Screaming Females were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey comprising Marissa Paternoster on vocals and guitar, Jarrett Dougherty on drums, and Mike Abbate on bass. They released their debut album Baby Teeth in 2006. The band were featured on NPR,[2] Last Call with Carson Daly, and MTV.[3] They played with bands such as Garbage,[4] Throwing Muses, Dinosaur Jr., The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists[5] and The Breeders.[6]

Screaming Females
Marissa Paternoster (left) and Mike Abbate (right), live in Oslo, Norway, 11 August 2012.
Marissa Paternoster (left) and Mike Abbate (right), live in Oslo, Norway, 11 August 2012.
Background information
OriginNew Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
GenresPunk rock,[1] indie rock, alternative rock
Years active2005–2023
LabelsDon Giovanni
Past members
Websitescreamingfemales.com

History

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Formation

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Dougherty (left) and Paternoster (center) perform with Ted Leo (right) at SXSW in March 2011.

Paternoster and Abbate formed a band in high school under the name Surgery On TV.[7] After several lineup changes they finally became a trio with Dougherty and changed the name of the band to Screaming Females.[8] The band got their start in the basement show scene of New Brunswick, New Jersey. In the basement show scene, concerts are held in the houses of various bands, students, and residents, so people under 21 can attend.[2] Screaming Females self-released the albums Baby Teeth in 2006 and What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? in 2007. The band then signed with Don Giovanni Records, which later re-released these two early albums.

With Don Giovanni Records

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The band's first album for Don Giovanni Records was Power Move in 2009, followed by Castle Talk in 2010. Their fifth album, Ugly, was released in 2012 and was recorded by noted audio engineer Steve Albini.[9] The album received favorable reviews from The A.V. Club, Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork Media, Alternative Press and CMJ.[10]

In 2012, Marissa Paternoster was named the 77th greatest guitarist of all time by Spin magazine.[11] In 2013, Screaming Females released the self-produced EP Chalk Tape for streaming online.[citation needed] The EP was also sold as a limited run cassette tape and in a digital download format.[citation needed] The band wrote the songs for Chalk Tape by laying out ideas on a chalkboard and then recording the songs with no rewrites.[12] In September 2013, the band toured with label mates Waxahatchee and Tenement.[13]

In early 2014, Screaming Females recorded a live record at the Hideout in Chicago. In a later interview, Paternoster described the experience: "The Hideout in Chicago is just one of those venues we really like, it's small, it's been around forever, it has a rich history, it's part of the community, it just seemed like a really good place to make a live record. Steve [Albini] drove two tape machines into the alleyway so we could record it live to tape. Like Deep Purple or something? Yeah! That's what was happening, there was a pro studio in the alleyway."[14] The band released their sixth album Rose Mountain, produced by Matt Bayles, in February 2015.[15] Their seventh album All at Once was released in February 2018.[16] In 2019, a collection of singles titled Singles Too was released.[17]

On January 17, 2023, the band released the single "Brass Bell", and announced the release of their eighth album Desire Pathway.[18] It was released in February 2023.[19]

On December 5, 2023, the band announced their breakup on their social media pages.[20]

Band members

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  • Marissa Paternoster – vocals, guitar
  • Jarrett Dougherty – drums
  • Mike "King Mike" Abbate – bass

Discography

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Studio albums

Year Title Label
2006 Baby Teeth Self-released / Don Giovanni Records (reissued 2009)
2007 What if Someone is Watching Their T.V.? Self-released / Don Giovanni Records (reissued 2009)
2009 Power Move Don Giovanni Records
2010 Castle Talk Don Giovanni Records
2012 Ugly Don Giovanni Records
2015 Rose Mountain Don Giovanni Records
2018 All at Once Don Giovanni Records
2023 Desire Pathway Don Giovanni Records

Compilations

Year Title Label
2019 Singles Too Don Giovanni Records

Live albums

Year Title Label
2014 Live at the Hideout Don Giovanni Records

Singles

Year Title Label Format
2006 "Arm Over Arm/Zoo of Death" Self-released 7"
2008 "Screaming Females/Hunchback Neil Young Tribute - Split" Freedom School Records 7"
2008 "Screaming Females/Full of Fancy - Split" Let's Pretend Records 7"
2009 "Screaming Females/JEFF the Brotherhood" Infinity Cat Records 7"
2013 "Screaming Females/Garbage - Because The Night" Stunvolume Records 10"
2013 "Screaming Females/Swearin'/Upset/Waxahatchee Guided By Voices Tribute" Salinas Records 7"
2013 "Screaming Females/Tenement" Recess Records 7"

EPs

Year Title Label
2010 Singles Don Giovanni Records
2013 Chalk Tape Don Giovanni Records
2022 Clover Don Giovanni Records

References

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  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (8 January 2015). "Screaming Females – "Criminal Image"". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b Rose, Joel (25 October 2010). "Screaming Females: DIY In New Brunswick". Npr.org. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. ^ "It's On with Alexa Chung". Mtv.com. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Garbage and Screaming Females Cover Patti Smith's "Because the Night"". Spin.com. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 11 Jan 2013.
  5. ^ "Bio". Last.fm. Retrieved 11 Jan 2013.
  6. ^ "The Breeders, Screaming Females in New York at Terminal 5". 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Blast From the Past: Screaming Females". Maximumrocknroll.com. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  8. ^ "Marissa Brings The Energy". Idolator.com. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Screaming Females Announce 'Ugly' LP, Are Not Going to Talk About Steve Albini". Spin.com. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Metacritic Ugly - Screaming Females". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  11. ^ "SPIN's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". SPIN magazine. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  12. ^ "New EP and New Song, Screaming Females Blog". Screamingfemales.blogspot.com. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  13. ^ "Waxahatchee to Tour With Screaming Females". Pitchfork.com. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  14. ^ Neutron, Conan. "« Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal". Radionope.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  15. ^ Minsker, Evan (12 November 2014). "Screaming Females Announce Rose Mountain, Share "Ripe"". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  16. ^ "Screaming FemalesAll At Once". Pitchfork.com. Don Giovanni Records. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  17. ^ "Screaming Females: Singles Too". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  18. ^ "Screaming Females Announce New Album Desire Pathway, Share New Song". Pitchfork. 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  19. ^ "Desire Pathway, by Screaming Females". Screaming Females. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  20. ^ Monroe, Jazz (December 5, 2023). "Screaming Females Break Up". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
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