by Aidin Vaziri, SF Chronicle

Last year, Yoko Ono revived the Plastic Ono Band for its first studio album in decades, “Between My Head and the Sky.” It’s hard to blame her for the delay; her time has been occupied by making art, campaigning for peace and handling the affairs of her late husband, John Lennon. Ono, 76, tells us it was their son, Sean, who suggested bringing back the group – which at points counted Eric Clapton, Keith Moon and Frank Zappa as members – with a new lineup that includes Japanese indie-rockers Cornelius and Yuka Honda. The Plastic Ono Band kicks off this year’s Noise Pop Festival with a performance Thursday at Oakland’s Fox Theater.

Q: I thought you invented noise pop.

A: I know. Are they going to give me credit for it? It all happened when my mom put me in early music education. I learned chords and melodies there. This is the 1930s. Can you believe it? In Tokyo one of the homework assignments was to listen to all the noise of the day and transpose that into music notes. So sounds and notes were something I was familiar with since I was 4 or 5 years old.

Q: Have you been brushing up on the original Plastic Ono Band records to prepare for the concert?

A: No. It’s all in my mind. I don’t memorize any of my lyrics. That’s the problem. But I know my songs. It just comes to me.

Q: Why bring back the band now?

A: Well, because I should have continued it all my life. I just stopped using it after John passed away. It happened in a very strange way because of Sean. He just called me and said, “Is it all right to use the name?” I said, “Why would we do that?” I blocked it because John passed away. Then I thought about it and I thought, “That’s it.” It’s a band John named for me. For Sean, it’s his dad. It would be wrong to drop it.

Q: Do you and Sean work well together?

A: Yes, we do. It has a lot to do with the fact that he’s a very independently good musician. If it’s his album, I generally won’t interfere. With this, he would make suggestions, but he had a strong sense that it’s my band.

Q: In New York you performed with original band members Eric Clapton and Klaus Voorman, plus guests including Bette Midler, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Paul Simon. Not bad.

A: I know. I wasn’t expecting that. I think Sean created this concert as a tribute to me or something. I know what it is; my birthday is Feb. 18 and it’s a birthday present. I’m not going to ask him because birthday presents are supposed to be a secret, right?

Q: It’s not a very good secret.

A: No, it’s a very public surprise.

Q: To his credit, you’re probably not the easiest person to shop for.

A: Isn’t that funny? He could have given me a pebble or something and it would be easier. {sbox}

To hear Yoko Ono’s music, go to www.imagine