The Screaming Females Talk

December 14, 2015 9:06 AM

After ten years, six albums, and widespread critical acclaim, Screaming Females are still as hard working and viciously independent as when they began in New Brunswick’s basements in 2006. Such staying power is no small feat in a music industry where independent artists make less and less each year as the stars on the top absorb more and more of the entertainment dollar. Yet here’s a band that has found a way to make a small living, consistently create meaningful music, and all the while never sacrifice their ethical grounding. It hasn’t been easy. As with most jobs, achieving sustainability has meant constant struggles for health care, decent wages, and respect. We talked with the band about how they’ve taken on these obstacles, and what needs to happen to improve conditions for artist-workers across the industry.
posted by josher71 (18 comments total)

Oh! New Brunswick, New Jersey. Not New Brunswick, Canada.
posted by Mogur at 9:25 AM on December 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

Love this band. Not sure I care whether or not they like RATM. Marissa's perspective on how health care has affected their ability to work is interesting and distressing. Nice link; thanks.
posted by NedKoppel at 9:26 AM on December 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

This band is a lot of fun to see live. I highly recommend it if they play nearby. Likely it will be a small venue, so you can see Marissa shredding from up close.
I was aware that the model they have chosen to make money is to play a shit-ton of shows, so i drug myself out to support them because I like their music. 'twas worth it.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:27 AM on December 14, 2015

Their tiny desk concert and their cover of Taylor Swift are so good.
posted by Doroteo Arango II at 9:43 AM on December 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh! New Brunswick, New Jersey. Not New Brunswick, Canada.

This. I saw "New Brunswick" and "constant struggles for health care" and was very confused.
posted by thecjm at 10:02 AM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Great band! I totally agree with OHenryPacey, Definitely see them live if you have the opportunity. And I'm a curmudgeon who doesn't really like going out to shows.
posted by soplerfo at 10:14 AM on December 14, 2015

As someone who deals with chronic pain and the healthcare industry, I can totally understand where Marissa is coming from on how broken the system is.

Also, I like the idea of a collective who can hire musicians to work while they're not on tour. Wasn't there a profile here of a moving company that did just that? Hired artists who needed flexibility?
posted by xingcat at 10:23 AM on December 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

They hire athletes who need endurance.
posted by Doroteo Arango II at 10:32 AM on December 14, 2015

I first saw SF in a tiny venue in the middle of nowhere in NJ back in 2009. I knew nothing about them going in, but knew I would be a fan forever before they even finished their first song (which was "Skull," in this case). I've seen them a few times since, and they just keep getting better and better. I find their music and their work ethic pretty damned inspirational. It's clearly a lot of hard work to be a shitty indie band, let alone one that's good and successful as they are.
posted by zchyrs at 10:53 AM on December 14, 2015

Man despite being a big fan of these guys for 5 years now, I always thought they were from Chicago. And now I just spent the last 5 minutes thinking "WTF they're Canadian!?"

Basically I'm doomed to never remember where they're from. Australia, right?
posted by mannequito at 11:42 AM on December 14, 2015

I live on a small island in the Pacific Ocean. To say the least, we don't get many touring bands out here. This last summer, the kids (who are definitely gonna be alright) banded together and threw a series of benefit shows with the 5 local punk bands we have, all to fly out the Screaming Females. SF killed it, as did their local support.

As a grumpy curmudgeon, it warmed my heart to see the DIY spirit is still alive.
posted by deadbilly at 12:32 PM on December 14, 2015

"I Don't Mind It" might be the best single post-punk track of all time.

Vive la Screamales.
posted by StoicRomance at 1:37 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

there's some ragged-ass documentary about them on youtube that closes with maybe thirty seconds of them playing the jackson 5's "i want you back" and it is fucking amazing.
posted by entropone at 4:13 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's clearly a lot of hard work to be a shitty indie band, let alone one that's good and successful as they are.

Just to clarify, I did not mean to imply Screamales are a shitty indie band, but rather a fantastic band in a world where even being a shitty band takes a lot of work. Syntax, man.
posted by zchyrs at 4:25 PM on December 14, 2015

This documentary. Jackson 5 cover at 8:57

Broken Neck, a song about the lead singer's experience in the american healthcare system, is my favorite song of this year and Rose Mountain is great all the way through.
posted by sandswipe at 6:15 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hadn't heard of this band; not so much my thing musically, but it's easy to set that aside in order to appreciate Marissa Paternoster's powerful, assured, affecting vocal presence, wow. She means it, and it comes across. Thanks for sharing.
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:26 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

The New Brunswick basement scene is very much still alive and thriving. We can also claim The Gaslight Anthem and Streetlight Manifesto, but new bands are starting out literally underground here all the time. One thing that probably has changed is the extent to which shows now use Facebook to advertise events.

Also, the statement from the Wikipedia article that shows end before 10 is laughably inaccurate. Shows go on punk time, which is similar to real time but totally distinct from it.
posted by cosmic owl at 9:21 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

The New Brunswick basement scene is very much still alive and thriving

Black Wine FTW
posted by josher71 at 8:29 PM on December 16, 2015