Marissa Paternoster (born August 1, 1986) is an American artist, singer and guitarist active in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

's New Brunswick music scene. She is the former lead singer and guitarist of the band

Screaming Females 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 (Screaming Females a ...

, and continues to perform in the solo project

Noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

Early life

Paternoster's parents met while both teachers for the Elizabeth Public Schools. Her mother, Leslie Okun, who Paternoster has described as "culturally

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

", was an art teacher who now resides in Florida. Her father, Angelo Paternoster, gave her her first guitar lessons before she taught herself to play as a teen. Paternoster grew up in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Roselle Catholic High School Roselle Catholic High School is a coeducational, Roman Catholic secondary education in the United States, high school, located on a campus in Roselle, New Jersey, Roselle, in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jers ...

and later

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts ("Mason Gross" or "MGSA") is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mason Gross offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, design, dance, filmmaking, music, and theater. Ma ...

, where she became interested in music and formed Screaming Females. An only child and an introvert, she grew up with a passion for comics, drawing, and, before long, guitar.

Music

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...

influenced her to start a band with bassist Mike Abbate and drummer Jarrett Dougherty in 2005. She was named the 77th greatest guitarist of all time by ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine in 2012, and the 150th greatest guitarist of all time by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' in 2023.

Artwork and writing

Marissa's art is included on album covers, posters, skateboard graphics, murals, and advertisements. Marissa's art has been shown in galleries including Space 1026 and Commonweal Gallery. She has published collections of her artwork through

Don Giovanni Records Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label originally specializing in punk rock from the New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene but eventually working with a variety of artists from different genres. Its also operated out of Lansing, Mic ...

. In 2024 she released her first graphic novel '' Merriment'' illustrated by her and written by Joe Steinhardt.

Personal life

Paternoster is an out

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and has spoken about how bands like

gave her the confidence to be a

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

woman in music. Her go-to

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

song is

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

's " Paradise by the Dashboard Light".

Discography

With Screaming Females

* Screaming Females discography

As Noun

* ''Peace Meter'' (2021) (originally released under Marissa Paternoster) * ''In the Shade'' (2021) * ''3-Song Picture Disc'' (2020) * ''Slug'' (2018) * ''Throw Your Body On The Gears And Stop The Machine With Your Blood'' (2015) * ''Holy Hell'' (2010) * ''Noun'' (2010) * ''Forgotten Grin'' (2007)

Guest Appearances

* w/The HIRS Collective, ''Unicorn Tapestry Woven in Fire,'' vocals (2023) * w/ Street Eaters, ''Love Like Anthrax'' (

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

cover), vocals and guitar (2021) * w/Modern Hut, ''I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World'', vocals and guitar (2021) * w/ Shellshag, ''Keep Your Eyes on the Road'', vocals (2021) * w/Snakeskin, ''Heart Orb Bone'', guitar (2021) * w/Secretary Legs, ''Cool Myths,'' guitar (2021) * w/ Iron Reagan, ''Eat Or Be Eaten,'' guitar (2018) * w/Modern Hut, ''Generic Treasure'', guitar and vocals (2013) * w/

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

, ''Because the Night'' (

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

cover), guitar and vocals (2013)

References

1986 births Living people Singers from New Jersey Mason Gross School of the Arts alumni Musicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey Roselle Catholic High School alumni American lesbian musicians LGBTQ people from New Jersey 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers American women punk rock singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American LGBTQ people Don Giovanni Records artists Lesbian Jews Jews in punk rock Jewish American feminists {{US-music-bio-stub