to do the shows in many different clubs. Too bad those good old rock clubs has been closed in the city.
NONLEE: You dig our music, it means YOU ARE COOL! I like Funkface, and The Royal Lowkick Manah.
MYE: Sometimes
it is hard because people are very picky or lame and won't
dance. I like that your band name seems to say "You Must Dance!"
or else people will feel stupid!
YUKA: I love my band name, specially, “BOOGIE” part. Rock’n’Roll, Boogie, all those mean “SEX”. I like to be relaxed, I don’t wanna be uptight. Most of things we’re dealing in everyday life shouldn’t be a big deal to make yourself crazy. “Don’t be uptight, let’s BOOGIE” is what I really mean.
NONLEE: Yep. All I wanna do is having fun with R'n'R.
MYE: Have you ever had Hitachino Nest beer?
YUKA: No
MYE: It is
Japanese and I love it! I tried the White Ale last week and fell in love
with it! It is from Ibaraki-ken Naka-gun, Japan, wherever that is in Japan,
I don't know! But it is so tasty! It has a cute owl on the bottle. I wish
I had some right now!!!!
Here's a link: beeradvocate.
com/beer/profile/697/2013/
YUKA: I never tried the beer, but the owl looks so cute in the website. I love beer, buy me one.
MYE: It is hard to find but we will drink this together someday! Ok, lastly, what do you hope 2009 brings for music, for you and for the world?
YUKA: Peace and food for everyone.
HITOMI: NYC used to have a smell of Rock'n'Roll, from the people and the town. Now it became more conservative. I really wish that the age of Rock will come back again. I believe it will! What R&R means to me is "Passion, destruction, and revolution." I want to play shows in many good clubs!
NONLEE: Love and miracles. More happy energy.
