Shinobu

Shinobu is an Indie rock band formed San Jose, California in 2002. Shinobu's notoriously frenetic shows weren’t born of anger or aggression but rather, a sort of whimsical abandon. Instead of mindless party rock, they played thoughtful acoustic ballads full of existential musings and driving, bouncy twee pop with wildly off-kilter drumming, and angular art-rock with distinctly fractured guitar riffs. They were at once all things and nothing, easy to love but impossible to classify —which, unfortunately, might explain why they’ve existed only on the fringe of DIY music culture for all these years. Shinobu’s enduring influence is undeniable. Their 2006 album Worstward Ho! marked a turning point for San Jose’s Asian Man Records, arguably paving the way for other acts that eschewed punk’s sound but not its ethics—bands like Joyce Manor, Lemuria, Cheap Girls, Touche Amore, Brave Little Abacus, PUP, and Andrew Jackson Jihad. Their South Bay practice space became the only place worth playing for underground bands looking for shows near San Jose—a city typically overshadowed by Bay Area counterparts Oakland and San Francisco ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The other 'Shinobu' is A synth-pop duo consisting of Shinobu Narita and Ken Asama The former went on to form techno-pop unit Urban Dance and was also a member of 4-D. Shinobu Narita (vocals, guitar, keyboards, tape) Ken Asama (synthe-bass, noises, tapes) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.