Hittin’ the Road with Screaming Females
"The photographer who took this picture also happened to be our roadie, Christopher Ernst. He was, as many photographers are, completely consumed by the twilight hours of the evening, which he dubbed 'the golden hour.' Rightfully so; I am supposing this photograph was taken specifically because of the terrific natural light."
All captions by singer Marissa Paternoster.
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Rockers Reunited
"This is me hanging out with my very old friend Kate Eldridge at her new place in Seattle. Kate used to play in a terrific Brooklyn band called Cheeky. Screaming Females spent a lot of time with Cheeky in our early days. We've all remained friends ever since. Kate lives in Seattle now and plays in a great band called Big Eyes."
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Yikes!
"I can't recognize what show this is from. I haven't much to say about this photograph, yikes!"
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Big Score
"Mike picked up this windbreaker in Minot, North Dakota. We played an awesome house show the night before. The boys went shopping for jackets 'cause it was freezing in North Dakota, and Mike scored big time with this classy number."
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Snacking Wise
"A massive part of being in a touring band is visiting rest stops. Some are infamous and every punk band knows about 'em, like the Thing in Arizona or South of the Border in South Carolina. Safe to say, we spend a lot of time popping in and out of gas station rest stops, desperately searching for some sort of snack or magazine or anything to stimulate the senses on eight-plus hour drives. Snack options used to be prohibitively slim for vegetarians in rest stops but, in the more recent years, I've found that travelers and truckers are becoming more and more concerned with their health and weight. So there's a lot more granola and yogurt making appearances in these spots."
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One Night in Vegas
"We played a very odd show in Las Vegas. Before the show, we walked down Fremont Ave. and did a bit of gambling 'cause Mike had never been in a casino before. The opening band was a lot like a traveling circus; they had a lot of audio/visual accoutrements going on and two very muscular fellows in their skivvies wearing pig masks dancing throughout their set. I think this photograph of me was taken by Christopher behind the merchandise counter."
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Road Hazards
"When you drive across the country three or more times in a year, you're bound to see some overturned tractor trailers and cars burnt to a crisp. We've seen some pretty horrific accidents and we've certainly come close to becoming involved in some of them."
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Bright Idea
"Christopher did a really beautiful job with this photograph. We had just been turned away from the Canadian border after being detained for six hours for having improper paperwork and we were heading west through northern North Dakota through a massive oil field. Huge geysers of flames were burning up gas emissions from the drilling and there wasn't the slightest hint of civilization in sight. We finally found a self-serve gas pump in the dead of night. Christopher was walking around in the dark when he started screaming from afar, 'I've got the greatest idea!' He jumped into the van, grabbed his gear and took this stellar photograph."
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Scowling With Shirley
"Here's a shot of Shirley [Manson, of our West Coast tourmates Garbage] and myself downstairs at the Ogden Theater in Denver, Colorado. The theater was really neat and old, the show was sold out, but I was still feeling under the weather and I think it shows. I told Shirley to look pissed off. She did a good job."
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Songs for Moms (and Bums)
"Welp, this is my good friend Molly's bum. She's a fantastic lady who lives in Olympia, Washington. She organizes Queer Rock Camp and plays in an absolutely stellar band called Songs for Moms. Screaming Females has been in love with that band for years. She was making us a great curry dinner and had me eat some weird, fermented something-or-other because I was feeling ill."
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Tryin’ to Look Cool
"Mike, Jarrett and myself started painting our nails black for awhile. Tryin' to look cool, y'know? The nail polish never lasted too long but we looked pretty great when we all had a slick coat."
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Beach Bums in Chicago
"Our friend Scotty took us to the beach in Chicago. I kinda hate the beach; I don't really do the whole bathing-suit thing, or even shorts for that matter, but it was nice to get outside and wander around on a lakefront beach. I've never been to one before. It was odd to have such a massive city looming over the beach, but very cool."
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Birthday!
"This picture was taken in a parking lot across the street from the Slowdown in Omaha, Nebraska. It was the first time we had ever played in Nebraska and it was also my birthday! We played with a great band called Joyce Manor. It was good fun."
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Mr. Bean Rules
"Mike wearing a Mr. Bean shirt. Need I say more?"
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At the Aquarium
"Relaxing at our friend Justin's house after playing at the Aquarium in North Dakota. He has been a fantastic friend to us in Fargo and his home is beautiful. He plays in a really awesome metal band called Shit on Top of Shit. Seriously, they rock."
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BFFs
"Words cannot even begin to describe how much I love the man standing next to me in this picture. His name is Steven Sowley and he is the studio manager for Electrical Audio in Chicago. He is compassionate, smart, hilarious and I wish he lived in New Jersey so we could watch Fried Green Tomatoes together and talk about feelings. He is in a fantastic band called Fake Limbs and I heard he's a really good karaoke partner."
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My Collection
"Our bass player Mike and I have a long history of rummaging through thrift stores. I imagine it was one of the first things we did together when we were kids. I've discovered this strange phenomenon within the past few years: I always find these giant, framed, glossy photographs of teddy bears posed and doing calisthenics. It's so odd. I have a collection. This sweet in fellow in Minneapolis had one that I wanted, but he wouldn't sell it to me because of sentimental values. I forgive him."
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High Times
"Havin' myself a yawn on Adam's front lawn in Lansing, Michigan. Adam plays in a band called Cheap Girls who are old friends of ours. We had just played with them in town; I think it was their band's anniversary party. Their singer, Ian, was up all night showing us his framed High Times clipping of a Cheap Girls feature. It was incredible."
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Small Joys
"This was the smallest puppy I have ever seen in my life. The little pooch belonged to some toothless auto mechanic in the Nevada desert. He was bouncing around the rest stop, which was literally in the middle of nowhere. Gas was horrifically expensive but the dog was cute and the desert was beautiful."
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All Smiles
"Chris wanted to take a photograph in the desert. I'm not sure if we were all collectively in a rotten mood or if we truly are as awkward as we imagine ourselves to be! I'm betting on the latter."