Meet Genna Projansky

Today we’d like to introduce you to Genna Projansky.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Genna. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in the city of Chicago and started my musical journey at age six when I picked up the violin. By the time I was eight, I had fully switched to bass and was playing in a girl rock band called The Wild Leopardz with my sister and neighbor. The band was formed after watching Josie & The Pussycats, and we picked our instruments based on the movie character we most identified with. I didn’t truly fall in love with bass until high school when I joined School of Rock Chicago.

I continued private lessons and played afternoon shows at well-known venues and festivals, covering classic rock bands with other kids my age. I spent my summers getting paid to play in a jazz band that rehearsed outside in downtown Chicago through a program called After School Matters, which aimed to show high school students that it was possible to make a living in the arts. When I applied to colleges, I knew I wanted to study music, and I was ecstatic when I was accepted into USC’s Popular Music Program because I knew I ultimately wanted to pursue contemporary music.

Although I had a rough time being away from home my freshman year of college, attending USC was one of the best decisions I ever made. I met so many of my best friends there, and those best friends are the same network of musicians that now hire me for gigs. There were two on-campus music venues that I played frequently with various artists, including my friend Liv Slingerland, who is still one of the main artists I play for.

After college, I moved to Highland Park and started teaching at a School of Rock location in LA and freelance gigging. Liv started playing a lot of shows on the northeast side where we lived, most of which were curated by Play Like A Girl. I felt a real sense of community at those shows and noticed her audience getting bigger. Since college, I’ve worked various day jobs to pay my crazy LA rent and continued teaching lessons and gigging as much as possible, which brings me to where I am today.

Has it been a smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is learning how to say “no.” I think there’s this “always say yes” myth that floats around in the artist community; an expectation that you should take every opportunity that comes your way because you don’t know where it might lead. While this is true, I’ve gotten myself into situations where I’m so busy that I don’t have time to work on myself, or on my personal relationships. When you’re self-employed, you have to literally schedule in a day off.

Aside from learning to balance my personal time, saying “yes” to every gig offer can become difficult when you’re trying to pay your rent. While working for exposure can have some real benefits, there was a point after college in which I had to start really advocating for myself and deciding how much work I was willing to do for free. My biggest current struggle is balancing my full-time day job with my music career.

Working 40 hours a week naturally makes it more difficult to schedule rehearsals and gigs, and it also drains my energy, making it more difficult to attend shows at night and try to network. I’m still figuring out how much of my time I’m willing to compromise for financial stability, but I have a larger goal in mind — I want to work and save money now so that one day I won’t have to, and it can be all music.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a freelance bassist. I aim to support the artist that hires me as best I can — not just musically, but with my stage presence, professionalism, and friendship. I’m proud of my ability to play many different genres of music, and as a bass player specifically, I pride myself on being solid instead of flashy, and on my ability to write original bass lines that are melodic and interesting.

I think what sets me apart is that I am a dependable and genuine person, and this is what I feel most proud of. I feel lucky to say that the majority of artists I play with are good friends of mine whose music and visions I wholeheartedly believe in. I like to think that my personal connections with people are just as important as my skills.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I’ll start with what I like least because all of my friends know how much I love to compare LA to Chicago. I’m not a fan of how spread out LA is, and how it forces me to plan my day around where things are located. As a freelance musician, I’m often running all over town for various rehearsals and shows, and it can be frustrating to constantly be moving and not have time to stop home in between.

What I like best about our city is the community I’ve found. Through Play Like A Girl and various shows on the northeast side of LA, I feel like I’ve found a group of like-minded musicians and artists that I truly connect and identify with. There’s a level of support I’ve seen in this community that actually counters a lot of the LA stereotypes, and I’m really grateful to have found such an inclusive scene.

On a different note, I also love the weather. When I took the train to high school in Chicago my wet hair would literally freeze into icicles. I don’t miss that.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.gennaprojansky.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gennaprojansky/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gennaprojanskymusic/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/sorrykylemusic/

Image Credit:
Jordan Smith, Shabnam Ferdowsi, Lexi Bonin

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