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NO AGE LIMIT

Rock from Two Cultures Showcased on the Pier Thursday

By Jorge Casuso

September 1 -- East meets West with a punk rock twist Thursday night when Shonen Knife and The Knack take the stage at the final Twilight Dance series concert of the summer on the Santa Monica Pier.

A huge draw in the LA club scene in the late 1970s, The Knack took the pop world by storm when "My Sharona," propelled by a thunderous hook, shot to the top of the charts, making it one of the biggest selling singles of the rock era.

Soon the band's blend of catchy Beatles-style harmonies with a new wave/punk tinge seemed to blare from radios across the land, winning the band rave reviews for its tightly woven sound.

Rolling Stone magazine heralded The Knack as "the new fab four," and the band's debut album, "Get The Knack," went gold in just 13 days, making it one of the fastest selling debut albums of all time.

After a few stints in the recording studio, the band regrouped in 1986 for a tour, then resurfaced in 1997 on two tribute albums, followed by a sold-out date at Hollywood's Viper Room.

A studio album, "Normal As The Next Guy", was released in 2001, and the following year the band released a DVD/CD combo, "Live From The Rock N' Roll Funhouse."

"We've already had the success you dream about," said lead singer Doug Fieger. "But we've never played our music for that. We play it because this is the only worthwhile pop music to make - fun and sad, silly and smart, explosive but sweet, snide but vulnerable."

The late Kurt Cobain would write: "I'll be the first to admit that we're the '90s version of Cheap Trick or The Knack but the last to admit that it hasn't been rewarding."

Cobain also complemented Thursday night's opening band, Shonen Knife, which opened Nirvana's U.K. tour leading up to the release of their landmark album, Nevermind.

Cobain would say: "When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert."

Sisters Naoko (vocals, guitar) and Atsuko (bass, drums), with pal Etsuko Nakanishi drumming at shows, have been together for more than two decades and are considered one of Japans premier rock bands.

Naoko is known for her unforgettable pop melodies and ironic lyrics, while Atsuko brings a cheerful stage presence that is infectious.

"I feel these twenty years have been very short," Naoko recently told Rolling Stone magazine. "I listened to our first albums again when the reissue was decided, and I feel they are still new, fresh. I'd like twenty-first-century people to listen to them, because maybe they will make many people happy."

But the band is also going in a new direction.

"I write about social topics on our new album," Yamano told Rolling Stone. "I wrote a song about SPAM emails, and about the anime phenomenon. In that song, Atsuko and I become anime characters and speak in anime talk," she said referring to the fast-speaking heroines of the popular Japanese cartoon genre.