On tour now with Against Me! and Lemuria
VIDEO: “Laura + Marty”
STREAM: Screaming Females – “Laura & Marty” by forcefieldpr
Since the release of their critically acclaimed fourth album Castle Talk in September 2010, Screaming Females has been a whirlwind of relentless touring including supporting Ted Leo across the U.S., 5 weeks in Europe, and headlining tours stateside. Their hard work has also landed them coveted spots opening for Yo La Tengo, Titus Andronicus, Dinosaur Jr and The Arctic Monkeys, to name a few. 2011 has seen the underground band bring their uncompromising sound to a mainstream audience with their network TV debut on “Last Call with Carson Daly” and appearances at SXSW. Through it all, Screaming Females have continued to make a name for themselves with their raucous live shows, driven by front woman Marissa Paternoster’s famed guitar heroics, while maintaining their punk rock sensibilities.
But Screaming Females’ success did not come overnight: it came after four years of playing over 300 self-booked shows at nontraditional show spaces, sleeping on floors around the country, self-releasing their first two albums, and breathing new life into the New Brunswick, New Jersey DIY basement show circuit. With Castle Talk the trio have proved their abilities as more than just a pint-sized guitar shredder. Castle Talk showcases their growth together as a unit, as a band, with some of their most complex and confident songwriting to date.
“Power Move was the first record that a lot of people had heard by us, and after that came out a lot of people had the same reaction, that Marissa is a woman who can play guitar solos,” says drummer Jarrett Dougherty. “But we are more than just that simplistic observation and I think this record shows that.”
The Screaming Females story starts in New Brunswick in 2005, with Marissa on guitar and vocals, Jarrett on drums, and King Mike on bass. With no all-ages venues in town, the band met their biggest obstacle at the start: finding places to play. But the solution (if there is no venue to play, create your own show space in your basement) was the driving force behind the DIY work ethic that would eventually propel the band forward; the grassroots approach born out of necessity in New Brunswick ultimately Screaming Females developed into a mindset that the band now prides itself on. In 2006, the band self-released Baby Teeth, followed by a second self-release in 2007, What If Someone Is Watching Their TV? Simultaneously, learning from trial and error, plus inspiration from reading Our Band Could Be Your Life, the band booked hundreds of shows in DIY spaces, houses, cafes, and side-of-road co-ops. In 2009 Screaming Females released Power Move, their first full-length with any label (or any outside help, really), released by New Brunswick label Don Giovanni Records. The label mirrors the band’s values, champions their hometown, and most importantly, is run by their friends.
The band is continuing their non-stop touring and DIY work ethic, and is about to embark on a summer tour with legendary Florida punk band, Against Me! After quite a long journey the band is set to, once again, take over ears this summer!
What the press has said about Castle Talk:
“Frontwoman Marissa Paternoster’s guitar heroics have grown the most, evolving from the brawny arena-rock shredding of 2009’s Power Move into the more nuanced fretting of tourmate J Mascis or even Billy Corgan.” – Spin Magazine
“Paternoster goes the fuck off on her guitar. She snaps back and forth between jackhammer riffage and frenzied, ripped-open classic-rock solos– storms of melodic noise rather than simple show-offy displays of technique.” – Pitchfork
“The band draws on the riot grrl bands of the 1990s, along with more mainstream fare like Smashing Pumpkins. But its sound is a far cry from the tasteful understatement that characterizes most blog bands du jour.” – NPR Music
“Ms. Paternoster rattled off several 90s-era girl bands that made it to MTV and influenced her. But none would be mistaken for virtuosic “shredders” of the classic-rock lineage. She cited her love for punk music as “a critique of all that pompous bulls— that you hear on classic-rock radio-a bunch of white dudes taking guitar solos.” Yet she attacks her guitar with similar aplomb, despite downplaying her own skill set.” – Wall Street Journal
SCREAMING FEMALES
06/02 Washington, DC Black Cat ~
06/03 Towson, MD Recher Theatre ~
06/04 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock Cafe ~
06/05 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg ~
06/07 New York, NY Webster Hall ~
06/08 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place ~
06/09 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club ~
06/10 Burlington, VT Higher Ground ~
06/11 Northampton, VA Pearl Street Nightclub ~
06/12 Rochester, NY Water Street ~
06/14 Cleveland, OH House of Blues ~
06/15 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall ~
06/16 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection ~
06/17 Chicago, IL The Metro ~
06/18 Milwaukee, WI The Rave ~
06/20 Fargo, ND The Venue ~
06/21 Minneapolis, MN First Ave. ~
06/30 – 07/03 Roskilde, Denmark Roskilde Festival
08/18 – 08/21 Richmond, VA Best Friends Day
10/28 – 10/30 Gainesville, FL FEST 10
~ = w/ Against Me! and Lemuria
Screaming Females
Castle Talk
(Don Giovanni)
Street Date: Sept. 14, 2010
Laura And Marty
I Don’t Mind It
Boss
Normal
A New Kid
Fall Asleep
Wild
Nothing At All
Sheep
Deluxe
Ghost Solo
SCREAMING FEMALES LINKS:
Label Page – http://www.dongiovannirecords.com/
MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/screamingfemales/