About Me
Hey! What’s up? I’m Karissa Pasquarella. So, let me tell you a little about myself. I’ve been going to shows since I was very young, I can’t even remember how old I was. I come from a family full of musicians, so I’ve always inevitably been around live music all the time. My dad is a drummer and has been in bands most of his life. He taught my brother how to play the drums at a very young age. One day my brother and I were down our road skateboarding because that’s what we did when we were ten and twelve year olds, he’s two years older than me by the way. A few guys came up to him asking him if he knew any drummers, and he said “yeah! I play the drums”. So, they came up to our house and auditioned him for their band. He was in. While the guys were around 16 or 17, my brother was just a lil twelve year old playing any beats our dad taught him. Their band was called “Precious In Clarity”. I watched them practice all the time and have shows in the basement of our house, which ultimately made me want to play an instrument and be in a band.
At around the time that I turned twelve years old, I went to a store called Media Play, which actually doesn’t exist anymore. I bought my first guitar, well, my parents bought it for me, because I was twelve...it was a B.C. Rich Mockingbird. I wanted to be in a band, so that’s why I bought an electric guitar along with the tiniest amp to ever exist. I took lessons for a while, learning note by note. It eventually got boring learning that way, so I kind of just put my guitar in a corner to never be played again. I just figured I’d just admire music from the outside. My brother started to play shows at venues with his band, and I was becoming more exposed to the “hardcore” scene and more bands in general. I started listening to all the bands he listened to and started seeing those bands live. By this time I was already wearing my baggy black pants with chains all over them, spiked bracelets and belts, fishnet hand gloves, heavily applied eyeliner, and everything else alike. My mom ended up being right, it was just a phase.
At 14 years, I was obsessed with a band called The Maine. I found out about them because my brother’s band, which eventually evolved into “Naenia”, was about to play at the same huge reputable festival called Bamboozle, so I figured I’d look up the bands that were going to be there. I literally obsessed over the pop rock band. I would watch videos of interviews and live performances all day. I came across the acoustic versions of their songs along with live acoustic shows that they played. This made me really want to play acoustic guitar. So, I grabbed this dusty acoustic that was sitting in my basement. The first song I decided to learn was “Whoever She Is” by The Maine. Not long after I learned my first song, and was excited about it, I made my very own song which my brother recorded with a tiny mic and laptop. The song is called "Good Enough For You", if you want to check out what my first song sounds like you can find it on my Youtube channel by searching Karissacsws. Anyway, now, he has his own business and studio in Wappingers Falls, NY - Pasquarella Recordings and he is in one of the most popular metalcore/post-hardcore bands, If I Were You. Time flies.
I then started to write more songs. It was such a thrill to me, I’d get so excited when I’d come up with something new. I’d post videos of me playing on Youtube. I then started to play shows at venues, open mics, events, festivals, and parties. I fell in love with performing. It became a passion of mine and it’s all I ever wanted to do. Over time, I connected and networked with people. I played a bunch of shows, wrote songs with friends, and even played bass in a band for a while. It gave me the full experience of being in a band, which was really awesome. I currently have two music videos out that I am very proud of, thanks to my multi-talented brother. You can find my music videos of my singles 'It Doesn't Feel Right" and "Don't Come Back to Me" on YouTube. And you can find the songs on all streaming services.
Ultimately, this is how I got really involved with the local music scene.I love to see people play music and do what they love, and just watch people succeed at what they do. I knew this was the perfect topic for me to focus on for my senior thesis project. And, to provide a guide that might help someone in kickstarting their band they may want to get somewhere with, is definitely rewarding to me.