Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexsa Gencarelli. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Alexsa , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I’ve always had big dreams ever since I was a kid. I never wanted to be average and always wanted to achieve something that I was proud of. My work ethic did not come from a single source but rather from different experiences and challenges that I faced growing up. My family was always super hardworking, and my sister and I were always pushed to strive for more. Both my parents were hard workers and wanted us to get a good education. Although it wasn’t always said, we understood that if we wanted to get ahead in life and make an impact, we had to work hard and make sacrifices.
It is interesting that I’ve worked my way up to being a gigging musician, a straight-A college music student, and a guitar teacher, as I did not come from a musical family and did not have traditional guitar lessons growing up. I fell in love with Linkin Park at the age of six and have been hooked on rock and metal music ever since. I finally started playing guitar when my band teacher in middle school gave me a chord chart and taught me how to read tabs. From there, I taught myself how to play from the internet and learned songs by ear. I would “investigate” all my favorite records, slowing down songs and live videos to figure out how to sound just like my heroes. I was 14 when I started and quickly became obsessed. The daily practice and discipline of learning guitar by myself branched into all other aspects of my life. At 14, I lost 100 lbs by working out daily and sticking to a nutrition plan. When I started working my first few jobs, whether it was at a shoe store or in a deli, I always strove to be the best employee. I understood that my work was a reflection of myself. No matter how small the job or task, I always want to do the best in everything I do. I take pride in my work ethic and truly believe that I can achieve anything I set my mind to or overcome any challenge.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started playing guitar at 14 years old, and ever since I’ve started bands, written music, and played live. I’ve been in a variety of bands spanning the rock and metal genres. In 2022, I was the guitarist of a metal band for which we released several songs and two music videos. Most recently, I was the lead guitarist, main songwriter, and merchandise manager of the all-female punk band Bride Riot. We released an EP called Burn the Alter, the dual single Wedding Bells, and a cover of Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go! Together we played all over NJ, PA, and NY. We had our songs played on independent radio stations and filmed music videos.
The most important risk I’ve ever taken career-wise was quitting my 9-to-5 job to go back to school. I initially dropped out of college in 2018 and worked several jobs leading up to my career working as a customer service representative for a business-to-business printing company. While my boss and co-workers were great, I was not passionate about the work and wanted to pursue music. Quitting was not easy, but in the fall of 2022 I enrolled in community college and got a job working at a deli. As a self-taught guitarist, it was a huge learning curve getting up to speed with formal music education and picking up the classical guitar. However, with hard work, dedication, and a ton of caffeine, I was able to graduate with straight A’s and got accepted into William Paterson University as a music and entertainment industries major. I chose to become a music business major, as I wanted a career that blended the business experience I had learned through work with my passion for music. In all honesty, my first year at William Paterson was absolutely brutal. Catching up on all the music education I never had and learning new things was difficult on top of work and life challenges. However, I’ve learned so much in my time as a student, maintained my straight As, and have made meaningful steps towards advancing my career.
This summer I had the pleasure of interning with rock and metal label Better Noise Music as a tour marketing intern. It has been a blast, especially as they work with a ton of bands that I listened to growing up. This fall, I will be working with Breaking Sound as a booking intern. After graduation, I hope to work in live music, either as a booking agent or tour manager. Aside from my own creative endeavors and studies, I’ve also been working as a guitar teacher since 2023. It has been the most amazing experience teaching young musicians and passing down everything I’ve learned over the years.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The quality that has been the most impactful in my journey has been my resilience. In my musical journey, and in life, I’ve encountered so many hurdles and obstacles. I can’t recall exactly where my resilience comes from, but I know that it has always been there since I was a kid. It was first presented in my musicianship and fitness. It has also been apparent in my work and in my studies. In my time as a college student, I’ve had to endure long days, late nights, car accidents, bad performances, public embarrassment, a psychotic schedule, anxiety, and health problems like LPR (a type of acid reflux that makes singing difficult). Despite all this, I’ve still been able to excel.
Another quality that I believe has been impactful in my journey is openness. It has actually taken a lot of time and effort for me to be more open and trusting with new opportunities. I’ve notoriously been such a perfectionist in my creative projects that I’ve gotten in my own way. More recently, I’ve trusted myself to take my chances and adapted to being more okay with things not turning out as I planned. While being super organized and disciplined has been key to my success, I’ve learned to make room for spontaneity and letting things happen. The more I’ve learned to take chances and see where things go, the more I’ve grown as a person.
One skill that has been the most impactful in my journey has been my adaptability. Especially in the last few years, I’ve seen how life can be absolutely random and chaotic. I found that it’s been super important to keep going no matter what and always find a way to make things work. A story that comes to mind in relation to this is when I was performing at a gig where our singer walked off stage in the middle of the set and didn’t return. This night we actually had to play two gigs, one in Jersey and one in PA. We finished the first gig in Jersey instrumental, doing our best to wing it and still keep the crowd engaged with our stage presence. We spent the whole car ride to our second gig in PA, designating singing duties, and performed as scheduled. It was certainly not a night that went as planned, but we adapted and made it work. I have so many other countless stories of things that have gone wrong at gigs/concerts, where I’ve just had to think quick and adapt to the situation.
A piece of advice I would give someone early in their journey is to trust the process. It was not too long ago that I felt lost and directionless. It took a lot of courage and trial and error to find my way to where I am now. I think it’s important for anyone just starting out to take risks and focus on action. As someone who thinks too much, I know it can be easy to get stuck in your head about everything. The important thing is to get out of your head and go out into the world. The more you do, the more you will find your way.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
If I only had a decade left to live I would spent it continuing to do exactly what I am doing now. I love music and want to continue to grow as a guitarist, songwriter, and music industry professional. I aspire to make an impact in the music industry, whether it be on stage or behind the scenes. It has been a major goal of mine, ever since I started playing guitar to write and release a full record that I would feel proud of. I certainly hope to achieve this goal once I graduate. In addition to this, I would continue to establish my career in live music, as a performer, and as a teacher.
Graduating college is also a massive goal of mine. When I initially dropped out in 2018, I knew it was the right decision for me at the time, however, it did not sit right that I did not finish something I started. I did try to change my major to music prior to dropping out, however, I had a conversation with a music professor who told me to not even bother. By not only going back to school, but excelling in my studies, I’ve proven to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to.
Aside from that, I would focus on traveling and enjoying life. I currently have plans to fulfill a childhood dream of going to Italy with my sister. She was obsessed with the Lizzie McGuire movie as a kid, and we always talked about traveling to Italy like in the movie. It would be awesome to go other places as well. As a classical guitar student, I would love to travel to Spain as there is so much guitar history there.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexsa_playguitar/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsa-gencarelli/
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