The Screaming Females at the Apple Store

Marissa Paternoster

Marissa Paternoster's father taught her to play the guitar. While in high school, she formed a band called Surgery on TV with bassist King Mike. Paternoster pursued this interest further in college in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where she and Mike formed the indie-rocking Screaming Females in 2006 with drummer Jarrett Dougherty. The band played on the local basement circuit, which allowed for audiences of all ages, and released a homemade debut album in 2006. Maintaining a DIY approach, the trio continues to book its own shows and handle much of the business internally. The Screaming Females' sixth album, Rose Mountain, was released on February 24, 2015.

Screaming Females made a promotional appearance tonight at the Apple Store in Soho, where friend and fellow musician Ted Leo interviewed the three musicians for a half hour and then the band performed for another half hour. The interview and the audience questions revealed little, but the brief live performance said a lot. Even with the volume turned down considerably for this venue, the Screaming Females rocked the store with howling vocals, wailing guitar and pounding rhythms. The stage was kinetic and frenetic, with band members shaking their heads and bodies like jack hammers to the dynamic thrust inherent in the songs. Raw energy made for music that was harsh and abrasive and yet honed musicianship reminded the listeners that this guitar-driven music was still shredding like mad. These scorching guitar leads, akin to Dinosaur Jr., were matched with an indie pop sense stripped more naked than the Pixies or Sleater-Kinney. The Screaming Females made no compromise on creating indie rock that was diamond hard and pure.

Visit the Screaming Females at www.screamingfemales.com.