Screaming Females Interview
By: Matt Anaya |
Thursday June 11, 2009 |
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still signed to local record label |
| The Screaming Females (guitarist/singer Marissa Paternoster, drummer Jarrett Dougherty and bassist King Mike) hail from New Brunswick, NJ and live and breathe their hometown. They love it for the punk rock scene they grew up on playing at the Parlor where they threw house shows in the basement before the landlord decided to “kick the punks out.” They have played over 300 shows, all booked by the drummer Jarrett who plays marketer and booking agent while he has time to spare. “I've been having to spend a ridiculous amount of time with paperwork,” says Jarrett. This DIY mentality and their dedication to the grind has led them to opening up for Dinosaur Jr. and more notably Jack White’s latest musical venture Dead Weather. Although receiving high amounts of praise, the Screaming Females insist it is not going to their heads. When asked who are they more excited to open for, Dinosaur Jr. or Dead Weather, Jarrett said, “I'm pretty excited to be able to open for Shellshag every other night of our west coast tour. They are one of the best bands in the world.” How did you guys meet? Marissa: Mike and I met in high school. We grew up two blocks away from each other in Elizabeth, NJ. We didn't start spending time together until I graduated from high school. We started a band called Surgery on T.V. with a couple other kids from our neighborhood. That band lasted about six months until our keyboard player left and went to college. I met Jarrett in college at Rutgers University at a club meeting for a school-funded record label. I had two songs on the compilation that the label put out that Jarrett was fond of, so he introduced himself and we stayed in touch. Jarrett was actually in Surgery on T.V. for a little while, but we disbanded shortly after he joined and eventually we turned into Screaming Females. That's a long story short. It's missing some details. Real names? King Mike is that your birth name? King Mike: Yes. How did you come up with the band name? Jarrett: The story of how we got our band name actually isn't that interesting. What is more interesting is that it took us a long time to decide on one. We actually played our first show with a different name because we couldn't decide on a permanent one. That name is too vulgar to speak aloud. When we finally came across Screaming Females we all kind of took a moment and nodded yes. I think the name means something different to each of us. It is definitely a particular image but the meaning is kind of ambiguous. I like that about it. Musical influences? Jarrett: All I've been listening to is reggae and Talking Heads. Reading 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' changed my life almost as much as the first time I saw a band play in a basement (it was in New Brunswick, NJ. The were called The Atomic Missiles). Marissa: I saw PJ Harvey last night with my Dad. That is my influence of the week. King Mike: The Three Chord Monty on WFMU in New Jersey. You guys are getting a lot of hype, specifically from Dinosaur Jr, Dead Weather, Henry Rollins, Throwing Muses, etc … are you guys comfortable with this new hype? King Mike: Yes. Jarrett: Things really haven't changed that much for us personally. I've been having to spend a ridiculous amount of time with paperwork that I never had to deal with when we were just playing DIY shows. We like playing to lots of new people and with great sound systems which is something you get with bigger shows. There are trade offs but we've spent 4 years playing smaller shows so it is kind of cool to be able to play these more legit venues with renowned artists that have been huge influences on us. How does it feel to open up for Dead Weather? Jarrett: We haven't done it yet so we will have to see. It will be the first time we have ever played for more than 1000 people at once. I can't really predict how that is going to feel. I think that it is amazing that they asked us to do the tour without our inquiring into it. People from Third Man Records and the bassist from The Dead Weather saw us play in Nashville and that's why we got asked to do it. Seems like a reward for touring hard. More excited to open for Dinosaur Jr. or Dead Weather or another band? King Mike: That's a tough one. Jarrett: I'm pretty excited to be able to open for Shellshag every other night of our west coast tour (we are trading headlining spots)! They are one of the best bands in the world. I’ve read how Marissa is already ascending up the list of female punk rock legends…Marissa are you comfortable with that? Marissa: Where the hell did you read that? I'd be flattered if that happened some day, but I think most legends have to die before they are handed their title. So no, I'm not comfortable with it. Not looking forward to dying. Marissa has been dubbed the “new generation of female shredders”, do you consider yourself one of the best? If not who is better? Marissa: No. I think it's unfair to rank players according to skill, everyone just plays differently and it's not necessarily better or worse. King Mike: I'd say nobody is better. You guys are pretty young, at what age did you start taking this stuff serious? King Mike: We always took it seriously. We've been a band for four years so...nineteen minus four...I was sixteen at the time. Actually, probably fifteen. Yeah, fifteen. It was never a joke. Even when I was fifteen. Usually when you're fifteen everything is a joke. Marissa: I was eighteen when we started this band. Jarrett was twenty one. You seem really happy about working with the Don Giovanni label…why? Jarrett: Because Joe from Don Giovanni was very serious about putting as much behind this project as we were putting into it. He really cares about putting out good music and not about making money or selling records or adding numbers to his catalogue. King Mike: And he' s a funny dude. I read a review: They are the of music that blows minds; changes lives, the kind that re-ignites and redefines what music means, do you guys think you have that much influence? Jarrett: On a good night, I'd say that people are pretty moved after we play. But sometimes people just stand around. There's been less of that lately. Tell me about the vibe when you play a show in New Brunswick (home city), you say a party in New Brunswick is an entirely different affair. King Mike: First of all, there are no kegs at shows. No assholes. Jarrett: Things you regularly see that a New Brunswick party (but NOT at a show): a ratio (if you are male you have to bring at least 2 females). A keg (people absolutely won't go to a party if there isn't free booze). Nobody there before 11:30pm (shows start at 6pm or 7pm, way before the party people are even dressed). Disgusting sexual advances. Favorite places to play? Marissa: My favorite place to play used to be the Parlor in New Brunswick, NJ. They threw house shows in the basement and King Mike and Jarrett used to live there. Jarrett: The landlord decided it was time to run the punks out. You guys are known for your wild live shows, is that natural? Jarrett: We typically don't plan out our set until about ten minutes before we play. We definitely don't plan theatrics. King Mike: But we should. What does the future hold for Screaming Females? Jarrett: Hopefully we get to keep playing big shows with some of our favorite musicians and we get to keep doing it for a long time. It is always a struggle to figure out what parts of the band to keep control of ourselves and what parts to allow other people to handle. Hopefully as we get more and more people to help keep Screaming Females moving forward they are people we can feel comfortable with and have on board for a long time. Is Marissa humble or does she think she is the star of the band? King Mike: I think she's the star of the band. There is no denying it. I think she knows it too. Jarrett: Getting up in front of people and playing an instrument and hoping they pay attention is one of the least humble things I can't think of doing. On stage it is obvious that Marissa is going to get a lot of the attention. Off the stage everyone in the band has an equal say and has parts they take care of running. Jarrett, you said you really liked playing in Detroit, any particular reason why? Jarrett: We've only played Detroit once and it was great! We played Trumbullplex which is the type of space that every town should have. A long-running well organized performance space open to new and interesting artists. Those are the kind of places people should go to. Those are the spots were you see the brink of art. You can go and stand on the edge. Also Detroit's the home of Motown and the Funk Brothers. Got to respect that. |
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