ZapTown

[Written by Karen Shaver and Yuri Duncan]
Screaming Females will be performing at Greek’s Pizzeria in Bloomington on May 21.

As far as I can tell, there is only one over-21 venue in New Brunswick, New Jersey. As a result, an underground, under-age scene reminiscent of the old school CBGB days has formed. The scene belongs to the kids who love their hard core punk rock & roll and you can find a show on almost every night of the week and they’re almost all in basements.  This is where Screaming Females (not THE Screaming Females, by the way) comes in.

Jarrett Dougherty plays bass, King Mike plays drums, and yes, there is only one female in the group: singer and lead guitar player, Marissa Paternoster who has been wailing on her G&L Stratocaster since she was 15.
Back to the NJ underground scene:
Jarrett recalls, “The cops don’t like the punks having shows, even though they are run really well and provide a safe space for a lot of misfits. The cops didn’t seem to have a problem with the frat houses.”  Jarrett also makes a good point regarding punk’s misconception by the way it is misrepresented by advertisers. “Most people think of punk as a historic music style, or the shit style of music that Warped Tour and Hot Topic have co-opted the name to sell clothes to confused and angry teens.”
Even though SF is known for bearing the DIY torch along side many legendary DIY bands that came before them, don’t let their new signed status with Don Giovanni records fool you.

Judging by the size of their tour dates and a ton of new exposure they are happy with the way the label has handled their band’s business side of things.
The band is also currently celebrating their fifth anniversary, which has Jarrett thinking about their tenth anniversary: “We are also going to hit our 500th show mark this year, which made me think about our 1000th show. Screaming Females is the longest relationship I’ve been in.”
The first two self released EPs received wild reviews by fans and when it comes to the new experience of recording with a label’s support, they stick to their roots and the ironic twist behind the actual type of music they are producing.  As far as the recording progress goes in the studio, nothing has changed.

“We record to analog tape and mixed down to analog tape which makes the record have a different sound, and also makes you think about the recording process differently. It sounds like rock and roll.”  Dougherty notes.  “Songs usually begin their conception when someone plays a riff and the other two start playing along. We’ve all become very good at listening to suggestions.”

The songwriting process between the musicians is entirely a collaborative process. Dougherty continues, “We’ve all become very good at listening to suggestions from each other.”  Its Marissa’s guitar playing that adds the essence of interlude and integration this band’s sound has to offer the world. Learning to play when she was 14 years old and introduced to a Fender/Music Master, she indulged in old school punk rock. Although initially influenced by The Pixies, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, PJ Harvey and Pavement, it was Billy Corgan and John Fahey who became her real guitar heroes.

Marissa plays Screaming Females sets with a G&L Stratocaster her cousin introduced to her at 15. Her collection of guitars ranges from a 59 Gibson Melody Maker, Silvertone semi-hollow body, 69 telecaster reissue and a fender duo. Oh, and she has a guitar shaped like a shark that she bought off the internet.
This past year the band toured with the Arctic Monkeys. Their most memorable tour moment happened one night while sleeping on someone’s apartment floor. Mike remembers “At 8 am in Huston, Texas two guys walked into the apartment. First they got really excited about the colors of all of the seven sleeping bags then started blasting Frank Sinatra and eating psychedelic mushrooms and maple syrup. That was about the time we left.”

Screaming Females music is absolutely enlighteningly engaging in all of the punk rock riffs and attitude that punk rockers love and live by.  Marissa’s guitar playing is phenomenal. She plays as if she had a 50 year career behind her. When asked if when would consider herself a role model, she answers with a humble, “Gee I feel way too young to be a role model, ask me in ten years.”

When asked who she would like to collaborate with Screaming Females in the future she mentioned how she has; “Always wanted the Vienna Boy’s Choir to do some backups”.  They are proud to be part of the huge DIY current that continues to flow across world.  Jarrett notes. “There are hundreds of people all across the country that open their houses and run DIY show spaces just to allow bands to be able to tour through their towns. Punk is an arm of American folk music. It has included The Minutemen, Beat Happening, Fugazi, and This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb. I definitely feel like this is part of who we are as a band.”