Screaming Females are one of the hardest working, hardest shredding independent punk bands, boasting an incredible frontwoman in Marissa Paternoster.
Last year was the band’s 10th anniversary, and saw the release of their sixth studio album, Rose Mountain. They’re about to grace our shores for the first time in August (dates below), and decided to bring with them a special ‘Australian Tour Edition’ of the record featuring B Sides and demos, and only available here. One such bonus track is ‘Let me In’, which we’re happy to premiere below.
To celebrate the tour and release, drummer Jarrett Dougherty, bassist Michael Abbate, and aforementioned vocalist/guitarist Marissa are taking us through some of the artists – musical or otherwise – who have changed their lives.
Photo by Sean O’Kane
Shellshag
When I first encountered Shellshag they were instantly legendary in my mind. They would play shows in far-flung small towns. In big cities they seemed to forgo traditional venues in favor of huge, raging DIY shows in parking lots and warehouses. The pictures showed them playing with furious intensity, often in the midst of the crowd. But the songs available online told a different story. Much of their material was subdued ballads of love and loss.
As I came to know John and Jennifer, my respect for their band grew. Their songs and their performances are wrapped up in their love and all the complexities of a decades long romantic relationship. Far from being just a band, Shellshag is an evolving story of two humans and the way they choose to shape the world around them. When we say Screaming Females is a punk rock band, we mean it in the Shellshag sense. Punk rock isn’t a style of music you play but a life you invest in.
Shellshag’s Destroy Me I’m Yours is a legitimate Punk classic. A timeless, perfect record. – Jarrett
The Ergs!
When I got to New Brunswick, NJ there were a lot of bands trying to ride the wave of acts like Thursday and Midtown. Lots of fancy hair and pointy boots. Lots of post-hardcore, some of it more like Discord Records, some more Screamo. I was a lonely nerd just out of high school. The basement punk rock scene seemed to have all this liberatory potential for me but at the moment it often felt like I was still really uncool in a group of cool people.
I spent a few years hanging out with friends in New York City and then did a semester abroad. When I got back to New Brunswick I discovered a trio a truly nerdy guys playing very “uncool” Pop Punk music like their lives depended on it. And not only were The Ergs! drawing crowds of pogoing kids in our hometown, they were relentlessly traveling the country and releasing 7″ records, all without the least bit of posturing. I had never seen a band tour and release records with such disregard for music industry staples such as management, booking agents, proper label support, etc. It was a beautiful thing! The first tour I tried to book for us I managed to get exactly one show (which we drove 8 hours to play for no one). For our second tour Joe Erg sat me down with a map and showed me all the little punk rock towns scattered across America and I managed to put together a full two weeks of shows. We never looked back.
‘DorkRockCorkRod’ by The Ergs! defined a sound and an era of underground, independent American music. – Jarrett
Todd Congelliere
(FYP, Toys That Kill, The Underground Railroad to Candyland)
My entry point into the world of Todd Congelliere and Recess Records was through when I saw The Underground Railroad to Candyland play. I was blown away. I had never seen a band that tight look like they actually enjoyed being on stage. There was no pretense. There was no posturing. It was just cool as hell. I was instantly hooked. I picked up a copy of their first album, ‘Bird Roughs,’ and it quickly became one of my favorite albums of all time. I then delved into his whole catalog, picking up used FYP albums whenever I came across them in record stores, and illegally downloading the newer Toys That Kill and Stoned at Heart albums. (Sorry, Todd.)
A couple of years later, a short, silly documentary about Todd and the label was posted online – entitled “How to Make a Record Label”. At the time, I was feeling confused about what I was doing with my life. How much longer could I play in a punk band, before I had to grow up and get a “real” job? In a way, that short profile validated my lifestyle. At one point, Todd says that he is “the most successful person in music,” because he has been able to support himself by running a DIY punk label and playing in bands for over 20 years. That redefinition of success made a huge impact on me.
Over the years, I have been lucky enough to become friends with Todd, as well as all of his incredible band mates, and every so often I remind them all of the important role that their band has played in my life; it’s always really awkward, but I’m glad that they know. – Michael
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
When I first picked up a guitar at 14 years old, The Brian Jonestown Massacre was a huge influence on me. My older brother introduced me to them. Their music felt more human than anything that I had ever heard before. It felt attainable, like something that I could actually do. Before them, I listened to bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. Those bands were made up of rock stars. They lived on a different planet than the one that I occupied. Their music sounded like millions of dollars. The Brian Jonestown Massacre was the first time that I heard music that felt like a real, live person had recorded it; it made everything that I had heard before feel manufactured and fake.
I quickly switched to playing the bass so that I could try to be in a band with Marissa, but I always kept a guitar around, and taught myself stuff, here and there. The Brian Jonestown Massacre showed me how fun it could be to sit and strum open chords, and how easily you could string them together to create songs. In high school, I spent countless hours strumming along to their albums. I don’t think that it helped me with my bass playing technique, but at least it kept me playing. – Michael
Edith Piaf
I did not discover Edith Piaf’s music until later in life. I became a “serious” music fan around the age of fourteen, but it wasn’t until the age 25 that I even heard Edith’s name. I cannot recall how her record fell into my hands, but I have the distinct memory of hearing “Milord” and feeling that visceral boost one experiences when discovering something they love.
My family thought my interest in Piaf was sort of adorable and funny since she had been dead for over 50 years and sings cabaret music, but there was something about the timbre of her voice that kept me wholly engaged. Anyways, I went through all of the trouble of reading two biographies and, of course, watching the movie (La Vie En Rose), so I fell in love.
For starters, her life story is fascinating, and although it’s entirely unrelatable as I was not birthed by a homeless singer on the Parisian streets, I identified with her struggle. I loved her tenacity, her unapologetic attitude, and of course, her love of music. I am magnetically attracted to women who are not afraid to embrace their shortcomings: and Edith Piaf was one of those women – she had other-worldly talent, humility, weakness, and a lot of love in her heart. – Marissa
LNY // Lunar New Year
My old friend LNY (which is an acronym that stands for Lunar New Year) is a painter and muralist from New Jersey who has spent the last some odd ten years of his life traveling the world making paintings. I was lucky enough to go to school with LNY and also live with him for a year in New Brunswick, NJ. Looking back on it all now, it should come as no surprise that LNY would find great success, as he is absurdly talented, but when I see him now I always find myself thinking, “I can’t believe this person is my friend!” He’s incredible.
LNY embraces the visual arts in the same way that I would like to embrace music. In my perfect world, communities would be consumed by the arts. The healing properties of art cannot be overstated. LNY makes political work, and he makes it huge. He’s a painter who is making work to resurrect dead cities (such as Newark, NJ) and assisting those in need with programs such as Young New Yorkers, an arts program that works that makes art with NYC minors tied up in the (wholly unjust) criminal justice system.
He cares for more than just himself and his visual dialogue exceeds his internal dialogue. He is a great hero of mine, and I am very lucky to call him my friend. – Marissa
See more of his work on his website.
Screaming Females Tour Dates
