By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
OK, I don’t know when these young ladies’ next Akron gig is happening, but if you see the name ShiSho on an area rock club/outdoor festival bill you should check them out because they are guaranteed to make you smile.
For those not in the know (and that included me up until a few days ago, but trust me there will be a story coming in the near future), ShiSho is the duo of Vivian and Midge Ramone of Kent who are 13 and 10, respectively.
They started ShiSho five years ago after Vivian attended a Dead Milkmen reunion show at the age of 8 and when Midge signed autographs with her original artwork.
Yeah, two little girls singing original songs is inherently cute, but the pair, both honor students, are also genuinely talented, witty and just plain funny.
Case in point is the opening verse from their song Rocks N Penalties from their Demo Rainbow Jumpin. Over a hard rock beat and some jaunty acoustic guitar chords, the girls narrate the following verse with considerable flair and energy:
Vivian: I knew the consequences; The old lady pegleg curses anyone who takes her precious lava rocks from the island.
Midge: She’s one sorry Mama Jama!
Vivian: But, don’t take my word for it.
Together: Check Wikipedia!
Vivian: Anyway, I pocketed her rocks and at that moment a coconut hit my head like a double-decker bus, and I saw a rainbow and unicorns and the Smiths reunited. It was wonderful! They were playing Girlfriend in a Coma.
Midge: How ironic!
Vivian: That was when the unicorns started eating the rainbow!
Midge: No, no — unicorns don’t eat the rainbow!
The imaginatively odd song ends with Morrissey flying away to help the sick unicorns (apparently rainbows are poisonous) get to the clinic, which is on the other side of the half-eaten rainbow.
The girls, who placed fifth in the recent Beacon’s Best contest, write their own songs and have a homemade video for their song America Will Punch You. They have also recorded a couple of Christmas EPs for English label Filthy Little Angels including a song called Get Behind Me, Santa that started a friendly beef with indie rocker Sufjan Stevens, who has a song of the same name released after the girls’ recording.
They responded by covering his song. They’ve also covered the Dead Milkmen’s Punk Rawk Girl and New Order’s True Faith as well as Danny and the Juniors’ Rock N Roll Is Here to Stay.
If the notion of young girls playing rock music conjures up audio images of the Shaggs, the quartet of musically inept and innocent Wiggins sisters whose 1969 album Philosophy of the World became a beloved example of ”outsider rock,” you’d be underestimating the talent of the Ramone sisters.
They aren’t young Christina Aguileras or anything but Vivian can carry a tune and you can’t deny Midge’s energy.
The girls are getting some attention having recently played alongside Radio Disney for the Northeast Ohio Girl Scouts Convention in Macedonia, despite Vivian’s assertion that ”we’re pretty much the anti-Disney-type band.” And Corbin Bernsen asked them to submit a song for 25 Hill, his upcoming Soap Box Derby movie shot partially in Akron.
If you’re in Youngstown on Oct. 9, you can check them out at Chris Yambar’s LAWN-CON Comic Book Convention.
As a side project, the girls would like to make Akron the Zombie capital of the world and have dedicated a Facebook page to the endeavor at http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-need-10000-people-to-make-Akron-Ohio-the-Zombie-Capital-of-the-world/137788936250097?ref=ts.SHISHO.
ShiSho – America Will Punch You (Harvey and Felix cover)
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.