Screaming Females



A post-punk trio based out of New Brunswick, NJ. Marissa Paternoster (guitar, vocals) and "King Mike" Abbote (bass) teamed up with drummer Jarrett Dougherty while students at Rutgers University. Although the campus and surrounding town were lacking in venues where bands and fans under the legal drinking age could get together, the "Screamales" took advantage of New Brunswick's quasi-legal house/basement show circuit and quickly began generating audience buzz, mostly from Paternoster's un-punk-rock guitar shredding and primal-scream vocals.

As of 2012, they have released five full-length CD's (BABY TEETH, WHAT IF SOMEONE IS WATCHING THEIR T.V.?, POWER MOVE, CASTLE TALK, and the Steve Albini-produced UGLY) and an anthology of early vinyl-only singles. Firm believers in the DIY/don't-sell-out ethos, they have also managed to tour both the States and abroad and even appear on late-night network TV, all without major record-label or talent-agency backing.


 * All Drummers Are Animals: Averted - Jarrett is intelligent, well-spoken, and handles much of the band's business matters.
 * All Guitars Are Stratocasters: Subverted. Marissa's guitar looks like a Strat, but is actually made by G&L, the company co-founded by former Fender Guitars honcho Leo Fender.
 * (Mike, on the other hand, will be a candidate for "All Basses are Rickenbacker 4001s" when that trope is finally created…)
 * Alternative Rock: As a teenager, Marissa's two favorite bands were Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage.
 * Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson unwittingly returned the favor - and gained the band some new fans - when she posted a picture of Marissa and Mike in concert on her Facebook page under the topic "New Bitches to Carry the Torches."
 * Animated/SurrealMusicVideo: This (potentially NSFW).
 * Basement Band
 * Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Marissa is The Chick, Jarrett the Smart Guy, Mike the Big Guy.
 * Blinding Bangs
 * Careful with That Axe: Marissa averages several blood-curdling screams per album.
 * Celebrity Is Overrated: They've been known to help opening bands move their gear off stage in order to set up their own equipment – not as a "hurry it up" move, but a genuine "here, let me help you" gesture. Marissa actively campaigns to have other New Brunswick bands on the bill with them, and hangs out in the crowd to watch them perform.
 * Cover Version: Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer."
 * More recently, Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy."
 * Harsh Vocals
 * Irony: There's only one "female" in the band. She does, however, scream quite a bit.
 * Limited Wardrobe: Marissa's onstage uniform of shin-length "granny dress" and dark tights. Regardless of the ambient temperature.
 * Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness – About a 4 to 5.
 * Nobody Loves the Bassist: In this video, Mike's entire job is to hold Marissa's tiny amplifier. And not blink. (Doubles as an example of Leave the Camera Running...)
 * Performance Video: Quite a few...
 * Punk Rock / Post Punk
 * Rock Trio
 * Shrinking Violet – Marissa has described her high-school-age self as "unbearably awkward, pimpled, stocky, and brutish" – and insists nothing's changed since.
 * Three Chords and the Truth
 * Two Guys and a Girl: Averted. No, really.
 * Up to Eleven: Subverted - while loud enough, their sense of dynamics shames many of their less-experienced opening bands.
 * When She Smiles: Oh, HELL yeah.