Meet Jess Paternoster | Singer/Songwriter/Graphic Designer/Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jess Paternoster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jess, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Changing my career from a Graphic Designer/Photographer of what I went to college for to a Singer/Songwriter that I’ve always been passionate about. This wasn’t an easy decision because it’s definitely a very risky chance, but I don’t want to go on life without trying out to see where my music journey would take me. There’s so many goals I really want to accomplish that I haven’t got the chance to in high school in college because I was involved in so many other things that I didn’t have time to focus on music. This is my chance now! I’m finally in a band that I always wanted and hope this band will go to places for the long run because I love being the lead singer of my band SplatterHead. I love performing. It’s the adrenaline rush I feel when I’m on stage that I don’t feel anywhere else. I feel so lively and happy!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Transitioning from a visual artist to a musical artist wasn’t easy. I didn’t give up the visual art completely, just more of my focus has been more towards the music since that’s always what I’ve been passionate about and never got around as a kid to get more involved with it. I did a lot of sports, theatre and visual arts in high school. I didn’t have much opportunities to pursue the music part. It was also because I was self conscious and scared that I wasn’t good enough. Now I just want to follow my dreams and hope for the best! A lot of people give me credit for that transition because it isn’t easy. I already have written 8 songs in less than a year. Taking that songwriting class at the Ridgefield Playhouse changed my life for the better. If it wasn’t for the class, I wouldn’t know much about songwriting and wouldn’t get to where I’m at today. I did make a lot of success both the visual and music side and I am proud of how far I have come. I’m hoping they’ll be many successes to come!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a friend that did live in my town. She’s my childhood best friend and she moved away to go to school. When she visits we do a lot of adventurous stuff that we haven’t gotten the chance to do while she was living in town. There’s so much we want to do in NYC that’s on our bucket list with our other girlfriends. We recently went on a helicopter tour that flew over NYC! It was a fun experience! We also went to a break room and had a blast with that since we’ve never done that before. Afterwards, we went to one the most beautiful rooftop bars and had amazing food/drinks! Next time she visits we want to go see Six The Musical on Broadway! In Danbury CT called Molly Darcy’s, and Mahopac NY The Putnam house, there’s Line Dancing that’s a lot of fun to do to keep active and something different to do. I love going to karaoke so I would take a bunch of friends to karaoke and have fun with that. There’s bike trails/parks in my hometown that have beautiful scenic views to show friends that are visiting. One of them is Bear Mountain NY!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First would love to give a shoutout to my family/friends for their love/support all the way in my life, my boyfriend who always believes in me and is always my rock/cheerleader, my bandmates from my band SplatterHead for being family to me and being a big part of my music journey by making this dream come true, my great friend Jess Plude for accompanying me for all the gigs we’ve had, another great friend Victor Ramirez for helping me a lot writing the music for most of my songs I wrote so far, Samantha Cole for giving me voice lessons and helping me throughout my music journey, Jim Moriarty for helping me to write my song “Shadows Within Me” and giving me singing opportunities at the church choir, AJ Gundell for being an awesome producer, and all the restaurants/bars/music venues for giving me the opportunity to perform there! (Keep This the way it is)

Website: https://linktr.ee/JessicaPaternoster

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesspaternoster/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-paternoster/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessPaternoster

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQPclJG3CGQ9klU-NdCP9wg

Other: Art Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpaternoster_graphix/ Art Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jpaternoster.graphix/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jesspaternoster?ug_source=op.auth&ug_term=Linktr.ee&_r=1 My Band SplatterHeads Linktree: https://linktr.ee/splatterhead