Today we’d like to introduce you to Robbie Gennet.
Robbie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in South Florida and cut my teeth playing music there. There were statewide awards for bands and musicians in the 90’s and I was voted Best Keyboardist in the state two years in a row during the time I had my first original band. Florida proved to be too limiting so I moved out to California in 2001 and never looked back. I’ve toured as a hired gun at times with artists as diverse as Lisa Marie Presley, Nick Lachey, Wayne Kramer and Everclear but have always worked on my own music along the way. In broadening my journey, I also wrote for magazines and websites, with a long run as a senior contributor to Keyboard Magazine. I also wrote a book/DVD called The Key of One to teach a notation-free approach to understanding music. I taught at Musicians Institute for a number of years and honed my craft taking continuing education courses. It was doing this that I learned to chart for strings and horns, which is a big part of a long-gestating studio project I’ll be releasing in 2026. This year, I’ve taken on the ambitious goal of releasing ten original albums of music that I recorded over the past few years in my home studio. I’m also putting together a band for live shows, which will be coming this summer. On top of that, I have a two-act musical that I’ve written which I hope to put on stage in the near future. So yes, I’ve been busy and ambitious and have never stopped working on my art. There are many chapters behind me and many yet written.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest obstacles represent opportunities if you are looking for the silver lining. The first major obstacle I faced was a serious hand injury I sustained on tour with a band called 7Mary3. On a bumpy road, I fell on a broken beer bottle on our tour bus. It cut all the tendons to my right forefinger, which happens to be one of my favorites. I had surgery and missed two shows, then managed to finish the tour left-handed. It took me months to rehabilitate my hand and then retrain to play piano. Out of that came my album Pianarchy, which is an improvisational style I invented out of creating interesting paths when my finger would misfire. I’ve released three albums of Pianarchy and enjoy creating it without the injury to blame.
The second major obstacle was losing my home and studio in the Woolsey Fire back in 2018. That was a huge blow, as I lost a lot of my art and memorabilia as well as all my instruments and my home. As we worked to get our home rebuilt, we hit the pandemic lockdown, which was more of an opportunity than an obstacle. Out of the aftermath came all of the songs that I’m releasing on these ten albums. When life gives you lemons, make albums! I would definitely attribute my survival skills to a healthy dose of stoicisim and gratitude. Now that I have a home and studio again. I’m in a creative mode that has been wonderful for my heart and soul. And as always, there’s a lot more music to come!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I take what I do very seriously, whether I’m writing and recording music or teaching. Amongst all of the ups and downs, I consistently work on my art every day in some way. Currently, that means mixing albums to queue up for release and getting my band ready for rehearsals. I have written over 800 songs so far, most of which haven’t made it to an official release. Even when I didn’t have the budget or team to help promote what I was doing, I still created and recorded music hoping one day to get it out to the world. Reading Rick Rubin’s book last year was really the push I needed to release the music I was making and I am so glad I embarked on this journey. Self-producing my music and playing all the instruments gives me a freedom to craft my vision. As these albums unfold, there are a lot of different styles and feels that emerge, making it more difficult to pigeonhole me in any one music category. I feel that the best artists are only defined by their name, David Bowie being a great example. I stretch and explore based on my curiosity, which has led to an ever-wider variety of styles and sounds in my writing. I’m excited to get all this music out and then bring it to the stage!
What matters most to you?
What matters is as important to identify as what doesn’t matter. I’m not chasing what’s on the radio, not chasing a trend or current style, not looking to sound like anyone else. What matters greatly is authenticity, originality and timelessness in my art, as well as great work ethic to get it done and done as well as possible. Most people will take artists seriously if they hit three criteria: one, you have a lot of fans; two, you have critical acclaim; and three, you’re making money. And while we all would welcome those things, we know that without those, there is so much that matters. The craft of a well-written song, the impact of an insightful lyric, the sticky hook of a great melody, the feeling of an amazing groove, these are the things that excite us before anyone has heard the music.
One only has to look back a few decades to see that most of what was popular doesn’t remain so. Grand Funk Railroad sold out Shea Stadium faster than the Beatles and now they’re a footnote. Go back a hundred years and try to find something that still matters and resonates with the general public. To be timeless means that future generations will still be interested and intrigued by the art and the artist. In a hundred years, will the Beatles still be meaningful? One would hope, though the internet has really demolished our shared culture. Teach in an elementary school and you’ll quickly find that most kids nowadays don’t know who any classic artists are unless their family members play it for them. Beatles included. Maybe in the future, everything is niche and there is no mainstream. So be it. My goal is to create a body of work that, when eventually seen as a whole, is as undeniable, interesting and timeless as possible, whether during or after my time on this planet. I’d rather set a high bar than let off the gas at all!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robbiegennet.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/robbieg.music
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robbiemusic/
- Twitter: @robbiegennet
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@robbiegennet
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/brown-earthling-music
- Other: https://robbiegennet.bandcamp.com
